PARA Veteran Reg Curtis donates over £10k to us
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Before he died in January 2016 Reg Curtis pledged income from his book The Memory Endures to Support Our Paras and this month his donation has passed the incredible total of £10,000. We are deeply grateful to our veteran Reg for this fantastic support.
Last year we set up a dedicated fund in Reg’s name, and with further public gifts, the Reg Curtis Fund to Support Our Paras now stands at almost £24,000. We thank Reg’s family for helping to launch the Fund and all who have kindly contributed. Details are on our page at https://justgiving.com/campaign/RegCurtis
Reg Curtis fought through France and Belgium to Dunkirk as a Grenadier Guardsman before volunteering for commando and parachute training in 1940, becoming one of Britain’s first paratroopers in the 11th Special Air Service Battalion, later renamed the 1st Parachute Battalion. He fought with 1st Para in Tunisia, Sicily, and The Netherlands, where he was badly wounded during the Battle of Arnhem in 1944. After the battle he was taken prisoner and had his right leg amputated. He was sent to Stalag XIB in Saxony, eventually returning home to England in April 1945.
Reg’s nephew Geoffrey Holland says Reg first asked him to help publish The Memory Endures during a visit to his home, Pilots Cottage, on a farm near Canterbury in rural Kent.
“Reg’s eyesight was failing in his last years, and he enjoyed sitting in my garden at Pilots Cottage surrounded by the sounds of the countryside. We started Pilots Publishing here, not as a commercial venture but to send all the profits to Support Our Paras. Reg wanted to support soldiers injured as he was at Arnhem and helping him has been a real pleasure. We’ve sent his book all over the world and sold more than 2,000 copies now. Each one has been packed in Pilots Cottage and mailed from the local post office. We’ll keep it going for as long as people want to read Reg’s remarkable story.”
The Memory Endures by Reg Curtis, the story of a Grenadier Guardsman and pioneer of The Parachute Regiment 1937-1945, is still available at £12.95 +p&p direct from Pilots Publishing. Just visit https://pilotspublishing.co.uk/the-memory-endures and get in quick for Christmas!
