Austin, John Patrick Standidge “Bunny”.

- Nationality.

Ireland.

- Ranking.

Sergeant of the Royal Berkshire Regiment.

- Born.

Born 27-09-1922 in Castleconnell, Limerick, Ireland.

- Died.

This young non-commissioned officer was executed by firing squad on 04-04-1945, age 22, together with five other people, on the Geldersedijk.

- Buried.

War cemetery Hattem, Kerkhofdijk 2, 8051 DE Hattem, (Plot 2, Grave 153). He was then buried as the only Allied soldier in the general cemetery in Hattem, where a memorial plaque stands at his grave.

army

Austin, John Patrick Standidge “Bunny”, born 27-09-1922 in Castleconnell, Limerick, Ireland. the fifth of six children. His father was a lieutenant in the First World War, his grandfather was Sir John Austin 1st Baronet Red Hill and a member of the British House of Commons. Immediately after his eighteenth birthday in 1940, he enlisted as a volunteer in the British Armed Forces and initially served in the Royal Berkshire Regiment. At the end of 1942, John Austin volunteered for an Allied commando unit, the Small Scale Raiding Force (also known as No. 62 Commando). A year later, he requested a transfer to the Jedburghs, a top-secret Allied elite unit consisting of approximately 300 soldiers of various nationalities. The Jedburgh unit was established to support the European resistance. In groups of three, the Jedburghs were deployed behind enemy lines in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Upon arrival in occupied territory, the Jedburgh soldiers had to provide the resistance with weapons and military advice.

Sergeant Austin was trained as a Jedburgh radio operator in England and Scotland in the spring of 1944 and became part of Team Dudley. In addition to Austin, this team consisted of Dutch Major Henk Brinkgreve and American Major George Hamdan Olmsted. Sergeant Austin, known within his team as ‘Bunny,’ was responsible for operating the radio transmitter that the team would use to maintain contact with headquarters in England from occupied territory. The Jedburgh team Dudley was parachuted near Wierden on 12-09-1944, as part of Operation Market Garden. The team was tasked by Allied headquarters with mobilizing the resistance in Overijssel, organizing sabotage actions, and maintaining bridges that were important for the Allied advance through Overijssel.

During his mission in occupied Netherlands, Austin operated largely separately from his teammates in order to reduce the risk of the entire team being detected by the Germans. Austin also never transmitted from the same location for long. In mid-November 1944, he had moved to Luttenberg with his radio transmitter. On November 18, the nearby villa Bloemenbos was raided by the Germans. The house where Austin was staying with an assistant was also searched.The Germans found a radio transmitter and several weapons there. Austin and his companion were immediately arrested. After his arrest, Austin was transferred to the detention center in Zwolle, where the Germans were interrogating their “serious cases” at the time. Interrogation reports show that he never revealed his real name while in captivity: he was known only as “Bunny Wyatt.” In early April 1945, the commander of the Zwolle prison received orders to execute a number of prisoners in retaliation for railway sabotage.

Death and burial ground of Austin, John Patrick Standidge “Bunny”.

In the early morning of 04-04-1945, age 22, Austin and five other prisoners were taken to the Geldersedijk and executed there. Thus, just before liberation, the life of this young and remarkable soldier came to a tragic end.

Austin, John Patrick Standidge is buried at War cemetery Hattem, Kerkhofdijk 2, 8051 DE Hattem, (Plot 2, Grave 153). John was then buried as the only Allied soldier in the general cemetery in Hattem, where a memorial plaque stands at his grave.