Description
Object description
Wordprocessed ts memoir (32pp) recording his experiences during military service as a NCO in the Second World War, describing his brief LDV service in Smethwick before enlisting in December 1940 into the 70th Battalion Essex Regiment with which he underwent training before transferring to the Glider Pilot Regiment at RAF Cardington, Bedfordshire (summer 1942) and then undergoing flying training at No 16 Elementary Flying Training School, Burnaston (August 1942) and in gliders at no 5 Glider Training School, RAF Shobdon, Herefordshire (December 1942) and No 1 Heavy Glider Conversion Unit at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire (April 1943); posted to North Africa (August - September 1943) and Italy (September - December 1943), he did not see action but recalls relations with the local people and the Italian Army, his return to the UK to be posted to C Squadron, No 2 Wing at RAF Tarrant Rushton, Dorset (January 1944) from where he took off as part of Operation Market Garden and landed his glider at Arnhem (17 September 1944), being involved in the heavy fighting for the bridge before receiving wounds and being captured by the Germans. He spent much of the rest of the war in captivity in camps at Stalag XIB (Fallingbostel) and Stalag IXB (Bad Orb) in Germany and Stalag VIIIC (Sagan) in Poland, describing the hard conditions during the journeys and forced marches to each camp and life as a prisoner of war until his liberation by American troops in April 1944 and repatriation. Following the war, his regiment was posted to Palestine (March - August 1946) where he describes the voyage out via Egypt, terrorist attacks in Palestine and training exercises undertaken prior to his demobilisation in October 1946.
Content description
Wordprocessed ts memoir (32pp) recording his experiences during military service as a NCO in the Second World War, describing his brief LDV service in Smethwick before enlisting in December 1940 into the 70th Battalion Essex Regiment with which he underwent training before transferring to the Glider Pilot Regiment at RAF Cardington, Bedfordshire (summer 1942) and then undergoing flying training at No 16 Elementary Flying Training School, Burnaston (August 1942) and in gliders at no 5 Glider Training School, RAF Shobdon, Herefordshire (December 1942) and No 1 Heavy Glider Conversion Unit at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire (April 1943); posted to North Africa (August - September 1943) and Italy (September - December 1943), he did not see action but recalls relations with the local people and the Italian Army, his return to the UK to be posted to C Squadron, No 2 Wing at RAF Tarrant Rushton, Dorset (January 1944) from where he took off as part of Operation Market Garden and landed his glider at Arnhem (17 September 1944), being involved in the heavy fighting for the bridge before receiving wounds and being captured by the Germans. He spent much of the rest of the war in captivity in camps at Stalag XIB (Fallingbostel) and Stalag IXB (Bad Orb) in Germany and Stalag VIIIC (Sagan) in Poland, describing the hard conditions during the journeys and forced marches to each camp and life as a prisoner of war until his liberation by American troops in April 1944 and repatriation. Following the war, his regiment was posted to Palestine (March - August 1946) where he describes the voyage out via Egypt, terrorist attacks in Palestine and training exercises undertaken prior to his demobilisation in October 1946.
History note
Cataloguer APR
History note
Catalogue date 2007-03-30