The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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256105 Pte. John McHale British Army 2nd Btn. Parachute Regiment This is the story as told by my father, John McHale, shortly before his death in 1984. He was a Red Beret, who had parachuted into Arnhem in September 1944. He was a trained sniper, and carried a special rifle for which he said he would have been shot immediately by the Germans had they found him with it. My father reported that once on the ground there was no form of communication and as the paratroopers did not all land in the same place, he did not know where his unit was or where to go. There were more Germans than expected. He recalled crawling in the gutters of the roads at night to try to avoid detection. He told how he had been given shelter by residents of the town, and spent some days in the loft where he sat on a tin bucket as the Germans, in checking the houses, would fire machine guns through the ceiling into the loft. He survived this, but decided that he needed to leave as he was putting the lives of the family in danger. Upon leaving the house, he was coming down the stairs as a young German started to come up. My father said that there was a split second when their eyes met and both men would much rather have just passed on the stairs with a nod. However, it was down to who could shoot first, and my father killed the German before running out of the house. He was captured in Arnhem and taken to Stalag XIIA in Limburg where he remained until the end of the war. He reported the conditions to be appalling, and as he was Scottish, he was treated worse than the English soldiers being the last to get food, and very little of it. This was all he ever said about his war time experiences. Helen McHale Add to this record.  Related Content: 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment Operation Market Garden Stalag 12A Prisoner of War Camp Can you help us to add to our records? Add a record to our website. The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them Did you or your relatives live through the Second World War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial? Were you or your relative evacuated? Did an air raid affect your area? If so please let us know. Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice. Contact us. Celebrate your own Family History Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Secomd World War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc. Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.

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