Glider pilot hero of Arnhem dies at 103

Farewell to last aviator from doomed 'Bridge Too Far' air assault

- BY GILES SHELDRICK

PETER Colthup, the last surviving glider pilot to serve at the Battle of Arnhem, has died at 103.

The hero aviator took part in the ill-fated airborne assault code-named Operation Market Garden in September 1944 to capture key bridges in the Netherlands and create a quick route to Germany.

During the battle some 35,000 Allies valiantly fought the Germans for nine days but were defeated and suffered heavy losses.

It resulted in the award of five Victoria Crosses, four of them posthumous, and is immortalised in the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far directed by Richard Attenborough.

The film depicts the doomed mission in which the Allies failed to secure a key bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem and has an all-star cast.

Ramon de Heer, who runs a group dedicated to the memory of those who fought during the Battle of Arnhem, said: "After days of fighting Peter was one of the lucky ones who returned over the river.