WW 2 Striling Bomber Flying Officer Walter Bentley RAF has died, aged 97.
Operation Market Garden ~ Operation Varsity
His funeral will take place at Agecroft Cemetery at 1pm on Monday, December 10, 2018
Walter has no surviving family and only a handful of friends.
It is hoped his home city will show its thanks and respect for a man who put his life on the line to defend his country, playing a part in one of the major clashes of the war.
Aged just 21, Walter was called up for military service in 1942.
He was selected to be a pilot with the RAF and was posted to Number 570 Squadron, stationed in Berkshire.
Walter's first flight was on September 23, 1944, ferrying food an ammunition in a Short Stirling four engine bomber to drop to beleaguered airborne Allied troops fighting in vain for Arnhem Bridge in Holland.
British 1st Airborne Division lost nearly three quarters of its strength as they and Polish and American troops met unexpected resistance from the German 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions.
On the way in to the dropping zone Walter was shot down near the town of Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Fighting with the controls, desperately trying to save the lives of his five crew members, Walter crash landed in the nearest field as one wing was on fire.
All six on board walked from the wreck and found themselves safely behind Allied lines.
They were picked up by a passing Army convoy and seven days later Walter was back in England and airborne again at the controls of another Stirling bomber.
He went on to complete many more combat missions over Germany and Holland, dropping agents in Norway and towing a glider full of paratroopers to Germany in March 1945 during Operation Varsity when Allied troops crossed the Rhine as the end of the war was in sight.
For his bravery Walter was awarded the Star with Bomber Command clasp and the France and Germany Star war medal.
He was discharged from the RAF in 1946.
In 1955 he married his wife Gladys, who died in 2007. The couple did not have any children.
Walter was brought up in Lord Street, Lower Broughton, and attended North Grecian Street School.
Operation Market Garden ~ Operation Varsity
His funeral will take place at Agecroft Cemetery at 1pm on Monday, December 10, 2018
Walter has no surviving family and only a handful of friends.
It is hoped his home city will show its thanks and respect for a man who put his life on the line to defend his country, playing a part in one of the major clashes of the war.
Aged just 21, Walter was called up for military service in 1942.
He was selected to be a pilot with the RAF and was posted to Number 570 Squadron, stationed in Berkshire.
Walter's first flight was on September 23, 1944, ferrying food an ammunition in a Short Stirling four engine bomber to drop to beleaguered airborne Allied troops fighting in vain for Arnhem Bridge in Holland.
British 1st Airborne Division lost nearly three quarters of its strength as they and Polish and American troops met unexpected resistance from the German 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions.
On the way in to the dropping zone Walter was shot down near the town of Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Fighting with the controls, desperately trying to save the lives of his five crew members, Walter crash landed in the nearest field as one wing was on fire.
All six on board walked from the wreck and found themselves safely behind Allied lines.
They were picked up by a passing Army convoy and seven days later Walter was back in England and airborne again at the controls of another Stirling bomber.
He went on to complete many more combat missions over Germany and Holland, dropping agents in Norway and towing a glider full of paratroopers to Germany in March 1945 during Operation Varsity when Allied troops crossed the Rhine as the end of the war was in sight.
For his bravery Walter was awarded the Star with Bomber Command clasp and the France and Germany Star war medal.
He was discharged from the RAF in 1946.
In 1955 he married his wife Gladys, who died in 2007. The couple did not have any children.
Walter was brought up in Lord Street, Lower Broughton, and attended North Grecian Street School.
WW 2 Striling Bomber Flying Officer Walter Bentley RAF has died, aged 97.
Operation Market Garden ~ Operation Varsity
His funeral will take place at Agecroft Cemetery at 1pm on Monday, December 10, 2018
Walter has no surviving family and only a handful of friends.
It is hoped his home city will show its thanks and respect for a man who put his life on the line to defend his country, playing a part in one of the major clashes of the war.
Aged just 21, Walter was called up for military service in 1942.
He was selected to be a pilot with the RAF and was posted to Number 570 Squadron, stationed in Berkshire.
Walter's first flight was on September 23, 1944, ferrying food an ammunition in a Short Stirling four engine bomber to drop to beleaguered airborne Allied troops fighting in vain for Arnhem Bridge in Holland.
British 1st Airborne Division lost nearly three quarters of its strength as they and Polish and American troops met unexpected resistance from the German 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions.
On the way in to the dropping zone Walter was shot down near the town of Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Fighting with the controls, desperately trying to save the lives of his five crew members, Walter crash landed in the nearest field as one wing was on fire.
All six on board walked from the wreck and found themselves safely behind Allied lines.
They were picked up by a passing Army convoy and seven days later Walter was back in England and airborne again at the controls of another Stirling bomber.
He went on to complete many more combat missions over Germany and Holland, dropping agents in Norway and towing a glider full of paratroopers to Germany in March 1945 during Operation Varsity when Allied troops crossed the Rhine as the end of the war was in sight.
For his bravery Walter was awarded the Star with Bomber Command clasp and the France and Germany Star war medal.
He was discharged from the RAF in 1946.
In 1955 he married his wife Gladys, who died in 2007. The couple did not have any children.
Walter was brought up in Lord Street, Lower Broughton, and attended North Grecian Street School.
Operation Market Garden ~ Operation Varsity
His funeral will take place at Agecroft Cemetery at 1pm on Monday, December 10, 2018
Walter has no surviving family and only a handful of friends.
It is hoped his home city will show its thanks and respect for a man who put his life on the line to defend his country, playing a part in one of the major clashes of the war.
Aged just 21, Walter was called up for military service in 1942.
He was selected to be a pilot with the RAF and was posted to Number 570 Squadron, stationed in Berkshire.
Walter's first flight was on September 23, 1944, ferrying food an ammunition in a Short Stirling four engine bomber to drop to beleaguered airborne Allied troops fighting in vain for Arnhem Bridge in Holland.
British 1st Airborne Division lost nearly three quarters of its strength as they and Polish and American troops met unexpected resistance from the German 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions.
On the way in to the dropping zone Walter was shot down near the town of Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Fighting with the controls, desperately trying to save the lives of his five crew members, Walter crash landed in the nearest field as one wing was on fire.
All six on board walked from the wreck and found themselves safely behind Allied lines.
They were picked up by a passing Army convoy and seven days later Walter was back in England and airborne again at the controls of another Stirling bomber.
He went on to complete many more combat missions over Germany and Holland, dropping agents in Norway and towing a glider full of paratroopers to Germany in March 1945 during Operation Varsity when Allied troops crossed the Rhine as the end of the war was in sight.
For his bravery Walter was awarded the Star with Bomber Command clasp and the France and Germany Star war medal.
He was discharged from the RAF in 1946.
In 1955 he married his wife Gladys, who died in 2007. The couple did not have any children.
Walter was brought up in Lord Street, Lower Broughton, and attended North Grecian Street School.
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