Come in Second Army...Come in Second Army
“This is the 1st Para Brigade calling Second Army. Come in Second Army. Come in Second Army.” A desperate transmission sent September 20, 1944 by St. Thomas native, Signaler Stanley Copley, 1st Airborne, British Army. The transmission was sent from then Lieutenant Colonel John Frost’s small force of paratroopers holding the bridge at Arnhem in the Netherlands. The Bridge Too Far.
| Despite the valiant efforts of the 1st Para's to capture and hold the north end of this vital bridge over the Rhine, their support system failed to reach them and the Germans moved in to surround them. The bridge fell on September 21st and Stan, wounded in the face, was taken prisoner. He was twenty three. Stan had already seen service in an anti-aircraft battery in Liverpool during the Blitz and served in Northern Ireland, North Africa, Sicily and Italy. Only months before Operation Market Garden, Stan completed further training as a wireless operator.  |  The Bridge at Arnhem today renamed John Frostbrug or John Frost Bridge in honour of Major General John Frost who led the British forces that did their utmost to hold the 'bridge too far" |
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