A SECOND World War veteran has described his harrowing experience in the 1944 Battle of Arnhem, which took place 75 years ago this week.

Jim Hooper, 97, who lives at the Brighton Veterans UK Centre in Ovingdean, was one of thousands of servicemen who took part in Operation Market Garden.

The operation was the Allies’ attempt to push back into Germany, and on 17 September 1944 military gliders took off from English airfields to Arnhem in the Netherlands.

This week, the Glider Pilot Regiment Society and Blind Veterans UK are commemorating the anniversary of the battle, to remember the sacrifices glider pilots made in the huge operation.

Mr Hooper was a glider pilot in and was 22 years old when he took off for Arnhem on his first mission.

He said: “I did it with alacrity, I was honoured.”

Mr Hooper said there was a great deal of turbulence, but he and other pilots were relieved to arrive relatively intact in the ‘Horsa’ gliders, which were made of wood and had manual controls.

The Allies’ aim was to capture the bridge at Arnhem and bypass German defences to make for the industrial heartland of Germany.

But a combination of poor planning from higher military commanders and incomplete intelligence conspired against the gliders, who found themselves up against a strong German defence.

The gliders made their landing but the area selected was seven miles from their target and the battle on the ground which followed with German occupiers was a brutal affair which went down in history as a “Bridge Too Far”.

Mr Hooper said: “Snipers fired on us from the higher ground and we suffered many casualties.

“We were halted at the railway station in Arnhem and it looked as though we could not get any further.

“We were running out of ammunition and overrun by German infantry.

“Then one of them invited me to ‘hände hoch!’ - hands up - and I was taken prisoner for seven months.”

Mr Hooper described his time as a prisoner of war as “not very pleasant, let’s put it like that”, and said he and other pilots were subjected to people throwing stones at them as they were transported across Germany.

Prisoners were made to march in “terribly cold weather” with no food, and were held at camps and interrogation centres.

At the end of the war, Mr Hooper and his companions were evacuated by American forces.

When he eventually made it back to London, Mr Hooper was greeted with a “welcome home” banner across the front of his parents’ house near Victoria station.

75 years on, Mr Hooper is now a feature in a poster campaign by Blind Veterans UK to mark the anniversary of Arnhem Market Garden.

The charity still supports veterans decades after their service, regardless of how they lost their sight.

Mr Hooper said: “I’m well looked after here.”

This year, to mark the 75th Anniversary of these events, commemorations will be taking place in the Netherlands and UK. The Glider Pilot Regiment Society will be taking part in these to ensure the vital contribution and tragic sacrifice of the Glider Pilots is remembered. To discover more about the Society’s programme, please contact info@gliderpilotregiment.org.uk