Private Ron Rouse

Ron Rouse joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1940. He spent three months training to join the 1st Battalion in Dunkirk, but in the meantime the troops were evacuated and he was sent to Plymouth where he was selected as batman for Colonel Hicks.

When Colonel Hicks joined The Parachute Regiment, Private Rouse also volunteered, and although he attended RAF Ringway, he was only given ground training. He was posted to HQ, 1st Airlanding Brigade, a glider bourne brigade. 

In 1943 the Brigade was sent to Africa to prepare for the invasion of Sicily. On the day of the invasion, the weather turned bad and Private Rouse's glider landed in the sea, forcing the troops to swim to the shore.

Private Rouse, along with the remains of his Brigade, moved up into Italy to Bari, but returned to England in December 1943.

In September 1944, Private Rouse flew into Armhem for Operation Market Garden. All the troops came under heavy fire, and on the 26 September, they withdrew over the river, Private Rouse being put on the last boat crossing the Rhine.

Returning to the UK, Private Rouse was sent to the transport section of the School of Air Support, serving briefly in Burma in 1945.

Private Rouse was demobilised in May 1946 and went on to work in the Post Office.  

Please click on the link below to read an interview with Ron Rouse.