SEVENTY years ago this week thousands of Allied soldiers were dropped behind enemy lines as part of Operation Market Garden.

The plan was to take control of several important bridges to bring about the end of the war.

However, not everything went to plan. There were problems with radio communications and the Germans were stronger than initially anticipated.

It was not the glittering success D-Day had been just months earlier. In fact it was a devastating defeat. As a result it is not remembered and commemorated in the same way as the invasion of Normandy. There have not been the grand memorials or the visits by royalty and heads of state to the battlefields.

This is a tragedy as the events of September 1944 were just as momentous as D-Day for those who took part.

Just ask Sussex veterans Ray Sheriff and Arthur Ayres. Their bravery and courage should be remembered on this anniversary and for anniversaries to come.