Just back from a group tour of ARNHEM. I make no apologies for reproducing the grab from Sgt Dennis Smith’s film of the most famous 3-inch mortar team (1stBorders) in WW2. A splendid shot taken on 21 Sept 1944, on the Oosterbeek Perimeter, some 200 yards from the Hartenstein. There is a plaque on the Van Lennepweg, but you need to nose about to discover the remains of the pit, it is 30 yards into the wood. Needless to say I felt the need to imitate Pvt ‘Ginger’ Tierney (facing camera) and shout ‘Fire’ while holding a bit of an old branch that made do as the mortar. The scene in 1944 was not a re-enactment or staged. The straightness of the barrel shows how close the Germans were, about 50 yards away. All the crew were safely evacuated.