Sergeant Frank W C Bennett

Sergeant Frank William Charles Bennett enlisted into The South Staffordshire Regiment and later volunteered for airborne forces joining 10th Parachute Battalion in the Middle East.

He served as a Section Commander in 4 Platoon A Company, during the Divisional assault to capture the Rhine Crossings at Arnhem as part of  Operation Market Garden in September 1944.

The 10th Battalion made an opposed parachute drop under enemy fire on the second day, Monday, onto Ginkelse Heide (Ginkle Heath). On landing onto the Drop Zone Sgt Bennett met with his Platoon Sergeant, Tex Banwell, and his Platoon Commander, Lt Pat Mackey, at a weapons container along with a number of other men from his platoon.

Under fire they crawled through the heather towards the woods at the edge of the heath, where they spotted a Spandau machine gun firing from the cover of a wood cart.

Pat Mackey  and Sgt Bennett broke cover and valiantly charged the machine gun but were cut down and killed instantly.

Sergeant Bennett died on 18 September 1944, aged 29 years old, and is now commemorated on the Memorial at Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, near Nijmegen.