A bronze plaque commemorating the Battle of Arnhem at the city’s John Frost bridge has gone missing, just one week ahead of the 4 May remembrance ceremonies honouring the dead of World War II.

The disappearance was discovered by Joris Nieuwent who was conducting a tour of the sites of Operation Market Garden on Friday. The theft, he told Dutch News, was “truly horrible”.

Arnhem official Bob Roelofs said the plaque had been “ripped out” intentionally and has reported the incident to police.

“This is a total disgrace,” Roelofs told the Gelderlander local paper. “The people who did this have no idea what this monument means. It’s the most sacred place in Arnhem where the memory of World War II is at its most intense.”

The plaque describes the history of the bridge in Dutch and English. It was named after British lieutenant-colonel John Frost, who fought for four days to try to hold the bridge under heavy German fire during Operation Market Garden in 1944.

The “bridge too far” has a central place in the annual commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem in September.

In April this year,  Bill Larder, one of the last remaining veterans of the battle, died at age 100.