Jacob "Jaap" Staal (8 July 1913, Assen - 1981?) was a Dutch commando during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He fought in

Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into G ...

in 1944. In recognition of his services, Staal was decorated with the Dutch

Bronze Lion The Bronze Lion ( nl, Bronzen Leeuw) is a high Royal Dutch award, intended for servicemen who have shown extreme bravery and leadership in battle favouring The Netherlands; in some special cases it can be awarded to Dutch or foreign civilians. It ...

and the American Medal of Freedom with bronze palm. Following the German occupation of the Netherlands in 1940, Staal left for England, where he joined the British regiment

Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry The Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army founded in 1794 as the Dorsetshire Regiment of Volunteer Yeomanry Cavalry in response to the growing threat of invasion during the Napoleonic wars. It gained its first ro ...

, seconded to the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

(SOE). In 1944 Staal, now a lieutenant, trained for Operation Jedburgh with fellow Dutch officers Arie Bestebreurtje, Henk Brinkgreve and Jacobus Groenewoud. Operation Jedburgh involved allied agents being parachuted behind enemy lines to conduct sabotage and guerrilla actions and organize local resistance groups.Th Peelen & Ab L. J. van Vliet, ''Zwevend naar de dood'', Van Holkema & Warendorf, 1977 (Dutch) During Operation Market Garden, Staal commanded a five-men Jedburgh team codenamed "Edward". Staal, now a captain, was the only Dutch member of his team, the others were British and American. The team landed by

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

near corps headquarters outside Groesbeek on 17 September 1944. Team Edward's task was to organize and support the local resistance, serve as liaison between the Allied airborne troops and the Dutch resistance, gather tactical intelligence and maintain lines of communication between the different Jedburgh teams taking part in Market Garden. As Market Garden progressed, the "Edward" team moved to

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

. Subsequently, Staal and his team (American Captain McCord Sollenberger, British 2nd Lieutenant Len Willmott and American Technical Sergeant John Billingsley) entered Arnhem, where the British 1st Airborne Division was struggling to survive. The team provided communications for the British division and established an outlet for intelligence from Dutch resistance networks, in extremely difficult conditions. When the 1st Airborne Division either surrendered or was evacuated from Arnhem, Staal's team had to arrange their own escape. This was done did in a notable manner by commandeering a German staff car (a

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Vanden Plas which Willmott was able to start without a key). They passed through or forced German checkpoints but were halted by heavy fire from an American patrol. The team returned to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

from

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

on 28 September.Major Robert G. Gutjahr, "The Role of Jedburgh Teams in Operation Market Garden", thesis, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, 1990
/ref> After the end of the war, Staal was promoted to reserve lieutenant colonel of the artillery. In 1947 he emigrated to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staal, Jacob 1913 births 1981 deaths Royal Netherlands Army officers Royal Netherlands Army personnel of World War II British Army personnel of World War II Dorset Regiment soldiers Dutch resistance members Dutch emigrants to South Africa Recipients of the Bronze Lion Recipients of the Medal of Freedom People from Assen