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Sergeant Leonard Malcolm Overton
Unit : No.21 Flight, "D" Squadron, No.1 Wing, The Glider Pilot Regiment
Army No. : 3779157
Leonard Malcolm Overton was born on the 24th September 1921. He joined the King's Regiment on the 27th June 1940 before transferring to the Glider Pilot Regiment. During Operation Market Garden he participated in the First Lift, Sunday 17th September 1944, as 2nd pilot to 1871839 Staff-Sergeant John Smith, in a Horsa glider carrying men and equipment of the 1st Airlanding Light Regiment. They took-off from Keevil, towed by a Stirling of 299 Squadron, and landed at LZ-Z near Wolfheze.
Overton is briefly mentioned twice in A Bridge Too Far, by Cornelius Ryan. "From German loudspeakers came one of World War II's popular songs, Glenn Miller's 'In the Mood.' In trenches and fortified positions haggard troopers listened silently. As the record ended, a voice speaking English told them, 'Men of the First Airborne Division, you are surrounded. Surrender or die!' Sergeant Leonard Overton of the Glider Pilot Regiment 'fully expected now not to leave Holland alive anyway.' Overton and everyone nearby answered with machine-gun fire."
The second quotation reads: "On the grounds of the Hartenstein Hotel in a five-man trench, Sergeant Leonard Overton, the glider pilot, stared out into the growing dusk. The four men who shared his trench had disappeared. Suddenly Overton saw dark shapes approaching. 'It's only us,' someone said quietly. As the four soldiers dropped into the trench, Overton saw that they carried a gas cape bundled together. Carefully the men opened the cape and, holding a can at one edge, emptied almost a pint of rainwater into the container. One man produced a cube of tea and began to stir the liquid. Overton looked on dazed. 'We had had nothing to eat or drink that day and only two hard biscuits which we had shared on Saturday,' he says. Then, to Overton's surprise, the troopers offered the tin can to him. He took a sip and passed it on. 'Many happy returns', each man said to him softly, Overton had forgotten that Sunday, September 24th, was his twenty-third birthday."
Both Overton and Staff-Sergeant Smith were evacuated across the Rhine when the Division withdrew during the night of the 25/26th September 1944.
The following article, Men of Arnhem - Entertainment by the City, was published in the Liverpool Echo on the 3rd October 1944:
It is probable that Liverpool will give official welcome to her men of Arnhem, who returned at the weekend to the city from the gallant escapade above the River Lek in Holland.
There are about fifteen men in the Liverpool band, and the committee of the city's Heroes of Arnhem Appeal Fund met to-day to consider what suitable celebrations might be arranged for them.
One of the last acts performed by the city's late Lord Mayor last night was to sign a cheque for the Arnhem Fund for 100 guineas. It was learned to-day, too, that as a result of an appeal by Miss Fay Compton from the stage of the Royal Court Theatre, £77 was obtained.
It is expected that the select company will be received at the Town Hall, and afterwards entertained at a theatre. In addition, the Liverpool Football Club has invited the men to be the guests of the club at the match between Liverpool and Wrexham on Saturday.
"I think we all prayed harder than we ever prayed in all our lives." With these words, Sergeant Overton, of 123 Alderson Road, Wavertree, Liverpool, summed up his most lasting impression of the glorious action of the Airborne troops at Arnhem. Sergeant Overton was one of the band of Arnhem men from Liverpool who returned to their home town on leave on Sunday.
Two graphic stories by other Liverpool arrivals were given in a final edition of the Echo last night. "It all seems strange." he said. "Just as if I had been dreaming. Here I am back all spruce and bright on the streets of Liverpool and only a few days ago I was wallowing in mud, gathering rain-water to quench my thirst, and fighting for life.
Sergeant Overton piloted a glider loaded with a G.P. trailer. "In the area of Osterbeek, where I gradually got to, there were three hospitals. Jerry had two of them and we had one. Jerry was very anxious for us to move away from this building and by means of Red Cross personnel he intimated that unless we moved away he would mortar us. Of course we didn't move, and the mortars came - thick and heavy. I remember that well because it happened to be my twenty-third birthday. The R.A.F. were simply marvellous, dropping food, &c., despite tremendous flak. We did not know the Second Army was meeting with difficulties in trying to reach us, but, boy, it was good when we heard the guns giving us some support."
Staff-Sergeant L. East, of 7 Newcastle Road, said the incident which would linger in his memory was when they were waiting in a wood near Osterbeek for a German attack, the Airborne men began to sing "Lilli Marlene" at the top of their voices. There were one or two Dutch patriots with them, and one of the Dutchmen was so moved at the behaviour that he shouted across to the Germans. "You want Lilli Marlene? Well, come and get her!"
Overton was posted to the Army Reserve on the 27th August 1946.
My thanks to Bob Hilton for this account.