AF18 Crossing of Rhine WWII RAF cover signed Lt Col Eadie DSO Canadian Para Reg For Sale

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AF18 Crossing of Rhine WWII RAF cover signed Lt Col Eadie DSO Canadian Para Reg:
$19.00

Operation Varsity - Crossing of the Rhinecover signed Lieutenant Colonel Fraser DSO CD

JS(AC)96c RAF cover dualnumbered AF18 as part of the Airborne Forces series commemorating Operation Varsity in March1945. The artwork shows the Horsa gliders Operation Varsity, the Crossing of the Rhine in March 1945 showing troops of the Canadian Parachute Corps dropping from Douglas DC-3Dakotas with Dakotas and Gliders in the second wave, below troops are shown in the Ardennes December 1944 and Airbourne troops in Hamminkeln 24 March 1945.

The Germans mounted a counter attack on 16 December 1944 through the Ardennes which caught the US units by surprise and the German units made good progress and took key targets. Field Marhsla Montgomery assumed command of all Allied troops North of the German thrust and by guessing the enemy\'s intentions reacted quickly and although the fighting was intense the Allies suceeded in blunting the advance and then forced the Germans to retreat throughout January and February.The Rhine was the last barrier in the German defences and it was intended to drop airborne troops behind enemy lines to disrupt the enemy forces and capturekey bridges. Having learnthard lessons from Arnhem new procedures were put in place including taking out flak positions and formidable fighter escorts, and although there was a number of losses the operation was a complete success.The cover bears BFPS 2446 postmark showing two crossed swords for the 50th Anniversary of Operation Plunder - The Crossing of the Rhine 24.3.95. The cover was flown over the assembly areas of Operation plunder and over the dropping zones for Operation Varsity in a Cessana 172.

The cover has been signed by Lieutenant Colonel Fraser Eadie DSO CD, who commanded the 1st canadian Parachute Battalion from the day it dropped on Operation Varsity throughout its campaign in Germany. Officlal special, signed and certified on reverse.

Lieutenant-Colonel G. Fraser Eadie DSO

Lieutenant-Colonel Eadie was born in Winnipeg on 20 July 1917. He enlisted as a private in the Queen\'s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada (Reserve) in 1933, with whom he served for two years. He again enlisted in 1939 with The Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Active Service, and was commissioned in 1940.

In 1941 he embarked for the United Kingdom with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. One of his first assignments was Liaison Officer to the Headquarters 7 Canadian Infantry Brigade. On his return to the Rifles he became Adjutant. Promoted to Captain in 1942, he first commanded HQ Company and shortly afterwards took over A Company. On promotion to Major in 1943 he spent one month with 2 Canadian Reinforcement Unit and was then posted to 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, commanding A Company.

Lieutenant-Colonel Eadie first saw action during the Normandy Invasion. Three months later when the Battalion was sent back to England to rebuild, he was appointed second-in-command. He then accompanied the Battalion when it saw action in Belgium and Holland. In 1945 he assumed command of the Battalion the day after it jumped, as part of 6th Airborne Division, on Operation Varsity, the Rhine River Crossing. It was during this operation, when 6 AB Div was under American Command, that he was awarded the American Silver Star for gallantry. Lieutenant-Colonel Eadie commanded the Battalion through-out the Northern Germany campaign until the end of the war and received the Distinguished Service Order.

At the end of the war in Europe, Lieutenant-Colonel Eadie returned to Canada with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion and shortly afterwards it received the order to disband. As its last member he arranged for his own discharge and reverted to Reserve Status, commanding the Winnipeg Light Infantry (Reserve). He retired from Militia service in 1951 and spent 46 years working for the Ford Motor Company of Canada. He was the Honorary President of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion Association and past President and Honorary President of the Canadian Airborne Forces Association. He also held the position of the Canadian Trustee for the 6th British Airborne Division Normandy Trust and an elder of the British Parachute Regiment.

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