page_title: John Grayburn
section_title: Defence of the bridge
hierarchical_section_title: John Grayburn / Second World War / Battle of Arnhem / Defence of the bridge
caption_attribution_description: English: The vital bridge at Arnhem after the British paratroops had been driven back Nederlands: De brug bij Arnhem nadat de Britse parachutisten terug gedreven waren
context_page_description: John "Jack" Hollington Grayburn VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
  Born in 1918, Grayburn was educated in Dorset and joined the Army Cadet Force before the outbreak of the Second World War. He was initially commissioned into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and later joined the Parachute Regiment. At the age of 26 he went into action in the Battle of Arnhem where he was part of the small force that was able to reach Arnhem road bridge. Between 17–20 September he led his platoon, and later the remnants of a battalion, in the defence of the small British perimeter around the bridge, but was killed after standing up in full view of a German tank in order to direct his men to new positions.
  Grayburn is buried in the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, and his Victoria Cross is displayed at the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum in England.
context_section_description: Grayburn did not fire on the occasional German traffic still using the bridge, preferring not to advertise the Allied presence until the rest of the battalion had arrived. Upon his arrival, Frost began securing more buildings around the ramp, and a small section attack was made on the bridge. The German defenders quickly repulsed this however and Tatham-Warter organised a stronger attack, to be led by Grayburn.
  As soon as it was sufficiently dark, Grayburn led his platoon along the ramp to the bridge, their faces blackened and their boots muffled with strips of torn up curtains. The platoon moved forward on either side of the girders along the sides of the road, but was quickly spotted by enemy forces on the bridge. Grayburn was shot in the shoulder but continued to press his men on, until the withering enemy fire became too intense and he was forced to pull them back. He was the last person to descend from the ramp into cover.
  Over the next few days, every man of the 700 or so who had made it to the bridge and whether a combat trooper or not, was engaged in the defence of the British perimeter. A Company was sited in the buildings on either side of the ramp nearest the river, and on Monday 18 2 Platoon occupied a house on the east side. This sector came under increasing attack from tanks and infantry of the 10th SS Panzer Division, and the building was later burnt down.
  The rest of the division made several efforts to reinforce Frost's men, but were unable to break through the German forces that surrounded the bridge.  The exact disposition of the British troops subsequently became more confused as the battle developed into house to house fighting. Tatham-Warter took command of 2nd Battalion on Tuesday 19, and Grayburn temporarily took command of A Company after Tatham-Warter's designated replacement was wounded. Grayburn led several fighting patrols that forced the Germans to commit more armour but as Wednesday 20 dawned, the British position was becoming untenable. As the Germans squeezed the perimeter they laid explosives on a section of the ramp crossing a road next to the riverbank, lest XXX Corps should break through and capture the bridge from the south. Grayburn led another patrol that forced the enemy away from the arch while Royal Engineers removed the fuzes. Grayburn was wounded again but quickly returned after being treated, now with his head bandaged and arm in a sling. German infantry later returned to relay the charges and a second patrol went out to remove them. A German tank had come forward to cover the arch, but in order to direct his men to better positions Grayburn stood up in full view of it. The tank's machine gun killed him instantly.
  Frost's perimeter gradually shrank as men and ammunition ran low, and Frost himself was wounded on 20 September.  A brief ceasefire was held later that day to allow the evacuation of wounded men in danger of becoming trapped and being burned alive in the cellars of wrecked buildings. Despite the best efforts of the remaining men to hold out overnight, they were finally overrun in the early hours of 21 September.
caption: The Arnhem road bridge, photographed shortly after the British had been overrun.
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