AFTER almost two years of some of the most intense physical training ever devised, paratrooper Kenneth Bettany was all kitted out and ready to fight. Then he was told the war was over.

He had spent his time in the army, honing his physical condition so that he could proudly take his place in the elite Paratroop Regiment.

And although he was disappointed not to have a chance to win glory fighting for his country in the Second World War, he did travel to Norway and help restore the country to normality. He then stayed in the army for 22 years, rising to the rank of captain.

Captain Bettany, now aged 82, was just 17 when he first tried to volunteer for the services, originally signing up for the RAF.

“I went home and told my mother, and she marched straight up to the recruitment office and told them I was under-age, so that was the end of that,” he said.

But in 1943, he was allowed to sign up for a seven-year stretch in the army. He began basic training, stationed in Belfast.

The failure of Operation Market Garden – General Bernard Montgomery’s daring plan to end the war by Christmas, 1944, by opening the pathway into Nazi Germany – meant the army needed replacement paratroopers.

Captain Bettany, of Dresden, said: “In September (1944) the Battle of Arnhem took place. It was a drastic battle and they lost a lot of paratroopers. It was the 1st Airborne Division that was in the action.

“They lost so many they sent a call out throughout the army asking for volunteers to replace the paratroopers, so I was one of those.

“Eventually I was posted to Hardwick Hall, near Chesterfield, to do the pre-parachute training, which was very physical.

“It was one of the worst times of my life I think, doing that physical training, and I was only 19 at the time.

“We always had to see a psychiatrist. We called him a trick cyclist, because he had to ask various questions and from that he would be able to tell if we could be able to be a paratrooper or if we would be able to jump out of an aeroplane. And there were quite a few chaps who were returned to their units because they weren’t.

“Anyway, when we passed out, we marched from Chesterfield to Ringway, where Manchester Airport is now. Then we started to do the ground training in preparation for the parachute jumps.

“It was jumping out of dummy aircrafts and coming down in the hangar on a fan, which controlled your descent down to the floor.

“I did my first parachute jump from a hot air balloon over Tatton Park, from about 600ft. Then we jumped from Whitley Bombers, going through the bomb hatch. Then, finally, we went out in Dacota Bombers, which were a marvellous plane.

“It was a very proud moment when I got my paratrooper wings – I’ve been proud ever since.

“After that we were sent to Lincolnshire, where we did three months of battle exercises, preparing for the liberation of Norway.

“The U.S. Airforce had a base near to where we were and we were all prepared to go to fight in Norway. We were all armed to the teeth – we even had our parachutes on, about to board the plane. Then we were told the war was over. I was devastated, my visions of glory fading away. It was a bit of an anti-climax.

“We went to Norway, the American Airforce took us in. The Germans had fled the country anyway, so we just tried to help get the country back to normal. There were cars, weapons and equipment all over the place.

“The Norwegian people were marvellous; we had a wonderful reception. I was a dispatch rider and I remember riding to Oslo and being cheered along the way. Then I got a flat tyre and they were all trying to help and people were putting babies in my arms and taking pictures.

“One time I fell off my bike and was the first British soldier to go to hospital in Norway. They were very nice to me and even managed to get me white bread instead of black.

“We were given a citation from the king of Norway, thanking us for taking part in the liberation of his country.”

As his seven-year term in the army came to an end, the Korean war was breaking out, so Captain Bettany signed up for another seven years, eventually serving until 1969.

He also qualified as an elite commando at the age of 35, so is entitled to wear the green beret, as well as the paratroopers’ red one.

When he eventually left the army, he got a job as a bank cashier in Hanley. He missed the excitement of army life.

Captain Bettany, a father-of-six, grandfather to 13 and great-grandfather-of-three, is now secretary of the North Staffordshire branch of the Parachute Regiment And Airborne Forces Old Comrades Association.