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1786196 Private William Henry Ballard

Picture of Soldier of 11th Parachute Battalion
Source; National Archives. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0

Born: 16 Jun 1920

Company: B
Platoon: 5
Parachute Course: 106

Prisoner of War record »

1786196 Private William Henry Ballard was born on 16 June 1920.

He was on parachute course 106 at R.A.F. Ringway from 01 to 16 March 1944. His Parachute Instructors comments: ‘Seemed nervous at first, but gained confidence and finished well’. William was assigned to 5 Platoon of B Company.

On 20th September 1944, during the Battle of Arnhem on September 20, 1944, he was taken prisoner of war.
His POW number was 117593.

Read William Ballard's story here


Thanks to R.P. “Bob” Hilton; Diana Andrews; Allan Brown; Andrew Blacklock; Jon Baker; John Howes; Graham Francis; Bob Gerritsen; Darren Wielink; Maarten Lenssen; Judith Minkman; Philip Reinders; Hans den Brok; many 11th Battalion veterans; family, next of kin and friends; staff of the Airborne Museum Hartenstein Oosterbeek; Airborne Assault Museum Duxford; and Gerrit Pijpers OBE without whom this website would not have been possible.