A VETERAN of Operation Market Garden has published an exciting account of his time behind enemy lines following the debacle of Arnhem.

Bob Peatling from Wimborne is launching the book in the Netherlands this week to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the battle immortalised in the film A Bridge Too Far.

When Private Peatling became separated from his unit, he hid in the attic of a police station, determined not be taken prisoner.

"When you're a lad of 18 or 19 you have to prove to your father that you're a man and I wasn't going to write to my dad from a prisoner-of-war camp," said Bob, now 80.

The book is based on a diary kept by way of letters to his much-missed bride Joan.

The diary charts his six weeks of near-starvation in the attic, living off raw onions, rainwater and water stolen from the lavatory cistern at night, and his rescue by Dutch underground workers.

He spent three months in the town with the group, posing as a Dutchman.

"Surely a miracle happened that I am still free in a German-occupied town," he writes.

"I now live like a lord, being waited on hand and foot. All I do is eat good wholesome food and have plenty of sleep."

But he frets about his loved ones and is impatient for action.

"If Monty doesn't hurry up I won't be home by Christmas."

And what a strange Christmas it was - celebrated with a little Jewish girl as a guest and black market beef on the menu.

But there is no doubt that he and everyone else is dicing with death.

He relishes his nationality as he closes the shutters at night, watching "Jerry" marching by, singing patriotic songs to the Fatherland, and at one point he nonchalantly cycles round a German soldier who steps into his path.

The young soldier left Arnhem in a hurry after the authorities cottoned on and spent time among farmers who risked their lives to help allied servicemen and Jews on the run.

More than anything, the book is a tribute to the gutsy Dutch who resisted occupation so creatively.

One woman cycled 300 miles into Germany, waited outside the factory where her son was a slave labourer and calmly cycled home with him on the back.

Private Peatling made it home, was promoted and mentioned in despatches but he has never forgotten his beloved Dutch friends.

Some were tortured, some died in concentration camps, some survived.

His enduring gratitude is expressed in frequent visits and regular Sunday morning phone calls from Wimborne.

In turn, he is feted at Arnhem and an organisation researching the Dutch resistance has been called The Peatling Foundation.

No Surrender at Arnhem is available from bookshops at £16.95 or directly (and post free) from R Peatling at 36 Park Lane Wimborne BH21 1LD.

First published: September 14