208849 Thomas Murphy British Army 1st Airbourne Paratroopers I recently came into contact with my grandfather's (Thomas Murphy) family 12 years after I last saw him. His brother's ex-wife sent me copies of documents (3 newspaper articles, one telegram and a letter notifying his parents that he was in fact alive and not dead as they had previously been told) and photographs regarding Thomas' story. From the information I have here, Thomas was one of the 1st Airbourne Paratroopers that were dropped in Arnhem and made it to the bridge. His story is quite spectacular. After the British surrender at Arnhem, Thomas was placed into a POW camp. A week later he escaped, plead deaf and dumb and was also wounded in the head, he found his way to Amerongen after spending ten days in a chicken coop surrounded by Nazis. This is where he knocked on the door of a Dutch family. Not knowing each other, they took Thomas in, fed him, clothed him, treated his wounds and cared for him for four months. Thomas, now fit and healthier, set out for the British lines on the other side of the Rhine. Thomas was recaptured after swimming in the Rhine and spent the rest of his time in Stalag XI B. He was set free in April 1945 and set out for his sisters home in Edinburgh, this is where he met up with the rest of his family after 1 year of believing their son was dead.
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