Private Robert Boott

Robert Boott was the son of Percy and Hannah Boott; and husband to Dorothy, of Moston, Manchester.

He served with Support Company, 2nd (Airborne) Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment, during World War II; and deployed by glider to capture the Rhine crossings at Arnhem, during Operation Market Garden in 1944.

The body of Pte Boott was found on the bank of the River Rhine close to the village of Renkum on 4 July 1945 and was initially buried at that spot along with Driver Richard Walker.*

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records show his date of death as 18 September 1944. However, his recovery point indicates that he may have died during the attempt to withdraw the remnants of the 1st Airborne Division across the river to the safety of Allied lines on the night of 25/26 September.

Pte Robert Boott died aged 28 years and is now buried in Arnhem Oosterbeek Cemetery, in the Netherlands.

Headstone photograph courtesy of Ab Ringma.

*Source: ‘Roll of Honour’ compiled by JA Hey, published by Society of Friends of the Airborne Museum Hartenstein.