A local Second World War hero and British Airborne Forces veteran is being remembered for his bravery and service tomorrow in Newmarket.
Longtime Newmarket resident Dennis George Cutting, who served with the 250 Coy RASC AB LT 4th Parachute Brigade, died Dec. 4, 2018, at the age of 95 at Bradford Valley Care Home. A celebration of life is being held at Roadhouse and Rose Funeral Home tomorrow at 10 a.m.
"He was a real local war hero," said Ed Graney, a fellow member of the British Airborne Forces Association (Canada) (BAFA). "He was one of the handful of soldiers who escaped with their lives after being dropped behind enemy lines at the Battle of Arnhem."
In September 1944, the Allies launched the largest airborne operation in history at Arnhem, with more than 35,000 American and British soldiers dropped by parachute and gliders to fight in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Wolfheze and Driel. It was a devastating loss for the Allies, with only 2,400 of the 10,600 Commonwealth soldiers returning. More than 1,500 servicemen were killed, with the remainder captured or wounded.
Following the war, Cutting emigrated with his wife and three young daughters from Suffolk, first to Toronto in 1957 and then to Newmarket in 1960, where he owned and operated Cutting’s Family Butchers on Downtown Main Street and the family lived on Main Street North for many years, said his daughter, Judy Tolchard, now a Bradford resident.
A post on the BAFA Facebook page highlights the paratrooper's harrowing wartime experiences.
With the fighting taking place from house to house, Cutting was blown across the room and knocked unconscious when a German Tiger tank fired directly through the window into the room where he was. When he came to, the German infantry was in the house and he became involved in "literal hand-to-hand fighting".
"He spoke of how different it felt to bayonet another human being. A memory he took through the rest of his life. He spoke of the one German soldier he fought having clear blue eyes."
He was able to escape and avoid capture for two weeks after the defeat, and with the aid of the Dutch underground, he made his way back to Allied lines, Graney said.
"He was indeed one of the legends we who followed could only hope to emulate," says the BAFA Facebook post by David Needham.
"R.I.P. Mate you were and still are a legend in my eyes."
Needham noted Cutting was "one of the Airborne Forces originals" who "was above all else a paratrooper".
Some of Cutting's memories of his wartime paratrooper experiences are included in the BAFA book Paraphernalia, Needham added.
One of the condolences posted on the Roadhouse and Rose page exemplifies the enduring gratitude of the Netherlands people for the Allied soldiers who fought so valiantly to liberate their country:
"Dear Friends, (Field Marshal Sir Bernard) Montgomery used to say: "When a man tells me 'I was at Arnhem', I take my hat off to him". For dear Dennis, we and all the citizens of Arnhem and Oosterbeek take our hats off. He was and always will be a hero. We were very happy to be able to say: "Thank you for what you did during the war". Dennis was also our dear beloved friend and we'll always remember him as a very friendly, kind and humorous person. We're very sad that he has passed away. Wishing the family all the strength and God's blessings as God will bless Dennis. We'll never forget him!" — Family de Vries, Oosterbeek, Netherlands
Cutting was a BAFA (Canada) founder and staunch supporter, and longtime member of the Men's Probus Club of Newmarket.
He was one of BAFA's two surviving Arnhem veterans.
"We're a brotherhood," Graney said of the paratroopers. "We did things that normal people would not do."
Cutting returned to Arnhem twice, in 1984 and in 1995 for the 50th commemoration — for which he parachuted in at the age of 71, his daughter said.
He was 18 when he enlisted, managing to convince his two best friends to join him in signing on as paratroopers. The three young men were known as the Three Graces, Tolchard said.
"Dad was Amazing Grace, one friend was Saving Grace and the other was DisGrace, as he was always managing to get into mischief," she said.
Cutting never knew what happened to his two friends during the war, but he was able to find them when returning to Arnhem in 1984. Their reunion was the subject of a BBC program, she added.
He was the second youngest in a family of 12 children, and the last surviving member, she said. He and his four brothers all went to war, and they all returned home.
Cutting is predeceased by his wife, Greta, who passed away in 2014, and daughter Vicky, and was the father of Penny (Bert) Verwey and Judy (John) Tolchard, grandfather to Danielle, Jason, Nicole, Sarah, Cindy, Justin and Matthew, and great-grandfather of 10.
"Dad will be remembered for his smile, laughter, and as a friend said, “His Mighty Fine Outlook on Life,” his obituary states.
The celebration of life will be held at Roadhouse and Rose Funeral Home, 157 Main St. South, Tuesday, Jan. 8, with visitation from 10 to 11 a.m. and a service at 11 a.m.
