Operation Market Garden: The Glider Collection Wolfheze

Operation Market Garden. Glider Museum Wolfheze

The Glider Collection Wolfheze is a private collection relating to the British airborne assault on Arnhem in 1944. Operation Market Garden which occurred between the 17^th and 26^th of September 1944 is one of the best known allied airborne operations of World War Two. The goal of the operation was to push through the German lines from the Belgian city of Neerpelt to Arnhem in Holland, bypassing the German Siegfried Line and crossing their last natural obstacle, the Rhine river. This would allow them to sweep east into Germany, knock out the German industrial base in the Ruhr pocket and end the war before Christmas. But as history shows, things did not work out that way.

Operation Market Garden Glider Collection Wolfheze map-01 — Operation Market Garden. Map showing 1st Airborne Division’s planned landing zones on the 17th of September. The Glider Collection Wolfheze is situated roughly midway between LZ ‘S’ and LZ ‘L’ on the map. Map source: wikimedia.org

As part of the operation, the British 1^st Airborne Division had to secure bridges over the Rhine at Arnhem and hold them until linking up with the XXX-Corps who were advancing from Neerpelt. On 17 September, pathfinders from the 21^st Independent Parachute Company marked the drop zones and landing areas near the small Dutch village of Wolfheze, approximately 10km northwest of Arnhem in preparation for the arrival of the 350 gliders ferrying the 1^st Airlanding Brigade under the command of Brigadier Philip Hicks.

USAAF aerial photograph of Landing Zone ‘S’, Wolfheze, 17 September 1944.

The landings were largely unopposed as the Germans were initially thrown into confusion and the 1^st Airlanding Brigade moved off from the landing zones whilst the 1^st Parachute Brigade headed east towards the bridges. The fields around Wolfheze remained one of the primary entry points for the Allied airborne troops, receiving reinforcements from the 1^st Airborne Division on the 18^th and troops from the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade on the 19^th.

Operation Market Garden Glider Collection Wolfheze — Glider Memorial and Liberation Route Marker 25 near the entrance to the Camping & Chalet Park “De Lindenhof”, home to Paul Hendriks’ Glider Museum Wolfheze. Photo: Julian Tennant

Around the town of Wolfheze are several sites commemorating the operation including a Glider Memorial at Liberation Route Marker 25. The Liberation Route follows the course of the Allies during the liberation of Europe. The route starts in Normandy and continues via Nijmegen and Arnhem in the direction of Berlin.

The memorial is also located close to the entrance of “De Lindenhof” Camping & Chalet Park which is also home to the private collection of Paul Hendriks who has assembled a collection of artifacts related to the gliders used during Operation Market Garden. The Glider Collection Wolfheze contains several pieces salvaged from the landing zones around Arnhem as well as sections of a Horsa and a Hamilcar glider plus other bits and pieces related to the battle.

This is a private museum so it is not open for viewing every day however his website lists the official opening days for the year. Alternatively, you can contact Paul by telephone or email to arrange a viewing.