NORTHAMPTON PARATROOPER'S TANK EXPLOIT

Sicily, Taranto-Arnhem. Twenty-one -years-old Sapper Donald A Wann, of the Air-borne Division, whose home is in York Road, Northampton, has taken part in landings at all three "hot-spots". When seen by a "Chronicle and Echo" reporter at his home, Sapper Wann had a word of comfort for the relatives of men who had been reported missing at Arnhem. "Most of them," he said, "will be prisoners-or-war, as they fought to the last round, and it was just a matter of time before they were taken prisoners by the Germans."

“I trained in the Royal Signals as a wireless operator and transferred to the Glider Pilot Regiment and then of course the Arnhem invasion was due and we took off.

“I was nineteen when I first entered WWII as part of the Devonshire Regiment, 6th Air Landing Brigade. I was never scared to be part of the war at such a young age because to be honest you didn’t really have time to think about it. You just had to get on with it and hope for the best.

“This was commonly known as “The Battle of the Bulge” or “Runstedt Rush”. The Germans had broken through the American lines in the Eifell region of the Belgian Ardennes at the beginning of December 1944, the critical point came a few days before Christmas when the 6th Airborne Division was rushed out at twenty four hour notice to back up the Americans and prevent the Germans crossing the River Maas in the Dinant region.