After leaving school, Jack followed his father into nance, working in
the City of London at the London ofce of the Hong Kong and Shanghai
Bank. In his spare time, he volunteered at Sherborne House Cadet
Unit alongside a number of other Old Shirburnians. Here he indulged
his love of sport, becoming an instructor in boxing and shooting for
local boys. He also played for the Chiltern Rugby Club.
Military Career
In 1939, shortly after the outbreak of war, Jack was commissioned
into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Bored with
home duties, he applied to the Parachute Regiment, and in June 1943
he was transferred to the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion.
The following year he joined the regiment’s 2nd Battalion, under the
command of Lieutenant Colonel John Frost, taking command of 2
Platoon, A Company.
In 1942, Jack married Constance at St Cross Church, Winchester.
Dorothy Constance Marcelle Chambers was the daughter of Lt.-Col.
Charles Ernest Chambers and Frances Dorothy Chambers. Their son,
John, was born in March the following year.
Arnhem
In September 1944, during Operation Market Garden, Jack parachuted
into the Netherlands with the 2nd Parachute Battalion under the
command of Lt-Col John Frost. Their mission was to seize and hold
the northern end of the Arnhem road bridge — a vital crossing over the
Rhine — to allow Allied troops advancing from the south to cross. This
was the bridge that would later become infamous as “a bridge too far.”
The drop went well, with little initial opposition, and the men marched
through Oosterbeek to the cheers of Dutch civilians. What they did
not know was that remnants of the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions
were resting and retting near Arnhem. As they approached the railway
bridge in Arnhem, C Company detached to capture it, but German
engineers blew the bridge just as the British began to cross. When a
number of German armoured cars appeared, the men avoided them by
slipping through the back gardens of houses along the road. As night
fell, A Company moved into central Arnhem, taking positions under