Battle of Arnhem: Prince Charles joins 97-year-old parachutist to mark WW2 operation's 75th anniversary

The Prince of Wales joined a 97-year-old parachutist today to mark the 75th anniversary of World War Two’s Battle of Arnhem.

Charles, the Colonel-in-Chief of the Parachute Regiment, travelled to the Netherlands to commemorate Operation Market Garden, which in 1944 was the largest airborne operation in history.

The celebrations were marked with a mass parachute drop in the skies above Ginkel Heath landing zone on Saturday.

Three jump waves involving 1,500 parachutists from the UK, the Netherlands, the US, Germany, France, Poland and Belgium dropped on to heath, which was one of the original drop zones 75 years ago.

Veteran Sandy Cortmann, 97, was among them, making a tandem jump with a parachutist from the Army's Red Devils display team.

Mr Cortmann, from Aberdeen, was only 22 when he parachuted into the same drop zone in September 1944, where he was taken prisoner by the Germans.

After landing, the 97-year-old, still dressed in his red flight suit, waved to onlookers as he took his place for a memorial service on the heath.

The Prince of Wales, wearing the multi-terrain uniform of the Parachute Regiment, laid a wreath during the service bearing the handwritten message: "In everlasting remembrance, Charles."

He later shook Mr Cortmann's hand as he met other survivors of Operation Market Garden.

After speaking to Charles, Mr Cortmann described his jump as "thoroughly terrifying", adding: "When the door opened I thought, Christ, what a way down."

But he said it was "absolutely wonderful to see the ground so far below, my God".

Asked if the parachute drop had been like the one he made more than seven decades before, he said: "I can't remember much about the jump in 1944, we were just a bunch of young lads out for a good time if you like.

"But it turned out rather terrifying in the end with the guns and mortars and things opened up. They were all aimed at us."

Mr Cortmann's friend and fellow ex-paratrooper Gary Haughton, 52, said the prince had congratulated the veteran.

Charles apparently told Mr Cortmann: "He puts me to shame, I should have been up there with him."

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Veterans mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem

Mr Haughton said watching the war hero take to the skies was "breathtaking" and had left him with the "biggest smile".

He added: "His teeth were intact, his glasses were intact, his hearing aid was intact and he wants to do it again next year."

During the memorial service civilian and military dignitaries gave moving speeches before the laying of wreaths.

Charles held a salute and veterans were helped to stand, some holding hands, as a lone bugler played the Last Post and a minute's silence was observed.

Operation Market Garden, portrayed in the 1977 Hollywood film A Bridge Too Far, was the ill-fated plan which saw some 35,000 Allied paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines.

British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery hoped the forces would capture and secure key roads and bridges, but they were forced to retreat after being battered by German counter-attacks.

Nearly 6,500 Allied soldiers were captured and more than 1,500 were killed over the nine-day operation - more than in the D-Day landings.

The Prince of Wales and former Dutch queen Princess Beatrix were among the dignitaries to take part in the annual memorial event.

The parachute jumps were part of a series of commemorative events in and around Arnhem this week, the site of bloody fighting during the 1944 operation.

After watching the aerial display on Saturday, Charles made his way to the Dutch city’s Eusebius Church to observe the completion of renovation works and view an art exhibition created by local schoolchildren.

His final visit on Saturday will be to Hartenstein's Airborne Memorial to meet personnel from the Army Air Corps and to mark the contributions of the Glider Pilots in the Battle of Arnhem.