Signalman Desmond A Wiggins

Desmond Alfred ‘Des’ Wiggins was born on the 13 December 1923.    

‘Des’ was called up in 1942 and went into the Royal Corps of Signals, at the end of all his training he volunteered for the Commandos: “I started my Airborne career at the end of 1942 when I finished my initial and wireless operator training at Catterick. I was transferred to the Holding Unit on Thirsk racecourse pending posting to a unit. During that time a number of us had volunteered for the Commandos and while we were there a Lieutenant, Royal Signals persuaded us to go into Airborne Forces. He was the legendary Anthony Deane-Drummond. After I had passed out of Course No. 48 at Ringway a few weeks later, I was posted to ‘K’ Section, 1st Airborne Div Signals attached to 2nd Para Brigade, to find that the O.C. was Deane-Drummond.” [1]

Sigmn. Wiggins was on Parachute Course 48, at RAF. Ringway, 25 January to 11 February 1943. This was a Long Course of two balloon and five aircraft descents of reinforcements for the Parachute Brigades. His Parachute Instructors comments: ‘Good and keen’.

“In the Spring of 1943 ‘E’ Section was formed to be attached to the newly formed 1st Air Landing Light Regiment, R.A. and I and three others were transferred from other Sections to form the nucleus. We were then shipped out to North Africa arriving a few days too late to earn the Africa Star! Later in the year we went to Italy and were attached to the Canadians until the end of the year, while the rest of the Division returned to the U.K., with the exception of the now Independent 2nd Para Brigade, who stayed on to fight in Greece towards the end of the war.” [1]

Upon return to the United Kingdom ‘Des’ was assigned to the CO’s Rover Group, to be his Wireless (Radio) Operator. The Commanding Officer of the 1st Airlanding Light Regiment, RA at this time was Lieut-Colonel. WFK. ‘Sheriff’ Thompson. ‘Des’: “In North Africa and Italy I had been the Regimental Adjutant’s rover being one of a crew of two who would take it in turns to drive the Jeep or operate the wireless set. After return to the UK. I became the CO’s rover and was so on the Arnhem operation. [1] In the Light Regiment, the CO., 2 i/c, and Adjutant had their own rover groups consisting of two signalmen who would take turns in operating the set of driving the vehicle. ‘Jimmy’ Gault was my fellow crewman, but Sigmn. Jack Bloomfield was on the Rear Link set with L/Cpl. Marshall.” [2]

‘Des’ explains about some of the other men that made up ‘E’ Section in 1944: “Sgt. Grant replaced Sgt. Pugh well before Arnhem, as Pugh, we were all delighted to record, was posted out, probably to OCTU An objectionable type who did not have the Airborne spirit. Cyril Cox, one of our two DR’s did not go to Arnhem. Immediately prior he broke an arm jumping out of an aircraft – while it was stationary on the ground! The two drivers we had were Lanning and Moon.” [2]

“There was also a P-Section (Pigeons), one of which I took with me. We did not use it, as it had to be released, as it was getting near its fly-by date. It is a standing joke at Reunions that I ate it!” [4]

On Sunday, 17 September 1944, ‘Des’ took off in a Horsa glider, C/N: 494, from RAF. Harwell, bound for LZ. ‘Z’ near Wolfheze and Heelsum in Holland as part of Operation ‘Market-Garden’.

“With regard to my experiences at Arnhem, I was, as you know, C.O. Lt. Regt’s wireless crew member with ‘Jimmy’ Gault who was fatally wounded after he was captured. We were in the first glider to land and in effect the first troops on the deck after 21st Independent Parachute Coy (Pathfinders). It wasn’t until about nine years ago that I discovered that we were in one of the first two gliders to land. After some research I found the second glider pilot, the only other still alive of those of us in that well known picture taken on the landing zone, as we had an AFPU man [3] with us. Ken Brown, the second pilot, told me that we were the first on the ground and that the collision between the wings of ours and the other glider had taken place in the air.

We had landed at around 1 p.m. and were milling around trying to make contact on the radio without success. It wasn’t until about 4 p.m. that we moved making our way to Oosterbeek [via Heelsum] to be greeted ecstatically by the locals, but we were under instructions to have nothing to do with them in case they were not on our side, which they obviously were. From Heelsum we moved out on to the ‘Tiger’ route taken by the 3rd Para Battalion. It was not long before we came upon the scene of the Arnhem Town Commander and his driver hanging out of each side of his staff car, where a member of the 3rd Para Battalion had sprayed a Bren [gun] into the car. ‘Jimmy’ Gault, who was driving, slammed on the brakes and Sherriff Thompson, who was standing up holding onto the top of the windscreen, suddenly slid across the bonnet as the windscreen had collapsed due to the catches not having been secured after landing. After he got up and dusted himself down he consulted somebody in the area and we were to turn round and return to Heelsum. That night at stand-to I vividly remember ‘Ken’ Wilkes coming round with a bottle of rum which he had managed to commandeer and which added a bit of zest to our tea.

After stand-to [in the morning, 18/09/44] we took Thompson to the Hartenstein and we were left by the side of a road to our own devices and decided to dig-in, which was comparatively easy in the sandy soil. That afternoon we went to the Hartenstein in time to see ‘Bob’ Stopforth and his crew arriving from the L.Z. on the second lift. We also saw Tony Deane-Drummond making off for the Bridge with his batman.

The next morning [19/09/44] we were hanging about waiting for Thompson. He seemed to treat us just like a taxi, taking him here and there without any explanation of where or why he was going. Across the road from us were Jack ‘Tosh’ Bloomfield and L/Cpl. Marshall on the Rear Link set. Suddenly a mortar exploded close to them and ‘Tosh’ went down wounded in the spine. He was stretchered to Kate ter Horst’s house and when George Ball and I went to visit him a few nights later we saw him on top of the pile of corpses out by the front door awaiting burial. We were told that with proper treatment he wound have survived.

After that detailed memories are rather difficult to recall.

I think it was about that time [19-20/09/44] that our Jeep was destroyed and so Thompson had no further use for us and we installed ourselves in the Concert Hall, near the Old Church, which became RHQ and we had a little rear room for the Signals Office.

After a few days, and food was becoming in short supply, I went to the rear of the Hall where I had spotted an apple tree with some fruit still on it and decided to climb the tree to get an apple. Before I could get my hand on it, a sniper from a wood opposite decided to take a shot at me. I decided I would rather die of hunger and quickly shinned own, fruitless!

The next clearest memory was of the Saturday [23/09/44] or it may have been the Sunday [24/09/44]. In the Signals Office were myself and ‘Jimmy’ Gault, Don ‘R’ – ‘Joe’ Potter, George Ball and Linesman ‘Tich’ Thompson. I was finding the atmosphere somewhat claustrophobic and decided to go walkabouts. There was not much activity, but I suddenly spotted a Tiger tank coming along the road towards the ter Horst house, where the casualties were housed. Turning towards the house I noticed the Regimental Padre and Bdr. ‘Scan’ Bolden, the Medical Orderly holding up a white sheet on which a red cross had been daubed in blood. Fortunately the Tiger did the honourable thing and turned away.

Sometime later [25/09/44] I went back to the comparative security of the Concert Hall and as I pushed the swing door open I noticed the place was full of Jerries, so I beat a hasty retreat. All the lads in the Signals Office had been taken prisoner uninjured. But, ‘Jimmy’ Gault subsequently died of wounds and is buried in a cemetery at Lochem a few miles outside Arnhem. ‘Tich’ Thompson was killed and was buried near the river. I have been trying to find out how and when they were both killed, but it has beaten me so far. Perhaps something will turn up before I go to the big DZ in the sky.

On the morning of the 26th, by the time I reached the river, all the boats had been destroyed and I thought that as I had successfully survived the last nine days I was not going to stay behind, so I stripped off and dived in. I had never swum so far in my life, but finally made it and arrived exhausted on the other side, where one of the S. Devon’s was firing a 2-inch mortar across the river. As I stood there watching him, to catch my breath, he dropped one down the spout and it went about ten feet in the air and came down again. It immediately went through my mind that having survived the last nine days I was going to be killed by our own side! Fortunately it was a dud that did not explode. After kitting myself out with some clothes from a Dutch farmhouse I travelled to Nijmegen, down the corridor, in a Bren carrier.” [4]

“Proportionately ‘E’ Section lost more men than any other Section. As well as KIA several were wounded and taken prisoner. I was fortunate in that I managed to swim across the river as by that time no boats had survived. My O.C., ‘Bob’ Gregg, was killed when the boat he was crossing in was destroyed by mortar fire.” [1]

From a local newspaper article, Friday, 5 December 1969.

‘MANAGER LANDED AT ARNHEM’.

A Sudbury man who took part in the ill-fated First Airborne Division’s glider landing at Arnhem, has been appointed manager of the National Provincial Bank’s Hendon Central Branch.

Mr. DA Wiggins of 234 Watford Road, Sudbury, joined the National Provincial Bank when he was demobbed in 1947. He has worked in several London Branches and in Wembley.

ORNITHOLOGY.

A member of Northolt Photographic Society and Sudbury Court Residents’ Association, Mr. Wiggins is also interested in tennis, swimming and fell walking – especially in the Lake District – which he combines with his other interest – ornithology.

His wife Greta is an amateur artist and also breeds canaries – she keeps around 30 at their home.

Mr and Mrs. Wiggins have two daughters, Jennifer (16) and Christine (18) who is taking a foreign language secretarial course.

After ‘Des’ finished in his civilian job, he became a member of the Parachute Regimental Association and by the 1990’s he was the Treasurer of the Hastings Branch.

‘Des’ Wiggins died on the 4 August 2010, aged 86.

NOTES:

[1] Letter to Bob Hilton from Des Wiggins. 19 September 1995.

[2] Letter to Bob Hilton from Des Wiggins. 15 January 1996.

[3] This was Sgt. Dennis Smith and the photo referred to was BU 1164.

[4] Letter to Bob Hilton from Des Wiggins. 3 June 2003.