Major John Popplewell ROYLE (66172)
No 1 Wing, Glider Pilot Regiment Army Air Corps

Date of birth: 25th February 1915
Date of death: 20th September 1944

Killed in action aged 29
Buried at Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery Plot 3 Row B Grave 9
He was born at Hailsham, Sussex on the 25th of February 1915, the son of Major John Bedward Royle, South Wales Borderers, and Mary Louise (nee Watt) of “Steep Orchard”, Brailes, Banbury in Oxfordshire.

He was educated at the Junior King's School from September 1927 and at the King's School Canterbury from September 1928 to July 1933, where he was in The Grange. In 1932 he was a member of the Rugby XV, Hockey XI and Captain of fives as well as a school monitor. He was also a Sergeant in the Officer Training Corps.

After King's he went on to the Royal Military College Sandhurst following which he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Highland Light Infantry on the 29th of August 1935 and in 1936 he was serving in Cairo.

During his service he became a close friend of the future actor David Niven who was a fellow officer in the regiment. Niven recalls that while stationed in Malta Royle struck two other officers who woke him and accused him of being drunk (which in fact was the case). As a result of this he was court-martialled on the 14th of September 1938. In his defence he claimed that he had been dropped on the head as a baby and was prone to lash out when woken suddenly. When asked how his batman woke him every morning he claimed that the man wore a fencing mask. He was found guilty and was dismissed from the service on the same day.

He was married to Christian Dorothy (nee Forbes-Gordon formerly Gray) in December 1939; they had a son, Mark John Forbes, born on the 22nd of June 1941, and they lived in Wiltshire.

He re-enlisted as a Guardsman in the Scots Guards and rose through the ranks to become a Warrant Officer Class 1 before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Scots on the 20th of March 1941. He transferred to the Reconnaissance Corps the following day. He transferred to the Glider Pilot Regiment on the 17th of August 1942, was promoted to temporary Captain on the 12th of October 1941 and to Captain on the 3rd of February 1943

By 1944 he had risen to the rank of Major and was second in command of No 1 Wing. During the invasion of Normandy he was appointed to the command of "Force John" which consisted of the ninety three glider pilots who landed in Normandy at 3.20am on the 6th of June 1944. The tow rope on his glider broke but he and his party managed to make their way to the rendezvous at 9.30am where he dug in with his men to defend the area around Ranville. Having completed the tasks set for them on D Day he and his group made their way to the beachhead at Colleville-Sur Orne for evacuation back to England at 9am on the 7th of June.

On his return he wrote a report on how glider pilots could be more effective in future operations, all of which were adopted: -

"The morale and conduct of the men was excellent at all times. Movement and battle drill was fast and efficient. Digging in was completed well on time. It is suggested that one of the best roles for Glider Pilots on the ground is neutralizing or destroying snipers, who in this operation, were a constant source of irritation. The best method of dealing with snipers is by means of snipers. It is therefore suggested that each section has two trained snipers and telescopic sights, and two extra men with Mk. V. Stens instead of rifles. I have already spoken to Major Harding (Quartermaster) about this."

On the 17th of September 1944 he landed at Arnhem as part of Headquarters Group, No 1 Wing, 1st Airlanding Brigade and as second in command of the Wing.

At 3.40pm on the 18th of September he came under sniper fire and a party was sent out to locate the sniper.

By the 20th of September he and his men were in the defensive perimeter at the Hartenstein Hotel near Arnhem having been unable to break through to join the 2nd Parachute Battalion at the road bridge there. During the morning word was received that the Main Dressing Station, which was located in the Schoonoord Hotel building, was in danger of falling to the advancing Germans. General Urquhart, the officer commanding the British forces at Arnhem, was concerned that the loss of the dressing station would prevent the lightly wounded from being patched up and returned to the fighting. He decided to send three fighting patrols to investigate the situation. The patrols under Major Royle, Captains Taitt Ogilvie and Murdoch left the British lines at 11.30am.

Captain Barry Murdoch wrote of the action which followed:-

"The medical station there had been captured and we were in urgent need of it. We, Major Royle, Captain Ogilvie and myself, with our sections, went down and after a bit of a battle, chased Jerry away. "Bit of a battle" is described thus; we crept through some woods and on the edge of the woods, about 50 yards away we saw a machine gun post. Major Royle was about to fire his Bren gun at it, and discovered that it wouldn't work. Just behind us somebody yelled "They're moving, Jerry's running back", so we chased after them. The next thing we knew was that a machine gun was firing from a tank at us. I jumped behind a car and ran back 30 yards. Later orders were received to move into a house on the corner of Stationsweg, Utrechtseweg (held by 1 Platoon, 21st parachute Company). Captain Ogilvie and Lieutenant Colonel Murray were with me then. Major Royle was killed, whilst we were standing by the car previously mentioned."

Private Hardy, a medic in the 16th Parachute Field Ambulance was there also:-

"I went as a medic with a party of Glider Pilots led by Major Royle and Captain Ogilvie to clear out a nest of snipers. In this sortie Major Royle and three of the pilots were killed and Captain Ogilvie was wounded. They successfully knocked out a machine gun nest killing four Germans and taking two prisoners, but another position was covering the machine gun post."

Private Ron Jordan of the Parachute Regiment was one of John Royle's party. While Royle led the group towards their objective Jordan was bringing up the rear with his Bren gun. They had gone 300 yards when a shot rang out and John Royle fell in the middle of the street with a "bullet between his eyes" He had been shot by a sniper from one of four houses further down the road. His patrol, determined to avenge him, began clearing the houses one by one with grenades and Jordan's Bren gun. Before they could clear them all a Staff Sergeant arrived to take command of the patrol and they were ordered to press on to their original objective.

Roy Urquhart referred to the incident in his book "Arnhem":-

"When I heard the dressing station had been overrun, I sent out Major John Royle, second in command of a wing of the Glider Pilot Regiment, to find out what was happening. He was killed in the middle of the road at the dressing station.
At one time before the war, Royle had been a regular subaltern in the Highland Light Infantry. On the outbreak of war he joined up in the ranks and became a Warrant Officer in the Scots Guards. Later he was commissioned in the Glider Pilot Regiment. However fatalistic it is possible to get in the matter of casualties; one cannot but be sad when these are caused as a direct result of a personal order."

His commanding officer wrote:-

"The announcement that John Royle had been killed in action at Arnhem was a bitter blow to his many friends; few of his age could have had so many and such a variety. He had that enviable quality of making friends wherever he went, both young and old, in every walk of life. His impressive appearance, charm of manner, and great sense of humour made a lasting and delightful imprint on the memory of all those who had the luck to know him. On the outbreak of war he enlisted at once and had the distinction of filling every rank up to that of Major (at one time acting as Regimental Sergeant Major at the training establishment at Loch Ailort). A born soldier, he had the experience and enthusiasm which were so essential for the training of men in a new arm of the service. The success of the regiment in ultimate operations was largely due to his untiring efforts. In everything that he undertook he displayed great dash and energy, which was an inspiration to all concerned. It was in this manner, in the face of the enemy, that he met his untimely end. A true sportsman in every sense of the word, he lived to the full every moment of his 29 years; and died, as he would have wished, leading his men in a bold and gallant attack on the enemy."

On the morning of the 22nd of September Iain Murray personally led a burial party for his second in command. Accompanied by Captain Taitt and Lieutenant Bottomley, he selected a site about a hundred yards to the west of the Hartenstein Hotel where they conducted a field service and burial at 10.40am.

His father, Major John Bedward Royle 7th Battalion South Wales Borderers, was killed in action on the 15th of January 1917.
The Grange

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