Description
Object description
Word-processed transcription of an account (123pp, originally written 1987 - 1989) of his service with the Durham Light Infantry (September 1935 – October 1947), with details of joining the Royal Military College, Sandhurst (September 1935), training, uniform, routines, the stiff discipline, riding lessons, drill instructors, Chinese cadets, passing out (December 1936), joining the DLI at Blackdown, Aldershot (January 1937), commanding 5 Platoon, 'B' Company, 1st Battalion DLI, training, accommodation, duties, officers mess, taking part in the Aldershot Tattoo (July 1937), preparations for overseas service, embarking in HMT DILWARA for Shanghai, China (October 1937), the voyage, conditions on board, leisure time, the Suez canal, meeting 2nd Battalion DLI on the way, playing the piano, arrival in Shanghai while the Chinese Japanese war was underway (November 1937), tensions passing Japanese warships, guarding the International Settlements in Shanghai after the Japanese occupation of the city, details of the city, the perimeters of the settlement, posting to 'O' post and seeing Chinese civilians passing through check points to enter different parts of the city, witnessing Japanese soldiers' cruelty and brutality against the Chinese, including seeing murders, frustration at not being able to stop it, helping the Chinese with first aid, speaking to a Japanese junior officer who was equally ashamed of his men but could not stop it, taking minor revenge against a Japanese officer, sporting activities in the city, sailing, defending the Shanghai Waterworks and checking on Japanese shipping on the Whangpoo river, descriptions of the Police in the international Settlement, visits to the Chinese part of the city and seeing the destruction from fighting, including corpses, a detail to work in the light cruiser HMS DORSETSHIRE, travelling to the island of Wei Hai Wei to join the China Squadron (June 1938), 1st Battalion DLI moving to Tientsin, and 'A' Company and his Platoon from 'B' Company, moving on to Peking to guard the British Embassy (October 1938), descriptions of the city and the legations in the Legation Quarter, climate, duties, practising with two Howitzers, rifle firing ranges, social life and endless embassy parties, his American girlfriend, ice skating on the frozen tennis courts, rickshaws, his Chinese 'batman', meeting Japanese troops while on trips to the historic city, leisure time, golf, races, dog races, shopping in the Chinese parts of the city, guarded but cordial relations with the Japanese, the Italian and German embassy staffs' poor opinion of the Japanese, pay, problems with not recognising the Japanese occupation of parts of China, returning to the UK to attend a course (July 1939), the voyage via Shanghai and Hong Kong, descriptions of Hong Kong (August 1939), sailing to the UK in HMT DUNERA, likelihood of war meaning blacking out the ship, hearing the declaration of war in Port Said (September 1939), having to wait for armed convoys, stopping in Gibraltar due to ships colliding, arriving in the UK (October 1939), his posting as a platoon instructor to 168 Officer Cadet Training Unit at Blenheim Barracks, Aldershot, details of the training, visiting his parents in Bexley, Kent, a week's demolition and sabotage course in Clapham, promotion to Lieutenant (January 1940), posting to Durham Light Infantry depot at Brancepeth Castle in County Durham (April 1940), commanding a training platoon at Ushaw Moor near Brancepeth, promotion to Captain and commanding a DLI training company at Meadowfield (May 1940), joining 11th Battalion DLI (70th Infantry Brigade, 23rd (Northumbrian) Division) at Newton Abbot as second in command of a rifle company (September 1940), sailing to Iceland with 70th Brigade to became part of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division (October 1940), based at Alafrost, details of the British occupation of Iceland, his secondment to act as ship's adjutant on a troopship sailing between Greenock and Iceland (November 1940 – March 1941), details of his duties, embarkation, the journeys, convoys, the ship's defences, enjoying the rough weather, damage to the ship in a storm, transferring to another, re-joining his Battalion, 11th DLI, at Hafnarfjordur (March 1941), in Command of HQ Company, the camps and defences, keeping troops occupied, US Marine Corps landing in Iceland, returning to the UK (December 1941), based in Pembroke Dock in South Wales, then Kington near Hereford (March 1942), coming down with jaundice, recuperation with family, mules being attached to HQ Company, 11th DLI, training in mountain warfare at Aviemore in the Cairngorms, exercises with the mules, attending the 49 Division Battle School, exercises, assault courses, passing with distinguished grade, Battalion moving to Dalton-on-Furness, Christmas 1942, moving back to Velindre, Wales (March 1943), attending another course at the Commando Training School at Lochailort, Scotland, the tough training including live firing exercises resulting in casualties, re-joining his Battalion, posting as an instructor to 166 Officer Cadet Training Unit at Douglas in the Isle of Man (September 1943), his sorrow at leaving his Battalion and not joining them for the Normandy Landings, meeting his future wife, Mary Ashworth, the senior VAD nurse at a WRNS establishment, his playing organ at Douglas parish church, getting engaged (December 1943), the death of his father, getting married in Retford (June 1944), leaving 166 OCTU and joining 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regiment (147th Brigade) in France (August 1944), as 70th Brigade had been disbanded and DLI Companies attached to Leicestershire Regiment, acting as 2 i/c 'A' Company 1st Leicesters (formerly DLI), taking over the Company the next day when the OC was killed, involvement in operation Market Garden with 140th Infantry Brigade (September 1944), arriving on the island at Nijmegen, arranging a code with Mary to let her know where he was, general information about his kit and equipment, experiences of coming under enemy fire for the first time, bridge at Nijmegen being shelled while he was on it, attacking a German position (January 1945), mistakes he made, the end of the war (May 1945), disarming German Army, the situation of the Dutch civilians, moving to the British Zone in Germany, based near Bielefeld (May 1945, taking over a Schloss (castle), the chaotic situation in Germany, home leave in July 1945, orders to command Defence Company, Headquarters, 6th Air Landing Brigade (6th Airborne Division), to prepare for deployment in the Far East, based at Bulford Camp, the war ending in August 1945 and deployment instead to Palestine (September 1945), arriving in Haifa, the background to the situation in Palestine, and his dislike of the tactics of the Irgun Zvai Leumi and Stern Gang, details of 6th Air Landing Brigade dispositions, with Brigade HQ at a camp near Natanya, leave in Lebanon and Syria, being posted to Paiforce Headquarters in Baghdad for pre-staff college training (February 1946), working as a Grade 2 staff officer dealing with postings, administration and discipline, trips to Baghdad, Paiforce HQ moving to Basra (April 1946), flying to India and train to the Quetta Staff College for a six month course (June 1946), details of the course, time in Quetta, the end of the course and being appointed as Brigade Major to Headquarters Wana Frontier Brigade Group in the south of Waziristan on the north west frontier of India (December 1946), details of the situation in the province, the various local tribes, the make-up of the Brigade Group, cooperating with the South Waziristan Scouts, his duties, Brigade Column marches to the Afghan border, organising road convoys, the local agreements with Pathans regarding territory and sniping, effects of the partition of India (August 1947), particularly the separation of Hindus and Muslims in battalions, leaving the Frontier and the horrendous journey to Bombay through India, witnessing the sectarian violence in the Punjab, including massacres of civilians, leaving India (September 1947), the journey back to the UK via Aden, posting as a Staff Officer Grade 2 to the War Office, and ending with his posting to the 1st Battalion The Sierra Leone Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force (1951), with details throughout of his not coming from a public school background, pranks, leisure time, accommodation and billets, sports, duties, and thoughts on the military and political situations in China and Europe before and during the war, and then Palestine and India post-war.
Content description
Word-processed transcription of an account (123pp, originally written 1987 - 1989) of his service with the Durham Light Infantry (September 1935 – October 1947), with details of joining the Royal Military College, Sandhurst (September 1935), training, uniform, routines, the stiff discipline, riding lessons, drill instructors, Chinese cadets, passing out (December 1936), joining the DLI at Blackdown, Aldershot (January 1937), commanding 5 Platoon, 'B' Company, 1st Battalion DLI, training, accommodation, duties, officers mess, taking part in the Aldershot Tattoo (July 1937), preparations for overseas service, embarking in HMT DILWARA for Shanghai, China (October 1937), the voyage, conditions on board, leisure time, the Suez canal, meeting 2nd Battalion DLI on the way, playing the piano, arrival in Shanghai while the Chinese Japanese war was underway (November 1937), tensions passing Japanese warships, guarding the International Settlements in Shanghai after the Japanese occupation of the city, details of the city, the perimeters of the settlement, posting to 'O' post and seeing Chinese civilians passing through check points to enter different parts of the city, witnessing Japanese soldiers' cruelty and brutality against the Chinese, including seeing murders, frustration at not being able to stop it, helping the Chinese with first aid, speaking to a Japanese junior officer who was equally ashamed of his men but could not stop it, taking minor revenge against a Japanese officer, sporting activities in the city, sailing, defending the Shanghai Waterworks and checking on Japanese shipping on the Whangpoo river, descriptions of the Police in the international Settlement, visits to the Chinese part of the city and seeing the destruction from fighting, including corpses, a detail to work in the light cruiser HMS DORSETSHIRE, travelling to the island of Wei Hai Wei to join the China Squadron (June 1938), 1st Battalion DLI moving to Tientsin, and 'A' Company and his Platoon from 'B' Company, moving on to Peking to guard the British Embassy (October 1938), descriptions of the city and the legations in the Legation Quarter, climate, duties, practising with two Howitzers, rifle firing ranges, social life and endless embassy parties, his American girlfriend, ice skating on the frozen tennis courts, rickshaws, his Chinese 'batman', meeting Japanese troops while on trips to the historic city, leisure time, golf, races, dog races, shopping in the Chinese parts of the city, guarded but cordial relations with the Japanese, the Italian and German embassy staffs' poor opinion of the Japanese, pay, problems with not recognising the Japanese occupation of parts of China, returning to the UK to attend a course (July 1939), the voyage via Shanghai and Hong Kong, descriptions of Hong Kong (August 1939), sailing to the UK in HMT DUNERA, likelihood of war meaning blacking out the ship, hearing the declaration of war in Port Said (September 1939), having to wait for armed convoys, stopping in Gibraltar due to ships colliding, arriving in the UK (October 1939), his posting as a platoon instructor to 168 Officer Cadet Training Unit at Blenheim Barracks, Aldershot, details of the training, visiting his parents in Bexley, Kent, a week's demolition and sabotage course in Clapham, promotion to Lieutenant (January 1940), posting to Durham Light Infantry depot at Brancepeth Castle in County Durham (April 1940), commanding a training platoon at Ushaw Moor near Brancepeth, promotion to Captain and commanding a DLI training company at Meadowfield (May 1940), joining 11th Battalion DLI (70th Infantry Brigade, 23rd (Northumbrian) Division) at Newton Abbot as second in command of a rifle company (September 1940), sailing to Iceland with 70th Brigade to became part of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division (October 1940), based at Alafrost, details of the British occupation of Iceland, his secondment to act as ship's adjutant on a troopship sailing between Greenock and Iceland (November 1940 – March 1941), details of his duties, embarkation, the journeys, convoys, the ship's defences, enjoying the rough weather, damage to the ship in a storm, transferring to another, re-joining his Battalion, 11th DLI, at Hafnarfjordur (March 1941), in Command of HQ Company, the camps and defences, keeping troops occupied, US Marine Corps landing in Iceland, returning to the UK (December 1941), based in Pembroke Dock in South Wales, then Kington near Hereford (March 1942), coming down with jaundice, recuperation with family, mules being attached to HQ Company, 11th DLI, training in mountain warfare at Aviemore in the Cairngorms, exercises with the mules, attending the 49 Division Battle School, exercises, assault courses, passing with distinguished grade, Battalion moving to Dalton-on-Furness, Christmas 1942, moving back to Velindre, Wales (March 1943), attending another course at the Commando Training School at Lochailort, Scotland, the tough training including live firing exercises resulting in casualties, re-joining his Battalion, posting as an instructor to 166 Officer Cadet Training Unit at Douglas in the Isle of Man (September 1943), his sorrow at leaving his Battalion and not joining them for the Normandy Landings, meeting his future wife, Mary Ashworth, the senior VAD nurse at a WRNS establishment, his playing organ at Douglas parish church, getting engaged (December 1943), the death of his father, getting married in Retford (June 1944), leaving 166 OCTU and joining 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regiment (147th Brigade) in France (August 1944), as 70th Brigade had been disbanded and DLI Companies attached to Leicestershire Regiment, acting as 2 i/c 'A' Company 1st Leicesters (formerly DLI), taking over the Company the next day when the OC was killed, involvement in operation Market Garden with 140th Infantry Brigade (September 1944), arriving on the island at Nijmegen, arranging a code with Mary to let her know where he was, general information about his kit and equipment, experiences of coming under enemy fire for the first time, bridge at Nijmegen being shelled while he was on it, attacking a German position (January 1945), mistakes he made, the end of the war (May 1945), disarming German Army, the situation of the Dutch civilians, moving to the British Zone in Germany, based near Bielefeld (May 1945, taking over a Schloss (castle), the chaotic situation in Germany, home leave in July 1945, orders to command Defence Company, Headquarters, 6th Air Landing Brigade (6th Airborne Division), to prepare for deployment in the Far East, based at Bulford Camp, the war ending in August 1945 and deployment instead to Palestine (September 1945), arriving in Haifa, the background to the situation in Palestine, and his dislike of the tactics of the Irgun Zvai Leumi and Stern Gang, details of 6th Air Landing Brigade dispositions, with Brigade HQ at a camp near Natanya, leave in Lebanon and Syria, being posted to Paiforce Headquarters in Baghdad for pre-staff college training (February 1946), working as a Grade 2 staff officer dealing with postings, administration and discipline, trips to Baghdad, Paiforce HQ moving to Basra (April 1946), flying to India and train to the Quetta Staff College for a six month course (June 1946), details of the course, time in Quetta, the end of the course and being appointed as Brigade Major to Headquarters Wana Frontier Brigade Group in the south of Waziristan on the north west frontier of India (December 1946), details of the situation in the province, the various local tribes, the make-up of the Brigade Group, cooperating with the South Waziristan Scouts, his duties, Brigade Column marches to the Afghan border, organising road convoys, the local agreements with Pathans regarding territory and sniping, effects of the partition of India (August 1947), particularly the separation of Hindus and Muslims in battalions, leaving the Frontier and the horrendous journey to Bombay through India, witnessing the sectarian violence in the Punjab, including massacres of civilians, leaving India (September 1947), the journey back to the UK via Aden, posting as a Staff Officer Grade 2 to the War Office, and ending with his posting to the 1st Battalion The Sierra Leone Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force (1951), with details throughout of his not coming from a public school background, pranks, leisure time, accommodation and billets, sports, duties, and thoughts on the military and political situations in China and Europe before and during the war, and then Palestine and India post-war.
History note
Cataloguer SJO