Sergeant John Fryer

John Fryer joined The Army 11 July 1940. He transferred to The Parachute Regiment from The RUR. 

He successfully passed parachute jump instruction at RAF Ringway on Course 13. This course ran between 6 and 21 May 1942. He is listed with the rank of L/Cpl at this time. 

John served in operations in N.Africa, Sicily, Italy and Arnhem. During Op. Market Garden he was wounded and taken POW. He was held in Stalag 12A and issued with the number 92040. 

In the book "Theirs is the Glory", about the making of the film with the same name, by David Truesdale and Allan Esler Smith on page 29, John gets a mention. On 22 September 1944, in a house near the Oosterbeek church a stash of food was found when a German shell damaged a wall in the house they were sheltering in. John is quoted as saying:

"Inside, we found a cupboard full of tinned food; there were tins of hot-pot, strawberries and condensed milk. Now about that time, there was a polish anti-tank gun crew set up at the corner outside the garden. Our medic collected all the rations and made a big pot of stew. Just as it was ready, a German shell - meant for the Poles - hit our house and the stew went everywhere. Still the strawberries and condensed milk tasted fine."

On 23 March 1946 he joined the Reserves.