Memorial Annastraat 2

This memorial in the form of a plaque is in memory of soldier Albert Willingham. On September 20 and 21, this house was the headquarters of the 10th battalion of the Parachute Regiment that defended this part of the Oosterbeek perimeter. Civilians and soldiers took shelter in the basement. When a German soldier threw a hand grenade into the cellar, soldier Albert Willingham protected the civilians by shielding them by standing in front of the hand grenade. Albert died and was buried shortly afterwards in the garden of this house. After the war, he was reburied at the Airborne cemetery in Oosterbeek.

The plaque was unveiled on September 20, 2024 in the presence of next of kin of Albert Willingham and of Robert Voskuil. His mother took shelter in the basement during these tragic events.

The plaque is an initiative of the 'Friends of the Tenth'. There are similar plaques in Somerby in England where the 10th Battalion was stationed in the period before Operation Market Garden.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Liesbeth Vrieze

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