| Original caption: “A patrol of paratroopers in action in ruined houses Oosterbeek.” A famous staged photograph of airborne troops advancing through Arnhem, taken by Sergeant Mike Lewis (1918 – 1986) of the Number 5 Royal Army Film and Photographic Unit (AFPU). The picture was quickly sent back to England for the benefit of the press and the public. It has become the iconic photo of the British at the Battle of Arnhem. A cameraman experienced in war photography would question its authenticity because of the position of the cameraman in the path of the oncoming troops with, 1 assumes, his back to the enemy. Lewis later wrote, “These are the men, unwashed and unshaven, who held out for eight days against everything the Germans could fling at them.” The pipes in the center of the photograph were intended for building a Nazi German communications bunker nearby. Many veterans and their family members claim to be in this photograph. The Parachute Regimental Association identified these men as Lieutenant Oliver Piers Saint Aubyn’s (July 12, 1920 – May 24, 2006) escort from Headquarters, Company C, 156 Parachute Battalion, 4th Parachute Brigade, United Kingdom Royal Army 1st Airborne Infantry Division, with Private John Dugdale (1924 – ????, alive in 1949), far left, and Lance Corporal Noel Rosenberg (November 21, 1920 – April 25, 2012) at the back of the group. But these men represent the determination of the United Kingdom Royal Army 1st Airborne Infantry Division’s to hold out until relieved, and thus many see their fathers, brothers, and husbands; and now that 80 years have passed, their grandfathers, in this image. Number 156 C Company Clerk Les Lockett (June 22, 1921 – July 1, 2009) identified former comrade-in-arms, Private Dugdale, from his habit of leaving his helmet strap undone: “He looked more like a Yank than a British paratrooper, which was enhanced by his cowboy’s gait, probably caused by all the football he played.” Robert Voskuil, President of the Parachute Regimental Association, identified the location of the photo as the Hartenstein estate orangery coach house using 1944 aerial photography. Today the area is a parking lot for the Klein Hartenstein Restaurant. Captain Henry Faulkner Brown (December 4, 1920 – February 10, 2008), Number 3 Troop, 4th Parachute Squadron, witnessed the picture being taken in mid-morning, stating it was Friday September 22, 1944. Brown said: “Our position was in one of some ruined one-story buildings which had lost their roofs and some of the external walls facing us. They probably had been stables or garages for the Hartenstein Hotel. About the middle of the morning, a group of about four members of the Division appeared with a press photographer, who proceeded to take shots of the group moving through the ruined garages. After everything we had been through we were rather disgusted at this untrue, artificial display of house clearance and my sappers gave them a few boos and cat calls as an indication of their disapproval.” Lockett stated about the 156 Parachute Battalion, “854 dropped in and I’ve heard only twenty-seven returned.” Lewis went on to photograph the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945. The British Broadcasting Corporation featured his work in a documentary in 1981. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0537.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.99 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5201 x 3437 |
| Photographer | Mike Lewis |
| Photographer Title | Number Five United Kingdom Royal Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | September 23, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Oosterbeek |
| State or Province | Gelderland |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Archive | Imperial War Museum |
| Record Number | BU 1121 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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