FLOWERS have been laid at the grave of a Musselburgh soldier to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem, which was fought during the Second World War as part of Operation Market Garden.

Maggie Tervit, who is originally from Wallyford, is ensuring that war heroes from the Honest Toun and Wallyford are remembered by paying her respects on behalf of the local community at their graves and memorials in the Netherlands, where she now lives.

She recently visited East Lothian to meet with Trooper William Edmond’s direct descendants: his niece and nephew, Irene Thomson (née Anderson), 81, from Port Seton, and her brother Ian Anderson, 74, of Tranent.

Also Trooper Edmond’s nephew is William Anderson, 71, Irene and Ian’s younger brother, who lives in Prestonpans.

Trooper Edmond was a trained parachutist and, in 1944, a member of the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron of the Reconnaissance Corps.

His unit had been detailed to take part in Operation Market Garden – a plan to seize and hold bridges over the major waterways in the Netherlands and then enter Germany.

The operation would later be brought to the big screen in the epic war film A Bridge Too Far, directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliott Gould, Anthony Hopkins and Gene Hackman.

On the afternoon of September 17, 1944, the jeeps with which the squadron was equipped came by glider, with the majority of the men parachuting in.

The squadron moved along the Johannahoeveweg road in Wolfheze, which runs to the north of the Arnhem-Utrecht railway.

Lying in wait for them were the SS-Panzergrenadier-Ausbildungs und Ersatz-Bataillon 16. They ambushed the squadron about 800 yards from the village of Wolfheze.

Wounded, 27-year-old Trooper Edmond was taken to the Main Dressing Station of 181st Airlanding Field Ambulance RAMC, which had set up at a house in Wolfheze.

Sadly, he died there that day and was buried in the back garden.

After the war, his body, together with others of the squadron who had died in the ambush, was exhumed and buried in the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery.

It was here in 1945 that Willemien Rieken was one of a number of local children who, during a service on the Sunday closest to September 17, laid flowers on every grave in the cemetery.

This service and flower-laying has happened every year since then.

Willemien was given Trooper Edmond’s grave to maintain and looked after it for 75 years. She died at the age of 85 in 2020.

Irene, whose mum Jean was Trooper Edmond’s sister, was one when her uncle died. She recalled seeing a photo of Willemien as a young girl at his grave in a collection of family photos.

By sheer chance, she later saw Willemien’s photo on the TV news when she passed away – one of the last two known Flower Children from 1945 who laid flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers.

“To think she was living all these years and I could have been in touch with her,” said Irene.

Irene also has two treasured letters written by Trooper Edmond to his parents, William and Joanne, including the last before his death.

They lived on Hercus Loan at the time and also had another daughter, May.

“My gran and grandad really and truly never got over it,” said Irene, whose mum Jean visited her brother’s grave, as did their mum Joanne.

Maggie laid flowers at Trooper Edmond’s grave on behalf of his family at the 80th anniversary commemoration on Sunday, September 22, and also at the grave of Willemien Rieken at Oosterbeek, near Arnhem.

She has now made contact with Willemien’s son, Jop van der Geer, whom Irene hopes to meet in the future.

Maggie laid the flowers after a ceremony attended by the Princess Royal at the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery.