WWII ARNHEM GROUP OF 6 MEDALS TO W.O.CL.2 B.F. CANNON, R.A./PARA. REGT. (SWAM THE NEDERRIJN RIVER TO ESCAPE)

The 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment was part of the 1st Airborne Division that was sent to Arnhem as part of Operation Market Garden. The unit was involved in very heavy fighting during the nine day stand at Oosterbeek.

The 3rd Battalion was almost completely wiped out and many of the men from the battalion were killed, wounded or taken as prisoners of war. Private Brian Frank Cannon was lucky enough to escape by swimming the Lower Rhine Nederrijn River.

The following extract is from a contemporary newspaper cutting within Cannon's scrapbook album:

"The name 'Cannon' must be lucky, for of the local men who have come home from Arnhem, two, though unrelated, have Cannon as their surname. The experiences of Jack Cannon of Limbury were told in Saturday's Telegraph. The other is Pte. B. Frank Cannon of 32 Melson Street, Luton. Pte. Cannon has not told his parents much about his ordeal, save that he had to swim the Rhine, and in doing so caught a cold. An Army pal whom he brought home during his last leave was not so lucky, for he was wounded and taken prisoner of war. Altogether, Pte. Cannon has served in four regiments since he joined the army four years ago. He was first in the Royal Norfolks, saw service in North Africa and Italy with the Lancashire Fusiliers and the R.A.C., then transferred to the Parachute Regiment. His Arnhem "jump" was not his first, for he had taken part in an operation near Paris. He holds the Africa Star with the Eighth Army insignia. Elder son of Mr and Mrs K. Cannon, whose other son is minesweeping in the Royal Navy, Pte. Cannon attended Waller Street School, and before joining up was working in Percival Aircraft Ltd. He is aged 21."