Revisiting Arnhem 80 Years On

Sophie Bainbridge is the founder of Stanley Biggs Clothiers and a CWGF supporter with a deep connection to The Battle of Arnhem. Here, she shares her and Stanley’s stories.

Over to Sophie!

The Battle of Arnhem

Sophie Bainbridge, Stanley Biggs and Operation Market Garden

Image: The famous "Bridge too Far", Arnhem Bridge, in September 1944 (© IWM)

In September 1944 the largest Airborne Operation in existence took place. It was part of a wider Allied Operation, ‘Market Garden’.

Operation Market Garden was a plan suggested by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery; the plan was to push northwards up into the Ruhr by crossing The Rhine River.

The ‘corridor’ was circa 60 miles long and would involve a combined effort between airborne forces (“Market”) and land forces (“Garden”).

Along the corridor that began in Belgium, nine bridges would need to be captured, held and crossed.

To obtain the element of surprise, the bridges would be captured simultaneously by the airborne forces, while the land forces would advance up Highway 69 (later known as “Hell’s Highway”) crossing each bridge as they advanced.

The timing of Operation Market Garden had to be planned to perfection. Any delay would cause issues. 

The final bridge on the route was Arnhem Bridge. Due to its location and the plan to capture all bridges at once, Arnhem Bridge would need to be held for the longest period. 

According to the plan, this would be for two to three days until the land forces of XXX Corps reached and crossed the Bridge.

As is often the case, operations never go to plan.

Of the ten thousand 1st Airborne Division that were dropped across the Arnhem area, only around a thousand made it to their objective, The Bridge. 

The fierce resistance meant the majority were blocked from getting to and reinforcing the Bridge. This became known as The Battle of Arnhem.

As the days extended beyond their initial 2-4 days of expected fighting, the situation grew worse for the Airborne Troops.

The battleground, mostly in the neighbouring town, continued to be squeezed smaller and smaller by the encroaching enemy forces. This became known as The Oosterbeek Perimeter.

Stanley’s War

Image: Stanley Biggs, fourth from right, with men of the 181st Airlanding Field Ambulance (Photo supplied by Sophie Bainbridge)

It was in a Horsa glider, chalk number 286, that Private Stanley Biggs landed on LZ-S, from RAF Down Ampney, on the first day of the operation; 17th September 1944.

With him were six other men of his unit, an airborne Jeep and trailer, two airborne panniers full of supplies and two airborne bicycles.

Though an infantryman first, his trade was Medical Orderly. He was one of hundreds who made up the 181st Airlanding Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps. 

On landing, the unit’s first priority would have been to establish a Main Dressing Station (MDs), to support the forces arriving throughout the first day, and those advancing to Arnhem. Number 9 on Duitsekampweg was chosen as their base.

By 0800 the following morning, they had admitted 180 men. It was a busy first night with no respite.

As the second wave landed on the various Landing and Drop Zones, the unit would have been increasingly busy and between 1700hrs and 2000hrs the dressing station was moved to the Schoonoord Hotel in Oosterbeek to be closer to the fighting now located in the town of Oosterbeek and beyond into Arnhem.

The Schoonoord Hotel, today a restaurant, located at the famous crossroads of Oosterbeek remained as a Field Hospital throughout the battle until 21st September, changing hands between the British and German several times.

As the situation unfolded Lieutenant-Colonel Marrable, commander of the 181st Field Ambulance, relocated the surgical units down the road from the Schoonoord, to various buildings along the street Pietersbergseweg, including the Tafelberg Hotel. As the perimeter grew smaller and smaller, the Tafelberg became one of the focal points for the British forces and wounded to find refuge.

Image: The Tafelberg Hotel at the time of Operation Market Garden (Photo supplied by Sophie Bainbridge)

The Tafelberg Hotel was one of several buildings that were commandeered by the British. Each with their own story to tell. What they all have in common is that where the British were, the residents of Oosterbeek were close by. Often working side by side with the British troops.

Giving further insight into how fast paced and chaotic the battle was; the Tafelberg Hotel was under German control several times throughout the battle. Stanley Biggs worked out of the Tafelberg throughout the battle and would have witnessed the change over first hand.

There was brief respite on the 24th of September when a truce was arranged. The Germans took many of the wounded who were choking up the Schoonoord and Tafelberg Hotels, to nearby Hospitals in Arnhem.

The truce was short-lived as on the same day the Germans moved into the area of the Schoonoord, squeezing the British perimeter tighter. In the fighting that ensued, many of the wounded and medical orderlies in The Tafelberg were killed or wounded again. 

It is pure speculation but we believe that Stanley was one of those wounded.

With the situation untenable, the order came from Headquarters to tactically withdraw from the battle. Only the able and fit were able to cross the fast-flowing River Rhine, however, so the many wounded were left behind. 

Along with the wounded, 25 Doctors and 400 Medical Orderlies from the RAMC stayed behind. Stanley Biggs was one of these men.

On the night of the 25th of September, under the cover of darkness, an impressive rainstorm, and an artillery barrage by XXX Corps (who were just across the river at Driel by this point), the remnants of the 10,000-strong force made their way down to the banks of the Rhine River.

Of the 8,969 troops of the 1st Airborne Division, only 1892 were successfully withdrawn. 5903 were captured or missing, and 1174 were killed.

Of all the men of the 181st RAMC, only ten made it across to the other side of the River Rhine.

During the barrage carried out by XXX Corps to assist with the British withdrawal, a stray shell hit the Tafelberg Hotel. 

It passed through the roof, the upstairs floor and exploded on the ground floor. As a result it is believed that Stanley Douglas Biggs was killed along with several other injured soldiers.

Image: "Flower Girls" of Arnhem tending to the original graves outside the Tafelberg Hotel (Photo supplied by Sophie Bainbridge)

Under the shade of a tall tree in front of the Tafelberg Hotel, Stanley and 34 other men were initially buried. 

The mass grave, like many others around Oosterbeek, was cared for by the children of Oosterbeek until they were moved to the Arnhem Oosterbeek Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery.

Retracing The Battle & Stanley’s War

It was in 2011 when I first visited the town of Oosterbeek and the War Cemetery there.

Image: Stanley's grave at Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery (Photo supplied by Sophie Bainbridge)

Whenever I visit a War Graves Cemetery I will seek out those that bear my family names. It was a complete surprise to find that every name I sought, there was a man buried. Thus began my interest in The Battle of Arnhem and the various units involved.

Due to the Battle being so well documented, at the time and since, I was very fortunate to find so much information for each of the men I researched and had a connection to.

So as the years progressed I would visit each grave, leaving a red rose on each grave of the men I researched. This tradition has continued, even when I wasn’t able to make the journey myself.

The last time I visited was also the year I founded the clothing company, Stanley Biggs Clothiers.

As a historian believing in the importance of remembrance, I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to highlight the importance of remembering our past than adopting Stanley’s name and his story.

This year's visit, the 80th Anniversary of the battle and Stanley’s death will be the first time I have been back since 2019. 

With more research material and a better understanding of Stanley’s movements, I intend on retracing and documenting his battle, finishing at his graveside at Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery.

To follow ‘Arnhem80’ please follow our social channels or visit our website for more details.

Stanley Biggs Clothiers & the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation

The Commonwealth War Graves Foundation is delighted to be close partners with Sophie and Stanley Biggs Clothiers.

To mark the 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden and the Battle of Arnhem, Stanley Biggs has released a limited-edition Arnhem 1944 t-shirt.

Image: For each Stanley Biggs Arnhem 80 t-shirt sold, the Foundation will receive £5 (Photo courtesy of Stanley Biggs Clothiers)

The special design is of the emblem adopted by the Airborne Forces at its inception, showing Bellerophon astride Pegasus. The 1944 type signifies the year the Battle of Arnhem took place.

This particular design is actually taken directly from original artwork used on an airborne configured jeep.

For each t-shirt sold, Stanley Biggs will donate £5 to the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation.

Stanley Biggs has also created a series of limited-edition prints with artwork by hugely talented artist and illustrator Tim Godden.

The artwork depicts Private Stanley Biggs as he would have been during the climactic events of Operation Market Garden.

Pick one up and Stanley Biggs will donate £5 for each £25 print sold to the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation.

We’d like to say a huge thanks to Sophie and Stanley Biggs Clothiers for their continued support. 

For more information, visit Stanley Biggs Clothiers today.