The Parachuting Parson

George Edward Maule Parry was Curate to the Parish of St John the Baptist Leytonstone from June 1938 to June 1940. In February 1941 he joined the Royal Army Chaplains Department and became a Chaplain to the Forces. After serving in West Africa for nearly two years he returned to England and was assigned to the recently created 7th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment. He parachuted into France on D-Day and was killed in Benouville in the action to secure and hold the Pegasus and Horsa bridges. This is his story.