Rail worker Tom's wartime leap into danger
As war clouds gathered, railway worker Tom Hicks, who was barely out of his teens, answered his country's call to arms.
But finding he was now a military railway worker, he felt he was missing out on adventure and travel.
And he was to get both in full measure when he switched to the parachute engineers, becoming an airborne warrior who was to survive some of the closest of shaves and live to tell the tale.
His story has been told in the book "Captured At Arnhem" written by his son Norman Hicks, from Kinver. Originally published in Tom's lifetime, it has now been reprinted in a different format following his death in 2021 at the age of 101.
"The story follows Tom's selection for parachute training, beginning with the rough and tumble of the airborne forces depot, followed by more rigorous pursuits as his training as a parachute soldier began in earnest.
"His war service is told as it was, simply and with humour and endurance that he maintained when the real soldiering began in North Africa, through the invasion of Sicily, the Battle of Arnhem and seven months as a prisoner of war in Germany, most of which was spent working underground in a lead mine," said Norman.
The book draws on Tom's wartime recollections, and a wartime diary written by him during his time as a prisoner of war. He was wounded at Arnhem by shrapnel in the neck which left him unable to walk and was subsequently captured. Tom was to recover, but his war was over.
"Throughout these recollections humour is always to the fore, but there is also fortitude and pride. What cannot be doubted is that my father mostly enjoyed his railway and military life," said Norman.
After the war Tom returned to his peacetime railways job, working as an engine driver, finishing his career at Healey Mills, near Ossett, in West Yorkshire. But following retirement he was to take up parachuting again, and became a founder member of a parachute team comprising Arnhem veterans who made annual commemorative jumps. He made his last parachute jump in September 2007 at the age of 88.
"Captured At Arnhem" is published by Pen & Sword and costs £14.99.
