Black and Caribbean airborne forces stories retold

Private Joseph Dixon served with the Intelligence Section, 3rd Parachute Battalion in 1944

Heroic stories of Black and Caribbean paratroopers who fought on D-Day and at Arnhem in 1944 have been retold as part of a military heritage project.

One man was Sgt Sidney Cornell, son of African American circus performer Charles Cornell, who parachuted into France near Pegasus Bridge on D-Day with the 7th Parachute Battalion.

He won a Distinguished Conduct Medal for his bravery in action and was cited as being an "admired character" due to his "courage and many wounds".

South Kesteven District Council said the "little-known exploits" had been recovered by its Soldiers from the Sky project, which aimed to mark the district's airborne forces history.

Paratrooper forces trained locally for D-Day and Arnhem and flew into battle from local airfields.

The council's armed forces champion Councillor Bridget Ley said: "Without our Soldiers from the Sky project these incredible stories would pass from memory."

Sgt Sidney Cornell parachuted into France on D-Day with the 7th Parachute Battalion

In 1945, Sgt Cornell was killed along with 21 other British troops in the Netherlands trying to defuse bridge explosives as part of Operation Varsity, the largest single airborne operation in history.

In a citation, Sgt Cornell was described as being well-known "throughout not only his own battalion but also the whole brigade."

Private Joseph Dixon, who served with the Intelligence Section, 3rd Parachute Battalion, took off from Saltby airfield on 17 September 1944 on a C-47 of the UK 314th Troop Carrier Group.

He was bound for Arnhem during Operation Market Garden but was captured on 18 September when his battalion were involved in fighting in western Oosterbeek.

South Kesteven hosted British, American and Polish paratrooper forces who flew from local airfields

Private Kenneth Roberts served as a Bren gunner with 1 Platoon of 21st Independent Parachute Company, and was one of the first paratroopers to hit the Arnhem ground on 17 September 1944.

His father had moved from Sierra Leone and settled in England after serving with the British Army in World War One.

On 25 September, Private Roberts swam across the Rhine during the 1st Airborne Division's evacuation but was hit by machine gun fire and died from wounds on 29 September.

Other stories can be read on the Soldiers from the Sky website.

The research was part of October's Black History Month and the project was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

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