Robert James Lyons Service Number: 3457673 Rank: Corporal Unit: 11th Battalion, Parachute Regiment. He was born 18 February 1914, Stretford, Manchester, Lancashire. The son of James and Mary Lyons. Robert was married to Olive Audrey Lyons, Wythenshawe, Manchester.

He enlisted in the British Army on 24 June 1940 and was posted to the 50th (Holding) Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers. In July 1941 he embarked for overseas service and was posted to Malta, where he served during a critical period of the island’s defence. His service record confirms postings at Birkirkara and Ħal Far. While serving overseas, Lyons later volunteered for airborne forces. Following the formation of the Army Air Corps, Lyons transferred to the Parachute Regiment and qualified as a parachutist. He was posted to the 11th Battalion, Parachute Regiment, which was formed at Kabrit, Middle East, on 4 March 1943. After parachute training in Palestine, Lyons served with the battalion during Operation Accolade, the airborne assault on the island of Kos in September 1943.

In December 1943 the 11th Parachute Battalion returned to the United Kingdom, where it joined the 4th Parachute Brigade, 1st Airborne Division, in preparation for operations in North-West Europe. On 18 September 1944, Corporal Lyons took part in Operation Market Garden. He parachuted into the Netherlands on the second lift, landing on Drop Zone “Y” at Ginkel Heath, and advanced toward Arnhem as a member of 2 Platoon, A Company, under the command of Lieutenant John Robert Nicholson.

During the fighting on 19 September 1944, 2nd Platoon, A Company was heavily engaged east of St Elizabeth’s Hospital while attempting to break through German defensive positions blocking the route to the Arnhem road bridge. The company was isolated, overrun by German forces supported by armour, and suffered extremely heavy casualties during attempts to withdraw under fire. Corporal Lyons did not return to the British perimeter at Oosterbeek.

Official military records state that he was wounded during the Battle of Arnhem and is presumed to have died of his wounds on or shortly after 20 September 1944. No confirmed burial place was identified, and no verified prisoner-of-war record exists. He has no known grave and is commemorated on Panel 8 of the Groesbeek Memorial, which honours airborne soldiers who died during the Battle of Arnhem and whose final resting places are unknown.

Robert Lyons served in the same platoon as Private Edward R. Short (5954649), who was wounded and captured during the Arnhem fighting and later held at Stalag XI-B. Lyons’s platoon commander, Lieutenant John Robert Nicholson (314211), was also captured and held as a prisoner of war.

Written and researched by Jason Young