Private Jack Kirby

20 Sep 2004

Jack Kirby volunteered for service with the Army shortly before the outbreak of war in 1939 and served with 4th Battalion, The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) until 1943 when he volunteered for service with the airborne forces subsequently serving with Headquarters Company, 11th Parachute Battalion.

The following year he deployed for the divisional assault to capture the Rhine crossings at Arnhem but was shot down en route.

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Allen Kirby said:
My Dad was in the same plane as Sir Frank King which was shot down before reaching the DZ. He was fortunate (!) enough to be one of those who got out before it crashed landed - indeed as a mortar man he only had a sidearm as per Sir Frank King's account. He also was one of the few who managed to escape across the Rhine.
Until the 50th Anniversary Dad always thought that the Pilot (George Merz) was killed when the plane crashed - I have to say that very seldom did I see my Dad emotional but he was on that day when we found out.
Dad was taken ill in Arnhem whilst we were attending the 60th Anniversary events and sadly passed away in Apeldoorn Hospital on the 20th September. He had been unwell for quite a time but was determined to attend despite the family's misgivings but I am convinced that he knew how ill he was and wanted to be with his comrades one last time.
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