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Approaching Drop Zone

Empress is showing off the last of Paul's sculpts for their impending Arnhem Heroes Kickstarter. These are a JEEP and crew for towing the 6pdr and general run around, and the final personality, Capt James G Ogilvie.


Captain Ogilvie was 2/ic of D Squadron, No 1 Wing and one of the glider pilots in the first lift at 10:16 am on 17 September. Once landed the pilots of D Squadron were allocated to the defence of 1st Airborne Division’s Headquarters at the Hartenstein Hotel. Ogilvie attracted some attention from photographers as he wore a kilt and was photographed on Monday 18 September with Lt Col Iain Murray.


A few days later a party of Glider Pilots led by Major Royle and Captain Ogilvie,was sent to clear out a nest of snipers who had been worrying divisional headquarters. In this sortie Major Royle and three of the pilots were killed and Captain Ogilvie was wounded. They successfully knocked out a machine gun nest killing four Germans and taking two prisoners.. Despite being wounded in the shoulder, Ogilvie appears to have maintained command of the D Squadron pilots and continued to play an active role in maintaining the defensive perimeter at Oosterbeek. He assisted in the co-ordination of glider pilots withdrawal with the remnants of the 1st Airborne Division on the night of 25/26 September. and was last seen alive dressed only in his kilt with a Sten Gun round his neck attempting to swim across the Rhine to the safety of Allied lines. His body was later recovered from the river bank by members of the Dutch Resistance.




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