Arnhem soldiers finally laid to rest

Two British Army soldiers killed in the Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands during the Second World War were buried with full military hours at the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery on September 18.

Private Henry Moon from Filey (Yorkshire) and Lieutenant Dermod Anderson, born in Natal (South Africa), was killed during the ill-fated Operation Market Garden, which  began on September 17, 1944.

Henry Moon enlisted in the Green Howards in 1942 and was wounded during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. He rejoined his regiment in October and landed at Gold Beach on June 6, 1944, during the Normandy landings.

He was 21 when he died in a mortar attack in Bemmel on October 1, and his shallow unmarked grave was discovered in November 2020 when roadworks were carried out on the A15 motorway.

Once identified, Henry Moon’s DNA was taken by the Ministry of Defence Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) and the Dutch Identification and Recovery Unit who, in all cases like these, attempt to trace any living relatives.

On this occasion they were successful, and were able to locate his great-nephew David Snowdon, 41, an Edinburgh police officer who was present at Moon’s burial at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery.

Dermod Green Anderson, born in 1914 to Irish parents,  grew up and was educated first in South Africa and later at the University of Liverpool, where he studied architecture.

In 1940, he  joined the Gloucestershire Regiment and completed his training as a glider pilot.  Like Moon, he took part in the Normandy operations and played a crucial role at Arnhem until he was killed by a mortar bomb near Oosterbeek on September 25.

His bravery was noted by his commanding officer, who recalled his efforts to rescue wounded soldiers under heavy enemy fire, but Anderson was later reported missing in action and his name inscribed on the Groesbeek Memorial.

His remains were discovered during a survey near the old church in Oosterbeek, where efforts had been made to locate the graves of those killed in the fighting.

A DNA analysis allowed the MoD to contact Anderson’s relatives and his burial was attended by his great-nephew, a serving lieutenant colonel in the British Army.

Personnel from The Royal Yorkshire Regiment and the Army Air Corps, today’s equivalents of Moon and Anderson’s units, carried their coffins and fired a military rifle salute as these were lowered to the ground.

Talking to the AFP news agency, David Snowdon said the family were “truly” humbled by the ceremony organised by the JCCC.

“It’s extraordinary. There are hundreds of people. We were expecting about 20. It just shows that we don’t forget those who died.”