Captain John Hollington Grayburn VC (30 January 1918 – 20 September 1944) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Born in 1918, Grayburn was educated at Sherborne School in Dorset and joined the Army Cadet Force before the outbreak of the Second World War. He was initially commissioned into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and later joined the Parachute Regiment. At the age of 26 he went into action in the Battle of Arnhem where he was part of the small force that was able to reach Arnhem road bridge. Between 17 and 20 September he led his platoon, and later the remnants of a battalion, in the defence of the small British perimeter around the bridge, but was killed after standing up in full view of a German tank in order to direct his men to new positions. Grayburn is buried in the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, and his Victoria Cross is displayed at the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum in England. Early life John Grayburn was born on 30 January 1918 on Manora Island, India, the son of Lionel Markham and Gertrude Grayburn. The family returned to England whilst he was young. From 1931 to 1935 he attended Sherborne School in Dorset where he was a member of Abbey House. After leaving Sherborne School he joined the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Grayburn played rugby for the Chiltern Rugby Club between 1927 and 1939 and was a skilled boxer. Grayburn joined the Army Cadet Force and was posted to the 1st (London) Cadet Force, The Queen's Royal Regiment. In September 1940 he was given an emergency commission to second lieutenant and was posted to the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Second World War Grayburn was promoted to war substantive lieutenant in 1942 and married Marcelle Chambers, with whom he had a son, in the same year. However, the Ox and Bucks remained on the home front and Grayburn became bored with the inactivity. Instead he applied to the Parachute Regiment and in June 1943 he was transferred to the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion. The following year he was transferred to the regiment's 2nd Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Frost, and took command of 2 Platoon, A Company.