Description
Object description
Ts transcription (802pp), with an introduction and postscript, of the diaries which he kept almost daily from February 1941 to May 1945 and covering his decision to enlist (May 1940) and his basic training as a sapper with No 2 RE Training Battalion at Newark (June - August 1940); his service as an office clerk with No 5 Well-Boring Section RE in Berkshire (September 1940 - January 1941), on passage to the Middle East (February - April 1941) and in camps near Cairo (April - June 1941); in the same capacity with No 1 Well-Boring Section RE (8th Army) in the Western Desert (July 1941 - June 1942) when he came under fire for the first time, and in the Lebanon under 9th Army (October 1942 - March 1943); his training as a medium grade cipher operator (April 1943) and employment in that function with 3 Corps Signals in Syria and at HQ Palestine Command (May - August 1943) and then with 8th Indian Division HQ (8th Army) during the advance north from Taranto up the east coast of Italy across the River Sangro to Orsogna (September 1943 - March 1944); with 19th Indian Infantry Brigade (8th Indian Division) during the further fighting in Italy on the Gustav Line (May 1944) and the Gothic Line (September 1944); his training as a high grade cipher operator (October 1944) and subsequent employment at Allied Forces HQ in Caserta, Italy (November - December 1944), at military Command, Athens under Lieutenant General Sir Ronald Scobie (January - April 1945) and with 23 Armoured Brigade at Loukhari, Greece (April - May 1945); his return to the United Kingdom in June 1945 and, after postings at Harrogate and Dunstable, his demobilisation in January 1946 suffering from a form of nervous depression. The diary is a well-written and often eloquent and perceptive record which charts his reactions, as a man in his late 20s, to Army life and the war and is revealing not only about the relationships between and among officers and men and the troops' feelings about Army discipline, political issues and those with and against whom they fought, but also as a barometer of Britain's shifting fortunes during the war. The passages on operations in Italy and the atmosphere in Greece during the civil war are especially vivid, and the lighter side of Army life is also well illustrated by several amusing stories.
Content description
Ts transcription (802pp), with an introduction and postscript, of the diaries which he kept almost daily from February 1941 to May 1945 and covering his decision to enlist (May 1940) and his basic training as a sapper with No 2 RE Training Battalion at Newark (June - August 1940); his service as an office clerk with No 5 Well-Boring Section RE in Berkshire (September 1940 - January 1941), on passage to the Middle East (February - April 1941) and in camps near Cairo (April - June 1941); in the same capacity with No 1 Well-Boring Section RE (8th Army) in the Western Desert (July 1941 - June 1942) when he came under fire for the first time, and in the Lebanon under 9th Army (October 1942 - March 1943); his training as a medium grade cipher operator (April 1943) and employment in that function with 3 Corps Signals in Syria and at HQ Palestine Command (May - August 1943) and then with 8th Indian Division HQ (8th Army) during the advance north from Taranto up the east coast of Italy across the River Sangro to Orsogna (September 1943 - March 1944); with 19th Indian Infantry Brigade (8th Indian Division) during the further fighting in Italy on the Gustav Line (May 1944) and the Gothic Line (September 1944); his training as a high grade cipher operator (October 1944) and subsequent employment at Allied Forces HQ in Caserta, Italy (November - December 1944), at military Command, Athens under Lieutenant General Sir Ronald Scobie (January - April 1945) and with 23 Armoured Brigade at Loukhari, Greece (April - May 1945); his return to the United Kingdom in June 1945 and, after postings at Harrogate and Dunstable, his demobilisation in January 1946 suffering from a form of nervous depression. The diary is a well-written and often eloquent and perceptive record which charts his reactions, as a man in his late 20s, to Army life and the war and is revealing not only about the relationships between and among officers and men and the troops' feelings about Army discipline, political issues and those with and against whom they fought, but also as a barometer of Britain's shifting fortunes during the war. The passages on operations in Italy and the atmosphere in Greece during the civil war are especially vivid, and the lighter side of Army life is also well illustrated by several amusing stories.
History note
Cataloguer RWAS
History note
Catalogue date 1980-02-18