Description
Object description
Ts transcription (204pp) of his three diaries recording his service as an NCO with the Royal Artillery (RA) serving with the 414th Battery, 104th Regiment RHA (Essex Yeomanry) TA (1st Cavalry Division until September 1940; 2nd Support Group, March 1941 - April 1941; 13th Corps and 8th Army) in the UK, Palestine and North Africa (January 1940 - February 1942), including his experiences in billets in Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire (January 1940 - February 1940); on embarkation overseas and the journey by train to Southampton, by ship (THE LADY OF MAN) to Cherbourg, by train to Marseilles, and by ship (HMT DILWARA) to Haifa in Palestine (February 1940); and on active service at Gedera (February 1940 - March 1940); and Nathanya in Palestine (March 1940 - ?August 1940); in Cairo, Egypt (November 1940 - December 1940); and in the Western Desert (December 1940 - February 1942), notably during the advance on Bardia, Tobruk, Benghazi and Sidi Barrani (January 1941 - February 1941), the siege of Tobruk (May 1941 - December 1941), and near Alexandria (December 1941 - January 1942); transferring (January 1942) with the 414th Battery from the 104th RHA to the 7th Armoured Division at Qassassin (Quassassin, Egypt); the journey in the ASCANIUS from Port Tewfik, Egypt to Colombo, Ceylon (January 1942 - February 1942) and then in another, unnamed ship to India for service in Burma (February 1942 when the diary ends); and commenting on his decision to keep a diary; the weather; attending Farnsfield church and Southwell Minster, including the poor quality of the sermons; army life, notably the poor rations, his training and duties, firing barrages, his officers and NCOs, the padres, lectures, Church services, the inequalities, and promotion; his off-duty entertainment, notably singing in the choir, the cinema, drinking. reading, sight seeing in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, the NAAFI, visiting the beach and sport (especially athletics, baseball and football); his morale, missing his wife and son; inspections by the Duke of Gloucester and General Sir George Giffard, GOC Palestine Forces (February 1940); the Arabs and Jews he met; learning Arabic and French; and the progress of the war, notably the reaction of his comrades to the loss of France (June 1940) and Crete (May 1941); visiting the dentist to receive some dentures; recovering from Sandfly Fever and a septic leg in Tarrifa Barracks Hospital (July 1940); Australian troops, who are better paid, life and poor conditions in the desert; the loss of friends and the waste of war; Free French and Italian soldiers; leave in Cairo (February 1941 - March 1941), Alexandria (December 1941) and Cairo again (January 1942); scrounging; enemy shelling and bombing; camouflaging his gun and gun pit; the war-weariness of his unit; and mentioning Lord Haw Haw (May 1941) and Lieutenant General Sir Ronald Scobie (December 1941).
Content description
Ts transcription (204pp) of his three diaries recording his service as an NCO with the Royal Artillery (RA) serving with the 414th Battery, 104th Regiment RHA (Essex Yeomanry) TA (1st Cavalry Division until September 1940; 2nd Support Group, March 1941 - April 1941; 13th Corps and 8th Army) in the UK, Palestine and North Africa (January 1940 - February 1942), including his experiences in billets in Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire (January 1940 - February 1940); on embarkation overseas and the journey by train to Southampton, by ship (THE LADY OF MAN) to Cherbourg, by train to Marseilles, and by ship (HMT DILWARA) to Haifa in Palestine (February 1940); and on active service at Gedera (February 1940 - March 1940); and Nathanya in Palestine (March 1940 - ?August 1940); in Cairo, Egypt (November 1940 - December 1940); and in the Western Desert (December 1940 - February 1942), notably during the advance on Bardia, Tobruk, Benghazi and Sidi Barrani (January 1941 - February 1941), the siege of Tobruk (May 1941 - December 1941), and near Alexandria (December 1941 - January 1942); transferring (January 1942) with the 414th Battery from the 104th RHA to the 7th Armoured Division at Qassassin (Quassassin, Egypt); the journey in the ASCANIUS from Port Tewfik, Egypt to Colombo, Ceylon (January 1942 - February 1942) and then in another, unnamed ship to India for service in Burma (February 1942 when the diary ends); and commenting on his decision to keep a diary; the weather; attending Farnsfield church and Southwell Minster, including the poor quality of the sermons; army life, notably the poor rations, his training and duties, firing barrages, his officers and NCOs, the padres, lectures, Church services, the inequalities, and promotion; his off-duty entertainment, notably singing in the choir, the cinema, drinking. reading, sight seeing in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, the NAAFI, visiting the beach and sport (especially athletics, baseball and football); his morale, missing his wife and son; inspections by the Duke of Gloucester and General Sir George Giffard, GOC Palestine Forces (February 1940); the Arabs and Jews he met; learning Arabic and French; and the progress of the war, notably the reaction of his comrades to the loss of France (June 1940) and Crete (May 1941); visiting the dentist to receive some dentures; recovering from Sandfly Fever and a septic leg in Tarrifa Barracks Hospital (July 1940); Australian troops, who are better paid, life and poor conditions in the desert; the loss of friends and the waste of war; Free French and Italian soldiers; leave in Cairo (February 1941 - March 1941), Alexandria (December 1941) and Cairo again (January 1942); scrounging; enemy shelling and bombing; camouflaging his gun and gun pit; the war-weariness of his unit; and mentioning Lord Haw Haw (May 1941) and Lieutenant General Sir Ronald Scobie (December 1941).
History note
Cataloguer SNR
History note
Catalogue date 2006-08-30