Gunner Percy N Aldred

26 Sep 1944

Percy Newton Aldred was the son of Percy William and Gertrude Aldred, of Sale, Cheshire. He enlisted in the Royal Artillery and volunteered for Airborne forces.

Gunner Aldred successfully completed glider training and was posted to A Troop, 1 Airlanding Light Regiment, Royal Artillery, and took part in Operation Market Garden (Arnhem).

Gnr Aldred was badly wounded on 20 September and went missing on the north bank of the river Rhine during the night of the withdrawal. He died on 26 September 1944, aged 24. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Groesbeek Memorial to the missing.

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By Rod Gibson

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Service History

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Latest Comments

Alison Gelson said:
My father John Gelson was with Percy at Arnhem-they were good friends.Percy was not badly wounded on the bank.He was a fine swimmer.Rather than wait for a boat ,Percy dived into the Rhine to swim across it.My father was beside him as he dived in.but my Dad,not a strong swimmer,waited for a boat to be towed over holding on to a rope.When he got to the far side he could not find Percy.He then realised he must have been killed by machine gun fire in the water.He definitely was not wounded on the bank,he was fine.
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