IT NEVER S N O W S IN SEPTEMBER

'21 September. Marching order at1100. Everybody very nervous.Travelling through Zeist, Doom,Amerengen, Rhenen and Grebbearriving at 1400. Division reserve; dugin. March order at 2000. "Immediatelygo to the front", west of Arnhem.Went into position at night. Verydark.'

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reach the outskirts of Arnhem. Kessler'scompany had bicycled from Katwijk an Zeeon the North Sea coast above Rotterdam.'Rumour had it,' he recalls 'that they wereearmarked to become a reserve for counter-ing further parachute landings.' On 20 Sep-tember they had their first tenuous brusheswith the enemy near the Ginkel heath:

'After a strafing run by low-flyingaircraft, orders came to clear a patch ofwoods where it was suspected enemyparatrooper stragglers were located.Nothing was found except for thedead of the first few days of fighting;clear evidence of the grim events thathad taken place.'

Herbert Kessler, the 19-year-old N C Ofrom the 'Worrowski' Battalion of the Her-mann Goering Training Regiment, hadspent the night of 19-20 September,between sleeping and guard duty, along thesame route - the Ede-Arnhem road - thatLieutenant Martin's unit was to use to

Herbert Kessler's company had bicycled from Katwijk an Zee on theNorth Sea coast above Rotterdam to Oosterbeek. Reinforcementsapproach Arnhem.

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