Extract of 4th  Para Sqn War Diary November & December 1944

November  6, 7 & 8  2nd Sea-borne Pty return from Leave
November 13  Newark bridging Pty return
November 14  Sqn route march
November 20  C Troop road making at Newark
November 22  CRE address at Coningsby.  A & B Trp to Hardwick Hall for field firing
November 24  Mjr Moorhead posted to Sqn as CO.  Lecture given by General Gale
November 25  Reinforcements arrive.  Reinforcements to Para Trng at Ringway.  A & B Trp return from Hardwick

December 1 Rotation of  Trps on A/L.  Rafting at Newark
December 12  Mjr AFM Jack takes over as Sqn CO
December 14  Mjr Moorhead leaves unit
December 28  Sqn Xmas dinner held.  Lt Hall leaves Sqn

There are no entries in the Diary for the beginning of November and there are few entries for the rest of the month.

The 2^nd Sea-borne Party had returned having been turned back after landing in France.  On their return they had been sent on leave, they returned from the leave on the 6,7, & 8^th November.

On the 13th the Bridging Party returned from Newark and on the same day twenty-five re-enforcements arrived to join the Squadron.  As the month passed more men arrived and all were sent for parachute training.

There was a Squadron Route March on the 14^th.

On the 24^th Major Moorhead arrived and became the new Squadron Commanding Officer.  General Gale gave a lecture on the same day.

C Troop were road marking on the 20^th

There was an address to all Troops by the CRE on the 22^nd after which A & B Troop travelled to Hardwick Hall for Field Firing returning on the 25^th.

At about this time Driver Fox was finally sent to Hospital for examination after complaining of worsening headaches.  He underwent an operation and the doctors removed from his head two pieces of shrapnel that he had acquired at Oosterbeek.  He had not known that he had been wounded.

By the end of November the Squadron were back on familiar ground and carrying out some of the more mundane tasks of an Engineer unit.  The Diary for December is very sparse with few entries.  There was more watermanship training with rafting at Newark.  The Commanding Officer changed again when Major AFM Jack took over and Major Moorhead left, Lieutenant Hall also left the Squadron.  It must have been a strange mixture of feelings the men had when the Squadron Xmas dinner was held on the 28^th.

At the Battle of Arnhem the 1st Airborne Division had been reduced to fraction of its strength and it was decided to amalgamate the remaining Battalions and sub units.  At the end of December 4 Para Sqn RE was formally amalgamated into 1 Para Sqn RE. It was perhaps fitting that they were combined with a high quality tried and tested unit that they knew.

After much suffering, starvation and deprivation for the Dutch civilians the town of Arnhem was  finally liberated in April by Canadian Troops.