From Wishaw to Wolfheze: Pte. James Sneddon, an Original Para.
Pte. James Sneddon volunteered to enlisted in The Seaforth Highlanders on 15th November 1939. He travelled to China, Malaya and India with The Seaforth Highlanders. Whilst in India he volunteered for the newly forming 151 Parachute Regiment and on the 15th January 1942 commenced his parachute training. Jimmy remained in India until November 1942 when the 151st were en route to Egypt. When they reached Egypt the Battalion's named was changed to the 156 Parachute Battalion in an effort to conceal the nature of the Battalion from the Germans. In September 1943, the 156th were lined up to provide support for Operation Slapstick, a seaborne operation to secure Italy for the Allies. In November 1943 they headed for home and after some much needed respite with his family, were stationed in Melton Mowbray.
On the 18th September 1944, Jimmy and his the rest of the 156th parachuted onto Ginkel Heath in Operation Market Garden, the ill fated operation to capture the bridge at Arnhem. Unbeknownst to Jimmy he and his brothers in arms were dropped right in the path of a Panza division and came under immediate heavy fire, with many casualties from the minute the left the Dakota. Jimmy, the designated Bren Gunner for B Company, fought valiantly for over 50 hours on no sleep, with no food or water as the Allies were completely out manoeuvred by the Germans. On the evening of Wednesday 20th September 1944, Jimmy and 5 other Para's found themselves in the woods behind Wolfhoeve Farmhouse. The area that they now found themselves in was next to the Wolfheze Hotel which was the billet for training Panza Divisions. Jimmy and the others were fired upon and took cover in a ditch at the side of the farmhouse. Opposite the farmhouse was an open stretch of ground with deep forest on the other side, in which earlier they had spotted a Panza Division. They needed to get to the other side of the farmhouse if they had any chance of evading the oncoming Germans. Jimmy offered to provide covering firing so that the others could make it over the 50yards of open ground. Jimmy nodded at Pte. Norman Rawlings, a man he had shared the past 4 years with, and opened fire. Immediately, the Germans opened fire and Jimmy was cut down by a MG-42 machine gun, Hiltler's buzz saw, to the stomach. A Sgt. Bursford who was with Jimmy in the woods, returned to retrieve Jimmy's Bren gun. He described that Jimmy asked for a cigarette and then died.
75 years later and many years of research in-between, Jimmy's nephew, Alistair Hill, collated his story and self-published Arnhem: From Wishaw to Wolfheze, the story of our family hero.
