Stevens, Raymond Harold.

Stevens, Raymond Harold, born 07-11-1917 was the son of Captain Arthur Stevens M.C. , and Clara Stevens, of Kingston Hill, Surrey. His brothre Captain Edwin Mackenzie Stevens R.A. born 17-09-1919 also died in WW2 on 05-09-1944, age 25  Raymond was educated at Stowe and Trinity College Cambridge. Raymond joined the Territorials (Artists Rifles) after the Munich Crisis in 1939, joining the Honorable Artillery Company, Finsbury Pavement and passing the Officers Cadet Training Unit at Aldershot before being posted to 225 Brigade. He fought in the rear from the Albert Canal to Dunkirk in May 1940, defending the northern flank until the final evacuation. The Brigade was reformed in Ireland and he then went to Egypt with the 4th Royal Horse Artillery and after being wounded was sent to Baragwanath Hospital in South Africa. On his return to England he reported for active duty and volunteered for the airborne troops. His brother, Edwin Mackenzie Stevens, was killed in action on 05-09-1944 while serving in the Honorable Artillery Company, Royal Artillery. under command of Colonel Hugh William Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue, Raymond’s brother-in-law, Major John M Simonds, also died in Arnhem.

Death and burial ground Stevens, Raymond Harold.

Captain Stevens was a member of the 1st Forward Observer Unit (Airborne), Royal Artillery, As Airborne Forces during the War of 1939-1945 grew from raiding parties to battalions, to brigades, and to divisions, the problem of adequate artillery support became acute. An Airborne Division then had two parachute brigades and one airlanding brigade; nothing larger than a weapon container could be dropped by parachute; gunner units, apart from O.P. parties, had to be carried by gliders, and there was never enough air transport. Apart from anti-tank units, the ration of field artillery was one Airlanding Light Regiment per division, or one battery of eight 75mm howitzers per brigade. An answer was first found to this lack of fire support upon the lines of the F.O.B. parties who observed the fire of naval guns. Volunteer O.P. parties were obtained from Field and Medium Regiments in 21 Army Group likely to be in support, and these were taught to parachute, and were then attached to the Airlanding Light Regiments in 1st Airborne  and 6th Airborne Divisions.

Raymond successfully completed his paratrooper training at RAF Ringway on course number 111 from 10 to 17 April 1944 and was attached to HQ 156 Battalion,   The Parachute Regiment, and took participated in Operation Market Garden (Arnhem). Casualties had continued to mount including the commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel Richard des Voeux

on 20-09-1944 (age 32) and the second in command who were both killed on 20-09-1944. The battalion was now under command of Major Geoffrey Stewart Powell. The German tactics were to bombard the British positions with tank and mortar fire. The remnants of the battalion were withdrawn into the perimeter formed by the division around Oosterbeek. By 21 September pressure from the German attacks had squeezed the perimeter to less than 1,000 yards (910 m) across

Captain Raymond Stevens died in battle in the Valkenburg family home, De La Reyweg 13, Oosterbeek, and was buried by the Dutch Red Cross on 02-10-1944 on the grounds of the Hemeldal Sanatorium, near the Oranjeweg. (Roll of Honor, 5th Revised Edition, 2011). Raymond was reburied on  13-08-1945 at the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery.

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