Beaton, Percy Taylor (Oral history)

British sapper served with No 4 Section, 218th Army Troops Coy, Royal Engineers, Headquarters, Lines of Communication, British Expeditionary Force in France, 9/1939-6/1940

REEL 1 Background in Highbury, London, GB, 1918-1939: family; education; employment. Aspects of period as sapper with 218th Army Troops Coy, Royal Engineers in GB, 6/1939-9/1939: reasons for joining Territorial Army, 6/1939; attitude towards military service; story of sanitary duty punishment received on ship going to France, 13/9/1939; declaration of Second World War, 3/9/1939; inoculations; reaction to outbreak of Second World War, 9/1939; question of underestimation of German forces; demonstration by British Union of Fascists outside drill hall and clashes with troops; attitudes of members of British Union of Fascists; attitude of troops towards Adolf Hitler; mobilisation, 8/1939; role of unit; organisation of move to France, 12/9/1939; voyage from GB to France. REEL 2 Continues: Aspects of period as sapper with No 4 Section, 218th Army Troops Coy, Royal Engineers in France, 9/1939-5/1940: pay; move to Le Tréport via Dieppe; amusing story of verbally abusing Lord Gort and Secretary of State for War Leslie Hore-Belisha at Le Tréport; reclassification of trades; relations with French girls. Recollections of operations as sapper with 4 Section, 218th Army Troops Coy, Royal Engineers in France, 5/1940-6/1940: French attitude towards retreating British troops; start of German offensive, 5/1940; attitude towards Belgian forces capitulating; rumours of Fifth Column; question of accuracy of William Joyce 'Lord Haw' broadcasts in particular with German Air Force attack on Dieppe; German air attack on the Bois-de-Broglie; unit transport; embarkation at Cherbourg, 6/1940. REEL 3 Continues: crossing English Channel; contact with pioneers of Corps of Pioneers from Liverpool and 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) personnel; prior recollection of winter conditions at Le Tréport, 1939-1940; amusing story of persuading NCO to dig trench; bullying tactics employed by NCOs; transfer of regular troops into Territorial Army units; question of inadequacy of equipment; guard duties in docks at Cherbourg, 6/1940; state of British morale; further question of inadequacy of equipment; impressions of French troops encountered; incident of low flying German aircraft not opening fire on section. REEL 4 Continues: opinion of communications; contact with 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) personnel; reception on return to GB; provisioning of troops on retreat; method of communicating within unit; rumours of German advance; story of witnessing Consolidated Liberator crash which killed General Wladyslaw Sikorski at Gibraltar, 4/7/1943; lack of concern shown by French women about bridge blowing during retreat.