Private Harold Royan

Harold 'Sonny' Royan served with airborne forces in the 1st Parachute Battalion during the Second World War, and fought with the battalion at Arnhem before finishing his military career as a volunteer for service in the Far East.

Private 'Sonny' Royan initially served with the 171st Field Regiment Royal Artillery, based in Northern Ireland, as a gun layer on a 25 pounder field gun during 1943. They had just come back off a particularly ‘grim’ and chaotic exercise, where everyone had got soaking wet when he saw an appeal on the Battery Notice Board asking for volunteers for airborne service. He volunteered the next day.

After the selection process at Hardwick Hall was complete he was sent to RAF. Ringway to undergo his parachute training. Completing course 61B/62, in early May 1943 with the instructor commenting: 'Has shown a very good progression, is now up to standard'. This was a re-inforcement course for the 1st Parachute Brigade, which was in North Africa and they were soon sent out on a troopship as part of a large convoy.

On arrival, Sonny was posted to the 1st Parachute Battalion, where he was assigned to 10 Platoon, ‘T’ Company. It was not long before he was deployed in action, during the invasion of Sicily. 'Sonny' took part in the parachute assault on Primosole Bridge, 13-14 July 1943 and was later wounded taking part in the seaborne landing at Taranto in September 1943, ending up in hospital in Malta. The remainder of the 1st Para Bn had gone back to the UK by the time he was discharged and he followed them back, arriving at the new billets at Bourne in Lincolnshire in the New Year 1944. His platoon were billeted above the Co-op shop in Bourne.

After intensive training and numerous cancelled operations, 1st Airborne Division were eventually deployed once more in September 1944. Sonny parachuted onto DZ X on Sunday, 17 September 1944 as part of Operation Market-Garden. Sonny had been issued with a 3” mortar barrel for jumping with it in his kit-bag. On the jump he was unable to release the pin and landed with the kit-bag still attached. As a result he had a very bad landing and badly injured his right knee, but carried on.

He saw continuous action for the next eight days, including being part of Lonsdale Force down by the Lower Oosterbeek Church. He and his mate, ‘Tich’ Horsley (a Section Bren gunner), only found out about the withdrawal by chance and when they got down to the river were told there was no more room. 'Sonny' got in the river and held onto the back of the boat, by which means he got safely, if precariously, back over the river. Initially he tried to get a lift in an ambulance, but it was so overloaded that it toppled off the dyke road into a ditch, so he walked, most of the way back to Nijmegen.

There is a photo taken on 27 September 1944, at Nijmegen, of some of the group that escaped, with 'Sonny' pictured in the centre. Upon return to the UK, Sonny was sent to hospital and told his parachuting days were over.

Undeterred, he ended up volunteering for service in the Far East and was out there when the war ended. He had in the meantime been posted back to the Royal Artillery and was assigned to a Survey Regiment.

In 1946 he was informed that he was being demobbed and was flown back to England where he was discharged from the Army on the 24 April 1946.

Harold Royan passed away on 31 December 2013.