Peter Colthup, the final surviving glider pilot from the Battle of Arnhem, has died at the age of 103.
The veteran served with the Glider Pilot Regiment during Operation Market Garden, the audacious Allied assault in the Netherlands in September 1944.
That bold mission sought to establish a corridor into northern Germany by crossing the River Rhine, but resulted in devastating losses.
Of the 10,000 troops deployed to Arnhem, merely 2,000 returned following nine days of fierce combat.
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Mr Colthup, who hailed from Whitstable in Kent, was among those fortunate enough to survive the crossing back over the river.
Ramon de Heer, organiser of a Facebook group for Arnhem veterans, announced the news on Sunday, writing: "He will be missed. May he rest in peace."
Mr Colthup signed up for military service in 1939 when he was just 17 years old, initially enlisting with the Essex Regiment.
He subsequently transferred to the Glider Pilot Regiment, a unit established as part of Winston Churchill's vision for an Airborne Force.
Tributes paid to Peter Colthup after his death aged 103
|COBSEO
The regiment's purpose was to covertly deliver soldiers and equipment into northern France and the Netherlands.
When asked about his decision to volunteer for glider duties, Mr Colthup offered a characteristically wry explanation: "I didn't much fancy marching," he said, adding that he learned to fly instead.
His wartime experience extended well beyond the Netherlands campaign.
Prior to Arnhem, he had already seen combat during operations in North Africa and participated in the Allied invasion of Sicily.
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Of the 10,000 troops deployed to Arnhem, merely 2,000 returned
|GETTY
He served with G Squadron throughout his time with the regiment.
Mr Colthup spoke candidly about the psychological toll of combat, describing conflict in stark terms: "War is just hell, that's life in battle, you don't have time to feel emotions."
He recalled the helplessness of watching fellow aircraft being destroyed whilst unable to intervene from his glider, calling it "what's so ghastly about war".
One memory haunted him throughout his life: shooting a young German soldier who had burst into their hiding place after landing at Arnhem.
"I looked into his eyes as he died, it was just horrible," he said. "I can still see his face. In other times we would have had a drink together but you were living in that minute and trying to stay alive."
His experiences left him questioning humanity's capacity for violence, saying: "I now think 'how the hell can we keep on having wars when things like that happen?'"
On his 100th birthday in 2022, Mr Colthup received a touching surprise when Lieutenant Colonel Richard Piso from the Dutch Embassy presented him with the Dutch Liberation Medal and the Market Garden Medal at his home.
He said: "It's marvellous, I'm very, very pleased, who'd think of me any more when there were thousands fighting?"
An airfield at Wolfheze, situated six miles northwest of Arnhem, where a monument honours the glider pilots, bears his name.
Following the war, Mr Colthup relocated to New York and built a successful career as a restaurateur, founding Cafe Europa, an upmarket establishment frequented by Jackie Onassis, Broadway performers and United Nations diplomats.
Dick Goodwin, Vice President of the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, described him as "a remarkable veteran and a true gentleman" who remained part of their family despite being bedridden in recent years.
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