Peter Colthup, the last surviving glider pilot who served at the Battle of Arnhem, has died aged 103. He was part of the airborne assault codenamed Operation Market Garden in September 1944, which aimed to capture key bridges in the Netherlands and create a direct route into Germany.
During the nine-day battle, some 35,000 Allied troops fought German forces in some of the fiercest fighting of the Second World War. The mission, which ultimately failed to secure the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem, was immortalised in the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far.
Colthup enlisted aged 17 in 1939, initially serving with the Essex Regiment before volunteering for the Glider Pilot Regiment. He said he “didn't much fancy marching” so learned to fly instead. He saw action in North Africa and the invasion of Sicily before Arnhem.
Recalling the battle, Colthup said: “War is just hell… you don't have time to feel emotions. You're in your glider seeing other aircraft being shot down but you can do nothing about it.” He described shooting a young German soldier who burst into a building they were hiding in: “I looked into his eyes as he died – it was just horrible. I can still see his face.”
After the war, Colthup settled in New York and became a successful restaurateur, running Cafe Europa, which counted Jackie Onassis and Broadway actors among its clientele. He was made an Honorary Life Member of the Arnhem 1944 Fellowship, and an airfield in Wolfheze, near Arnhem, is named after him.
Dick Goodwin, Vice President of the Taxi Charity, which supported Colthup, said: “Peter was a remarkable veteran and a true gentleman… He will be greatly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.” Ramon de Heer, who runs a group dedicated to the memory of those who fought at Arnhem, added: “He will be missed. May he rest in peace.”
