Reg Curtis fought through France and Belgium to Dunkirk as a Grenadier Guardsman before volunteering in 1940 to join No 2 Commando and become one of Britain’s first paratroopers.

He took part in experimental parachute training as a member of the 11th SAS Battalion, later to become the 1st Parachute Battalion, the founding battalion of The Parachute Regiment.

In 1942/3 he fought with 1st Para as part of the 1st Parachute Brigade in Tunisia, where they earned the name ‘Red Devils’ from the enemy. He was part of the group that held the Primosole Bridge in Sicily in 1943. He was badly wounded trying to reach the Arnhem Bridge during the Battle of Arnhem in 1944 and after the battle had his right leg amputated.

Light your candle

Reg Curtis was one of the few members of the original 1st Parachute Battalion to survive the war and when he passed away in 2016 was the last man standing from the small group who remained close-knit for the rest of their lives and called themselves No. 2 Commando, 11th SAS, 1st Parachute Battalion.

He also wrote three books about his wartime experiences – Churchill’s Volunteer, Tafelberg and, most recently, The Memory Endures.

He said: “I took part in the Parachute Regiment’s most remembered battle at Arnhem in September 1944 and share deeply in our bond with the good people of that city.

“This is an unbreakable bond that grows ever stronger and now truly spans generations. I must have returned to Arnhem 30 times since 1944 and I doubt there is any place on earth where friendship is more profound.