Description
Object description
British officer served with 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) in Egypt, Palestine and GB, 1926-1937; served with 3rd County of London Yeomanry in GB, 1937-1940
Content description
REEL 1 Recollections of period as officer with 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) in Egypt and Palestine, 1926-1931: background to joining cavalry and choice of regiment; posting to Egypt, 1926; training and role of cavalry; reaction of unit to mechanisation; organisation of mechanisation; receiving training from Royal Tank Corps personnel in Egypt; other ranks reactions to mechanisation; work of squadron fitters.
REEL 2 Continues: lack of wireless communications between armoured cars; lack of signals training; training bandsmen as signalers; character of signaling exercises and codes; codes used during Second World War; aid from Royal Tank Corps signal personnel; internal security duties during Palestine riots, 1930; mechanical and tyre problems with armoured cars; role of armoured cars in Palestine; petrol and water supplies. Aspects of period on mechanisation course at Royal Tank Corps Depot, Bovington, GB, 1931: attitude of Royal Tank Corps towards cavalry units.
REEL 3 Continues: atmosphere at Bovington; training on Rolls-Royce Armoured Car; degree of officers' mechanical knowledge; attending gunnery course at Lulworth. Recollections of period as officer with 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) in Egypt, 1932-1935: training with armoured cars; individual troop training and reconnaissance role; opinion of standard of commanding officers; desert reconnaissance exercises; squadron training and gunnery training on machine guns; deficiencies of Besa Machine Gun; digging Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars out of sand.
REEL 4 Continues: mechanical problems with cars in desert; exercises in desert including incident of outwitting Bernard Montgomery; tactical exercises without troops; co-operation with Royal Air Force before and during Second World War; problems of navigating in desert; communications methods on training exercises; night time atmospherics in desert; unit morale; social life in Egypt. Aspects of period as officer with 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) attached to 3rd County of London Yeomanry in GB, 1935-1939: training on return to GB.
REEL 5 Continues: use of Lanchester Armoured Car; attachment as adjutant to 3rd County of London Yeomanry; organising annual camps; training Territorial Army personnel in armoured car role; character of exercises; social activities. Reflections on his military service in Second World War, 1939-1945: armoured car wireless failure in North Africa, 1942; memories of meeting with General George S Patton; visit he received from General Bernard Montgomery whilst in hospital; story of General Bernard Montgomery's use of information gleaned from Ultra; inadequacy of Ordnance QF 2 Pounder Gun.
REEL 6 Continues: opinion of under-gunned Cruiser Mk VI Crusader Tank. Memories of instructor course at Royal Tank Corps Regimental Depot at Bovington, 1938. Memories of commanding 4th Queen's Own Hussars in Malaya, 1948-1951.