Henry McAnelly was born 3 September 1923 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, the son of a Regimental Sergeant Major of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, Henry then joined the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers in 1939, at the age of 15, as a boy soldier.
On the 11 October 1940 he transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps. [1] It is possible that he saw service with the Desert Force, later to become the 8th Army, in North Africa.

He volunteered for Airborne Forces in 1943 and did Parachute Course No 96 at R.A.F. Ringway, 16– 3 December 1943. His Parachute Instructors comment: “Satisfactory worker and jumper, fits anywhere in stick”. Upon completion he was sent to the Holding Company, Depot and School Airborne Forces, before being posted to the 1 st Parachute Battalion. Here he was assigned to 5 Platoon, ‘S’ Company, who were billeted in Bourne, Lincolnshire.

He served in 5 Platoon Headquarters at Arnhem, as the 2” Mortar man, under the command of Lieutenant Bernard Gick, and Sergeant Patrick Kelly. After having landing on Drop Zone ‘X’ on Sunday, 17 September 1944 successfully, as part of Operation ‘Market-Garden’, he rendezvoused at the correct place. The 1st Parachute Battalion then moved off, after having waited an hour to see if the other Parachute Battalion’s had got away okay.

In his own oral account on an old web-site, via Graham Francis, 2019: “At the Leeren Doedel were 4 German tanks..........After an hour fighting ......... we were ordered to march immediately in southern direction to support the 2nd Bn at the Arnhem bridge............. we went through the woods of Johannahoeve where we met fierce opposition. Finally we reached Oosterbeek. We sent out a recce but we never saw the men back. This recce was led by Sgt Kelly who is buried in AOWC." [Note: he was taken POW]

"In Wolfheze a 16/17 year old boy offered his services (Karl Doorman) [2] . Col Dobie accepted this. They studied the map to find the fastest route to our destination.......... So we reached the Railway Bridge at Oosterbeek Hoog railway station, then we went on in the direction of Arnhem.”

By the early hours of Monday morning the 1st Battalion, with ‘S’ Company in the lead, was on the Utrechtseweg nearing the railway overpass at the Mariendaal. 7 Platoon came under fire in the immediate vicinity of the railway overpass, and 6 Platoon were sent ‘left flanking’, with 5 Platoon giving support. Henry, whilst engaging enemy with his mortar, received a direct burst of machine-gun fire. He was found lying in the middle of the road, his left arm had been shot off, he had 5 bullet wounds to his head and throat, and a further 46 wounds in his right arm, lungs, stomach and thighs. Henry, still conscious, was carried away to the Regimental Aid Post by Corporal Ronald Tidball, ‘T’ Company’s
Airborne Medical Detachment Commander. The RAP at that time was set up in the area of De Vergarde House.

(Monday morning around 05.00 hours along the Utrechtseweg at the last house of Oosterbeek (in the direction of Arnhem) ... brought to safety by 14590201. Corporal. Ronald Tidball. RAMC) Henry was taken from the RAP to St Elizabeth's Hospital, where initially he was given the ‘last rites’ by a Padre. Fortunately for Henry the British Surgical Team under Captain Lipman-Kessel was able to operate on him and saved his life. He was sent on to the improvised ‘Airborne Hospital’ set up in Apeldoorn. He left Apeldoorn as walking wounded on the 3 October 1944. [3]

He was sent to Stalag 7A at Moosburg in Germany, which he did not reach until the 29 October. Here he was given the POW No. 140285. However, he appears to have had some sort of reaction to his wounds and was moved in January 1945 to Heilag-Konstanz, in Southern Germany. [4]

After liberation, repatriation and convalescence, he was discharged under King’s Regulations on the 4 February 1946. [1]
Just six years after his discharge he was discovered to have a bullet still lodged in his head and he had to undergo further surgery to have it removed.

Henry worked for the Dutch Airline, KLM after the war for 16 years. In 1980 he began conducting guided tours of the Arnhem area, especially the Arnhem/Oosterbeek War Cemetery, retiring from thisrole in 1996.

His story was published under his ghost writers name of Edward Monroe Jones. The title is “Before I Sleep” and makes moving reading.

He died on the 11 July 2002, at age of 78 at Hilversum, and was buried in the Catholic cemetery at Kortenhoef, Row 12, Grave 14.

MY NOTES:
[1] The Parachute Regiment, Transfer & Enlistment Book 16, page 89.
[2] Cannot find a mention of him in any other books.
[3] Apeldoorn List of Wounded.
[4] German POW cards.

Written and researched by Robert Hilton. Profile photo courtesy of Patrick Pronk.