Lieutenant Ralph A Maltby

Lieutenant Ralph Alexander Maltby was born on the 3 October 1917, and was commissioned, as a Second Lieutenant, into the Royal Regiment of Artillery on the 26 August 1937. In January 1939 he was assigned to the 2nd Anti-Aircraft Regiment, R.A. in the Lichfield area.

He was promoted to War Substantive Lieutenant on the 26 August 1940 and became a Temporary Captain on the 16 December 1941.

It soon emerged that he possessed an expertise in Anti-Aircraft fire. In 1942, he was one of 16 officers who volunteered to fly as air-gunners in Bomber crews over Germany, to study German Anti-Aircraft defences first-hand. For this work he was Mentioned in Despatches (announced in the London Gazette on the 9 July 1942) and also, more unusually, received an Order of the Patriotic War from the Soviet Union (announced in the London Gazette on the 11 April 1944).

By 1944 he had transferred to 2nd Wing, Glider Pilot Regiment as an Intelligence Officer. He flew as co-pilot to Arnhem from RAF Brize Norton on 17 September 1944, in Glider 161, piloted by Lt Colonel John Place, along with 28 members of 14 Platoon, B Coy, 1st (Airborne) Battalion, The Border Regiment and their platoon equipment.

The journey from the UK itself had been problematic, with Tug pilot, Wing Commander 'Jeff' Jefferson reporting a power fault on the aircraft, which prevented the aircraft taking their intended dogleg, and only joined the main 'Armada' 30 mins away from Arnhem. Both Lt Col Place and Lt Maltby witnessed a V2 missile launch aimed at the UK during the flight.

Both the Glider and Tug aircraft suffered heavy fire from enemy Anti-Aircraft guns crossing the Dutch Border. The intensity of this damage resulted in the death of Lt Ralph Maltby, piloting the glider at the time (Lt Col Place had been map-reading), over the Hertogenbosch area. He died from a headwound whilst the craft was still airborne, despite Sgt Watson's attempts to help him. Despite further heavy fire as they neared the LZ, Lt Col Place safely landed the Glider, delivering all passengers with only two minor injuries. After initially being placed beneath the wing of the landed glider, his original Field Burial was near the roadside north of Reijerskamp Farm, at Wolfheze.

The son of Francis Brough Maltby and Enid Rosamond Maltby, and husband to Jean Felicity Maltby (nee Beath), of Oxford, he now lies at rest in the Armhem/Oosterbeek War Cemetery, 3. C. 18.

Additional source:

Lloyd, A. (1984), The Gliders, Corgi.