Operation Vitality, October 31 1944

Operation Vitality, October 24 1994.

After the battle at Woensdrecht the RHLI contributed to Operation Vitality the occurred on October 24, 1944. At 1500 hours on the 24th the RHLI crossed into South Beveland of Belgium. In October 31, the RHLI moved to Marlines, Belgium and then on November 7 they relieved the 43rd British Division at the Nijemegen salient in the Netherlands.

Lieutenant John Lisson. War Bonds

There I was going from slit trench to slit trench peddling bonds. But the response was good. I was selling mostly $100 and $50 bonds. The boys didn’t have much money, but on the other hand they didn’t have much to spend it on, either.. All the same, I’ve often wondered if it was as easy to sell bonds to civilians back home as it was to the boys in the front!

Lieutenant Ken Wharton: discussing parachutes

Those gliders made it real eerie. Their elevators and ailerons would flap in the wind and make all kinds of weird noises… One glider had a good keep in it, but nobody would touch it. It might have been bobby trapped. The Germans, in communication trenches between the gliders, only yards away, were sneaking around too. It was a spooky business

Gordie Booker

It was our job to keep a watch on the river to make sure that nothing got down to the bridge… mines, barrels filled with explosives and that sort of thing. But it seemed that we were closer to the Jerries than at Groesbeek. They were just across the river and we were stonked all the time

The Royal Light Infantry departed from Halifax in July 1940 with 800 men. In December of 1944, the RHLI only had two offcers Whitaker, and Arrell and 50 other tanks that sailed from Halifax in 1940.