Sergeant Michael Corboy

Unit : No.11 Platoon, "B" Company, 9th Parachute Battalion

Army No. : 889189

"Mick" Corboy had volunteered for Airborne Forces whilst he was serving in the Royal Artillery in late 1943. He was on parachute course 98, January 1944 and when completed he was posted to the 9th Parachute Battalion.

He was in No.14 Platoon, "C" Company for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy 6th June 1944. He was dropped well wide of the drop zone and was instrumental in getting his group back to Allied Lines. He saw service through-out the Normandy campaign and was also in the Ardennes, December 1944 to February 1945. He was to be just as unlucky on his jump across the Rhine:

"On the 24th March 1945 I was the Stick Commander for half of 11 Platoon, B-Company, 9th Parachute Battalion, plus three Royal [Corps] of Signals. My Platoon Commander, Lieutenant Gordon Lee was in the stick.

At the Stick Commanders briefing, my pilot, Lieutenant Ballard, told me he had trouble with remembering to put the Green Light on, what with having to keep station in the Vee formation, throttling back on the port engine and coping with the slipstream turbulence. "When we reach the start line, sling them out!"

My jump number is shown as 18, but I hooked up on No 1 strop and stood by the door (usual practice in the 9th Para Bn in Dakotas) usually the Flight Engineer comes aft with the inter-comm, but this one stayed up forward and waved (goodbye?).

We reached the road which I knew to be the start line, saw feet beginning to appear. I had five out on the RED (well it was war, not Ringway). At this point No 6, Ruddy, fell over and with about 100 pounds of gear on me it was as much as I could do to stand and assist the others to climb over him and when No 16, Honeysett, fell as well, after No 17, Walters went, I stood not upon the order of my going.

I was miles away from our Drop-Zone and crossing the glider Landing-Zone with jettisoned tow cables whistling around my ears and half the American Army in parachutes and Waco's descending all around. Well! A person could get killed!

The sequel to this sorry saga, 36 hours later our two 'Penguins' turned up and told me I was lucky to be alive. Just as I jumped, the tail, where I was standing, was hit by flak. Luckily, being a Dakota, the pilot managed to crash-land near Eindhoven without further mishap to the four crew and two paras".

Chalk Number 115, Operation Varsity:

Mick went on to see service in the Far East and in Palestine, before being demobbed in 1947. Later he joined the 11th (T.A.) Battalion, The Parachute Regiment.

My thanks to Bob Hilton for this account.

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