Description
Object description
British officer served with 2nd Bn Essex Regt in Egypt and Sudan, 1935-1936; served with 1st Bn Essex Regt in Palestine, 1936-1939
Content description
REEL 1 Recollections of period as officer with 2nd Bn Essex Regt in Egypt and Sudan, 1935-1936; background prior to joining regiment; posting to Sidi Barrani, Egypt, 1935; base defences; reasons for patrolling Libyan frontier; high morale amongst troops; opinion of equipment; rumours of Italian intentions; local inhabitants; longevity of frontier defences constructed; living in desert including fitness, health, rations and accommodation; effect on morale of regimental pride.
REEL 2 Continues: posting to Sudan, 1936; recreational activities in Alexandria, Egypt during transit; garrison duties in Khartoum, Sudan; deployment of British Army units in Sudan; living conditions and daily routine in Khartoum; prevalence of venereal disease and punishments for contracting it; opening of official brothel and success in eradicating venereal disease amongst troops; lack of contact with civilians; character of railway, abattoir and makeshift cinema at Gebeit; incidents of suicide and insanity amongst troops.
REEL 3 Continues: ceremony on battalion leaving Sudan. Recollections of period as officer with 1st Bn Essex Regiment in Palestine, 1936-1939: background to transfer to 1st Bn in Haifa, 1939; recreational activities; role defending Jewish kibbutz; visiting and searching villages; training Jewish supplementary police; coercion used by insurgents to gain Arab villagers' support; degree of knowledge of formation of Special Night Squads by Major Orde Wingate; morale of British Army troops; column operations near Nazareth; pursuit of Arab insurgents who had attacked a kibbutz near Jenin.
REEL 4 Continues: use of Royal Air Force aircraft to capture suspect insurgents; operation against infiltrators from French Syria in which hostages were taken and subsequent attacks on column despite Royal Air Force support; effectiveness of Royal Air Force 'XX' support scheme; attitude to and description of Arab insurgents; grenade throwing incident in Nazareth; insurgent attack on oil pipeline; story of dealing with insurgent road block ambush.
REEL 5 Continues: estimate of fighting ability of Arab insurgents; question of international and religious support for insurgents; brief posting to Cairo and mechanised reconnaissances of Western Desert, Egypt; attitude to leaving Palestine, 1939; reaction to ending of county based regimental system.