5345308 Corporal Arthur MAYBURY, Intelligence Corps
Arthur Maybury was born on 14 March 1914 at Jhansi, Central India, the son of Arthur and Edith Maybury.
He enlisted in the Royal Berkshire Regiment on 20 June 1940 and gave his civilian occupation as journalist. Although his service records give no details of his education, they record that he spoke French, German and Italian. On 6 August, after training at the Infantry Training Centre, he was appointed lance corporal.
On 8 November 1941 he was posted to the 2nd Parachute Battalion at Hardwick Hall Camp near Chesterfield and sent for parachute training at Tatten Park near Manchester.
On 23 December, while making his sixth training jump, his parachute was caught in a stiff breeze and started to oscillate; despite an attempt to correct the problem he landed sideways and fractured his left leg. The accident resulted in his hospitalisation until 14 February 1942 and on discharge he was posted back to 2nd Para and promoted to corporal on 24 March.
In August he attended and passed an interrogation course and was recommended for further training.
On 27 September 1942 he was transferred to the Royal Signals as a Cipher Operator and posted to HQ 1st Parachute Brigade, which had only been formed that month and consisted of 1st, 2nd and 3rd Parachute Battalions. The brigade embarked for French North Africa (Operation Torch) on 30 October, landed with 1st Army near Algiers and fought through the Tunisian campaign. In August 1943 he was posted to 1st Airborne Divisional Signals and remained with them until he was posted back to UK, in December 1943. On arrival he returned to Tatten Park to complete his parachutist training and qualified on 12 December.
On 18 May 1944 Corporal (Cpl) Maybury transferred to the Intelligence Corps and was posted to 89 (Para) Field Security Section, attached to 1st Airborne Division. The section was initially based at a public house in the village of Harlaxton, near Grantham, but later moved to Wellingore. They were split into three sub-sections, one each for the Headquarters of 1 Para Bde, 4 Para Bde and 1st Airlanding Bde. In the run up to D-Day the section were involved in military security for the division and preparations for the expected invasion of Europe. Although they took no part in Operation Overlord they were warned for several airborne operations, all of which were subsequently cancelled.
Cpl Maybury dropped into Arnhem with the 1 Para Brigade sub-section, commanded by the Field Security Officer, Captain John Killick, which entered the town with Lieutenant Colonel Frost's 2 Bn Parachute Regiment on 17 September. On the approach to the bridge, Maybury was running across a square when he was mortally wounded in the stomach and separated from the remainder of the sub-section. He was taken with other wounded men to the nearby Huishoudschool, a small private school, and treated by a Dutch civilian doctor, Dr. Jan Zwolle, but died of his wound that night. Unaware of Maybury's fate, Captain Killick led a patrol of six men from No 6 Platoon, B Company back to the area where he had become separated but failed to find any trace of him.
Before Maybury died Dr Zwolle had searched him and found a 'Black List' of members of the Dutch Nazi Party living in the Arnhem area; such lists were provided to FS Sections to enable them to round up known or suspected enemy sympathisers for arrest and interrogation. Dr. Zwolle was later arrested by a German patrol and the list discovered; he was summarily executed along with four other Dutch civilians.
Cpl Maybury was initially buried in the back garden of the Huishoudschool but was eventually re-interred at Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, Netherlands (Plot 25. Row A. Grave 4). Age 30.