Description
Object description
Microfilm of his ms diaries, March 1940 - May 1946, recording his service with the Royal Artillery in the ranks and then as an officer, having pulled strings at the War Office get out of the Army Pay Corps to which he had been called up in March 1940, including training with 208th Training Regiment RA, Lufton Barracks, Yeovil service as a limber gunner at No 33 OCTU, Shrivenham (?March 1940 - February 1941), active service with 138th Independent Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) Battery RA sailing from Scotland to Suez via South Africa (March 1941 - May 1941), in the Middle East (May 1941 - July 1941) and Cyprus (July 1941 - May 1942), in the Suez Canal area and North Africa (May 1942 - May 1943), attending ME OSB, Primary OCTU and then ME OCTU at Haifa in Palestine (May 1943 - October 1943), at Base Depot near Cairo awaiting posting (October 1943 - January 1944), the journey to the UK (January 1944 - February 1944), active service with the 310th Battery, 89th LAA Regiment RA in the UK and North West Europe (March 1944 - August 1944, when his unit was disbanded) landing in Normandy shortly after D-Day; rejected for the infantry and posted to 261st battery, 81st LAA Regiment, Chelmsford, Essex and later near Faversham (August 1944 - May 1945), with the 9th Rajputana LAA Regiment training at Jahnsi, India for the invasion of Malaya and then after the dropping of the Atom bomb waiting impatiently for repatriation (May 1945 - March 1946, when he returned to the UK for demobilization in May 1946) and commenting on his experiences such as participating in the invasion of Syria (July 1941), twice turning down the offer of a commission (December 1941 and August 1942) but finally accepting the third offer (January 1943), the widespread stealing by the troops to supplement their meagre rations, his off duty entertainment, the conditions, army life, Winston Churchill's visit to Tripoli (February 1943), and the Indian Army, notably tensions between regular and temporary officers and between the Indian troops.
Content description
Microfilm of his ms diaries, March 1940 - May 1946, recording his service with the Royal Artillery in the ranks and then as an officer, having pulled strings at the War Office get out of the Army Pay Corps to which he had been called up in March 1940, including training with 208th Training Regiment RA, Lufton Barracks, Yeovil service as a limber gunner at No 33 OCTU, Shrivenham (?March 1940 - February 1941), active service with 138th Independent Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) Battery RA sailing from Scotland to Suez via South Africa (March 1941 - May 1941), in the Middle East (May 1941 - July 1941) and Cyprus (July 1941 - May 1942), in the Suez Canal area and North Africa (May 1942 - May 1943), attending ME OSB, Primary OCTU and then ME OCTU at Haifa in Palestine (May 1943 - October 1943), at Base Depot near Cairo awaiting posting (October 1943 - January 1944), the journey to the UK (January 1944 - February 1944), active service with the 310th Battery, 89th LAA Regiment RA in the UK and North West Europe (March 1944 - August 1944, when his unit was disbanded) landing in Normandy shortly after D-Day; rejected for the infantry and posted to 261st battery, 81st LAA Regiment, Chelmsford, Essex and later near Faversham (August 1944 - May 1945), with the 9th Rajputana LAA Regiment training at Jahnsi, India for the invasion of Malaya and then after the dropping of the Atom bomb waiting impatiently for repatriation (May 1945 - March 1946, when he returned to the UK for demobilization in May 1946) and commenting on his experiences such as participating in the invasion of Syria (July 1941), twice turning down the offer of a commission (December 1941 and August 1942) but finally accepting the third offer (January 1943), the widespread stealing by the troops to supplement their meagre rations, his off duty entertainment, the conditions, army life, Winston Churchill's visit to Tripoli (February 1943), and the Indian Army, notably tensions between regular and temporary officers and between the Indian troops.
History note
Cataloguer SNR
History note
Catalogue date 2003-07-23