In the 1977 war film “A Bridge Too Far”, actor Michael Caine, portraying Lieutenant-Colonel Joe Vandeleur, suggests a straightforward solution to the Allies stalemate as they tried to make a bid for Arnhem, “Why don’t we just try to bash through?” he proposes.
This dialogue might resonate with those informed about the history of County Clare, as the Vandeleur name was notorious there during the 19th century. The family held a large estate in Kilrush, and was widely known as ruthless landlords.
Though they did not leave a lasting legacy in the English language like Captain Boycott did with his surname, they are remembered for the infamous “Vandeleur Ram”. This was a battering ram, a 30-foot (9 meters) long log, suspended from a tripod by chains, utilised to breach homes during the infamous evictions in the summer of 1888. The incidents were reported far and wide, not only in Ireland, but also globally.
Gradually, the ram’s image was linked with 19th-century evictions universally. As Ed O’Shaughnessy, a local historian, notes: “all known photographs showing a battering ram during a Victorian era Irish eviction are, in effect, photographs of a single ram”, the one used in 1880s Kilrush.
The film character Joe Vandeleur had real ties to the notorious family, born in present day Pakistan in 1903. His name Joe actually originated from an acronym of his three actual Christian names – John Ormsby Evelyn – the last one being his mother, Evelyn O’Rourke’s maiden name.
In 1924, as an adolescent, he enlisted in the Irish guards of the British army, also fondly known as “the Micks”. Upon his death in England in 1988, his headstone carried only his initials “J.O.E.V.”, and a simple epitaph: “Once an Irish Guardsman.”
Based on the novel by Dublin-born Cornelius Ryan, “A Bridge Too Far” portrays Operation Market Garden, an unsuccessful attempt by Allied forces to expedite the conclusion of war by penetrating German defences in the Netherlands. The scheme, concocted 80 years ago this weekend by General Bernard Montgomery, entailed American airborne divisions taking charge of Eindhoven and Nijmegen, while British and Polish troops were to seize Arnhem.
The targeted bridges were crucial to the operation’s success. If held or destroyed by the Germans, the Allies’ airborne divisions would be stranded without backup, which is ultimately what transpired.
The dialogue in the film includes derogatory comments aimed at the operation’s commanders. The Irish Guards, who had been instrumental in the capture of Grote-Bareel Bridge on 10th September 1944, leading to the subsequent stages of the operation, were also to spearhead the next assault. The film portrays the reaction of one soldier lamenting the repeated responsibility.
Decision makers for the operation faced obstacles such as unanticipated delays, adverse weather conditions, inadequate support, and the hazardous, exposed layout of the road to Arnhem where the ground advance had to traverse.
Despite Montgomery considering the operation “90 per cent successful”, the remaining 10 per cent is remembered as its devastating failure, which has since been immortalized by the phrase “Trying to go a bridge too far”, as quoted in the film.
Included among the lesser-known victims of this operation was Brian Denis Wilson of Irish lineage. Wilson, born a century ago in June in present-day Malaysia, was the offspring of Dublin natives, including Bernard Wilson, a solicitor who left Ireland post-Civil War.
In the year 1942, a youthful Wilson made the decision to forego his legal studies at Oxford and instead enlisted himself in the Irish Guards. A mere two years following, on the 17th day of September in 1944, serving as a lieutenant, he participated in the approaching advance on Nijmegen. During this expedition, a German artillery-shell resulted in the loss of one his feet.
Initially, he was transported to a field hospital where his lower limb was removed through amputation, and subsequently, he was taken back to England via flight for a second procedure, that also saw him lose his leg just below the knee. Afterward, his military career came to a premature end, and he eventually returned to Oxford. Despite the artificial limb, he smoothly adapted and started actively participating in squash as well as becoming the coxswain for a college-rowing team.
Following this, he assimilated into Hong Kong’s British colonial service and ultimately relocated to Australia in 1983. As he approached the autumn of his life, he penned a memoir titled ‘The Ever Open Eye’ (2014), where he criticised the doomed leadership during the advance on Arnhem.
In May of the previous year, he passed away, just a few weeks shy of his centennial birthday. The London Times, in a delayed obituary published this month, highlighted that although he had reservations about Operation Market Garden, he held no bitterness over the loss of his limb. He rarely brought it up unless absolutely necessary as he believed looking for sympathy led to self-pity and alcohol dependency, a common fate for some amputees. This was a principle he strongly advocated during his frequent meetings with former servicemen.