2026 Battlefield Tour
Dear Members,
This year’s Battlefield Tour will be held over the weekend of 17th-19th April.
Friday 17th – Jory Brentjens from the Airborne Museum, Hartenstein will give Part 2 of his talk on Operation Anger.
This will take place at 1700hrs at the Museum.
Saturday 18th – A day trip by coach to the German War Cemetery in Ysselsteyn organised by Geert Jonker & Martijn Cornelissen (Note the early start time of 0815).
Here we will receive an introduction by the cemetery staff, given a tour of the visitor’s centre and visit the graves of a number of high and low profile German soldiers killed during the Arnhem operation. Specialist speakers will be lined to up to present their stories at different stands and of course time will be set aside for you to wander around this overwhelmingly large cemetery yourself. Lunch will be included.
The small village of Ysselsteyn in the southern province of Limburg, is home to the largest military war cemetery in Europe (32.000 graves on 21 hectares) which was established by the Identification and Recovery Service of the Dutch Army in 1946. The vast majority of German soldiers who died during the Battle of Arnhem are buried here. In 1976 the Dutch Ministry of Defence handed the cemetery over to the VDK, the German equivalent of the CWCG. Ysselsteyn War Cemetery; in a word, impressive: the remoteness, the silence, the simplicity, everything. Visitors are awestruck by the vastness of the landscape and the endless repetition of identical crosses.
If you’ve been on a Geert Jonker & Martijn Cornelissen tour before you know you won’t be disappointed!
There will be a charge of €40 for this tour to cover the cost of coffee, lunch, battlefield tour guide and a contribution to the cost of the coach hire. Money will be collected on the day in cash only.
Outline timetable and location instructions will follow nearer the time but the key times to note are:
0815: Assemble in Oosterbeek at Klein Hartenstein Hotel.
0900: Depart
1730: Return
NOTE: No Arnhem Pick Up. Unlike in previous tours when we have been able to pick up on the way in Arnhem due to the early start and the direction of travel we will not be able to arrange a pick-up in Arnhem.
Sunday 19th – The 10th Battalion organised by Niall Cherry
We will be running a similar tour to the one in 2016 covering the actions of the 10th Battalion around the Amsterdamseweg including the pumping station and the 6 mile marker post; their withdrawal across the railway line and into Oosterbeek. Along the way we will, if time permits, look at associated actions in the area including the location of the 4th Parachute Brigade Headquarters and the 4th Parachute Squadron RE
This will be a walking tour of several km.
Your Cooperation will be required: Just like last time we will require the cooperation of participants with cars to ferry people to/from the start (Leeren Doedel Hotel – Road House Restaurant) to/from the finish (Klein Hartenstein Restaurant, Oosterbeek).
The tour will start at 1000hrs but we will assemble at 0930 at the Klein Hartenstein Restaurant.
Approximate finish time 1630hrs.
Lunch – we will be stopping at the Glider Museum in Wolfheze who have kindly agreed to open their doors for us at lunchtime. You will need to bring your own packed lunch but Tea, Coffee, chocolate bars etc will be available to purchase. Seating will be limited.
Travel and Accommodation
For those of you not used to our tours all we provide is the tour with tour guides.
All travel and accommodation arrangements are down to you, as is getting to the start time of the tour on time.
Mobility/Weather
Sunday is a walking tour and each tour and will cover a total distance of around 4 miles. Be prepared for inclement weather. The last time we did this tour in April we did it in freezing horizontal rain.
Costs
These are outlined above.
Expressions of Interest
If you would like to attend the tour then please let me know the following by no later than 1700hrs on Sunday 22nd February:
- That you will be attending.
- The names of all the people who will be in your party.
The Tour is ONLY open to Fellowship members (If you wish to attend with non-members then we will require that they become members of the Arnhem 1944 Fellowship).
We will operate on a first come first served basis with a waiting list being created if we exceed 60 participants.
I will get back to you after 22nd with confirmation of your place and any additional details.
If you have any questions then please contact the secretary.
John Gerring
Honorary Secretary
(on behalf of the Trustees)