Airborne Assault Museum

The Battle of Arnhem Display

The museum's centrepiece display tells the story of Operation Market Garden in September 1944, when British airborne troops attempted to capture the bridge at Arnhem in the Netherlands.

The display brings to life the nine days of brutal fighting endured by the 1st Airborne Division, who were dropped too far from their objective and faced unexpectedly strong German armoured opposition. Original equipment carried by soldiers at Arnhem, including weapons, radios, medical kits, and personal items, creates a tangible connection to the battle.

Personal accounts from veterans describe the chaotic fighting, dwindling ammunition supplies, and the agonising decision to withdraw. The display includes the famous account of Colonel John Frost's defence of Arnhem Bridge, where a small force held one end of the bridge for four days against overwhelming odds.

Of the 10,000 men who flew into Arnhem, fewer than 2,500 returned.

This display treats the battle with appropriate gravity.

Victoria Cross Collection

The museum displays an exceptional collection of gallantry awards including several Victoria Crosses, the highest British military decoration awarded for extraordinary valour in the face of the enemy.

Each medal is accompanied by the citation describing the action that earned it and, where possible, personal items belonging to the recipient. The stories behind these awards represent some of the most remarkable acts of courage in British military history, from the Second World War through to more recent conflicts.

The collection includes the VC awarded to Major Robert Henry Cain for his actions at Arnhem, where he single-handedly destroyed six enemy tanks and self-propelled guns over nine days of fighting, despite being wounded. Other gallantry medals, Distinguished Service Orders, Military Crosses, and campaign medals chart the regiment's involvement in conflicts across eight decades.

The medal displays provide a solemn and moving experience, connecting visitors to the human stories behind the decorations.

D-Day and Pegasus Bridge

A detailed display covers the airborne operations of 6 June 1944, when British parachute and glider forces secured crucial objectives ahead of the main seaborne landings. The capture of Pegasus Bridge over the Caen Canal by Major John Howard's glider-borne force is presented through maps, photographs, personal accounts, and original equipment.

The assault, carried out in the early hours of D-Day with extraordinary precision, saw three Horsa gliders land within metres of the bridge in darkness, achieving complete surprise.

The bridge was captured within 10 minutes of landing, a feat that has been described as the most outstanding single achievement of D-Day. Additional displays cover the wider airborne operations, including the actions of the 6th Airborne Division in securing the eastern flank of the Normandy beachhead.

Personal stories of soldiers who jumped into Normandy that night, many for the first time in combat, provide deeply human perspectives on one of history's most consequential military operations.

Formation and Early Raids

The museum traces the origins of British airborne forces from Churchill's June 1940 directive to establish a parachute force, through the early experimental training at Ringway (now Manchester Airport) where volunteers learned to jump from converted Whitley bombers, to the first combat operations.

Early raids are covered in detail, including the daring 1942 Bruneval Raid in which paratroopers captured vital components of a German Wurzburg radar station from a clifftop position in Normandy, an operation that provided crucial intelligence for the Allied war effort. The display explains how Britain built airborne capability from nothing, overcoming chronic shortages of aircraft, equipment, and trained personnel.

Original training equipment, early parachute designs, and the distinctive maroon beret and Pegasus cap badge adopted by airborne forces illustrate the development of a new military tradition. The early volunteers, drawn from across the Army, were motivated by a spirit of adventure and a desire to take the fight directly to the enemy at a time when Britain's military position was desperate.