Biography

John Archer commanded the Pioneer Platoon of the 1st Royal Ulster Rifles in the Ardennes.   He was mortally wounded on 24th March 1945 on Operation Varsity, the successful airborne operation to cross the Rhine.

Today John lies in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery near Kleve, Germany.

This cemetery was created after the War when smaller cemeteries were cleared from all over western Germany. It is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the country. Some of those members of the land forces buried there died in the advance through Reichswald Forest in February 1945. It is likely that Lieutenant Archer died crossing the Rhine, a member of the airborne forces whose bodies were brought from Hamminkeln, where landings were made by the 6th Airborne Division from bases in England.