Prince's approval for Shropshire-built replica Horsa

And it gained the royal seal of approval when Prince Charles joined a 94-year-old glider pilot veteran of the operation in the cockpit.

The wooden troop-carrying glider built by volunteers in Shropshire has been taking centre stage in commemorations marking the epic airborne assault of September 1944.

Codenamed Operation Market Garden, it involved hundreds of Horsa gliders, but was a tragic and costly failure.

The full-sized non-flying replica was built over a number of years at RAF Shawbury by the Assault Glider Trust as a tribute and memorial to the exploits of the airborne forces.

However, after completion it failed to find a permanent home in Britain, and in June was transported to The Netherlands in a link-up with a Dutch enthusiast, Richard Westmaas, to tie in with the 75th anniversary events there.

It has been on display – albeit without its wings – outside the Airborne Museum Hartenstein near Arnhem where Prince Charles, who is Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps, took the opportunity to sit at the controls beside veteran Frank Ashleigh of London, and chat for several minutes.

Frank had flown a Horsa into action on the second day of the battle, but he and his comrades became isolated and took up position in a church tower. They held out for four days before running low on ammunition and being overwhelmed and taken prisoner.

He said the replica glider was “perfect,” recalling that the plane had been “beautiful” and “very docile” to fly.

Among those at the events was Martin Locke, a retired Squadron Leader from Shropshire.

"I was representing the Assault Glider Trust for the weekend at Oosterbeek where 'our' Horsa glider is on display in a large tent opposite the Hartenstein Hotel," said Martin.

"It's been a huge success ever since the 75th anniversary commemorations of Operation Market Garden began earlier this month.

"There have been thousands of visitors coming to see the Horsa and Richard Westmaas has been on duty pretty well every day and all day and he can't quite believe how successful all his efforts have been.

"The locals have been bowled over to see the full-size aircraft on display and for many it has been an emotional experience, especially for those whose fathers or grandfathers were there 75 years ago.

"Several visitors from the UK had fathers or uncles who either flew Horsas or were in the back of one. The veteran with the Prince was ex-Horsa pilot Frank Ashleigh who had been to RAF Shawbury several times while we were building our replica.

"I felt so proud to represent the AGT for this special anniversary which has taken over the whole area, with airborne forces, including lots from the UK, pretty well in every street and every train station – all behaving themselves of course – and Market Garden fever has taken over in Arnhem and other suburbs where parachutists and gliders landed.

"I watched a mass parachute drop at Ginkel Heath, at Ede, on Saturday morning and couldn't believe the thousands of spectators there, with as many bicycles, and they were still pouring in when I left at around midday to get to the Horsa at Oosterbeek. It was chaos at the local train station!

"I hugely enjoyed speaking to many visitors who came to see the Horsa and was careful to explain that it was made in Shropshire. Some asked whether it had flown across!

"Full credit must go to Richard and his dedicated team of volunteers who reassembled the aircraft with the help and guidance of our AGT chairman, Steve Davies, and three others from the AGT, and of course the Royal Dutch Air Force who arranged transportation from RAF Cosford to Holland.

"Everyone wanted to know where the glider was going next and were delighted to hear that the military museum at Overloon has made room to display the Horsa permanently."

The Horsa had been built by the Assault Glider Trust at RAF Shawbury in a 13-year project which began in 2001. It had been hoped that it could be put on public display in Britain, but this did not work out and the completed glider was moved to a hangar at RAF Cosford for safekeeping.

Richard Westmass had toyed with the idea of building a Horsa glider for the 75th anniversary commemorations of Operation Market Garden before discovering that there was already the Shropshire-built Horsa glider available "off the shelf."

It began its journey to Holland from RAF Cosford on a low loader in June, amid mixed feelings from watching trust members, sad that it was not being displayed in Britain, but pleased that its future had been secured.

Several Shropshire airfields were centres for wartime Horsa glider training, and RAF Cosford itself played its part in the story, as many Horsas were assembled there.