Description
Object description
British officer served with 1st Bn Royal Sussex Regt, 23rd Infantry Bde in Egypt, 9/1939-8/1940; served with 1st Bn Royal Sussex Regt, 7th Indian Infantry Bde, 4th Indian Infantry Div in Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea, 1940-1941; served as Base Commandant, 7th Indian Infantry Bde Depot, Mersa Tacial, Eritrea, 1941
Content description
REEL 1 Aspects of period as officer with 1st Bn Royal Sussex Regt, 23rd Infantry Bde in Egypt, 9/1939-8/1940: reasons for joining British Army, 1936; expectations of coming war; internal security duties and training in Egypt; composition of battalion. Recollections of operations as officer with 1st Bn Sussex Regt, 7th Indian Infantry Bde, 4th Indian Infantry Div in Sudan and Eritrea, 1940-1941: allocation to advance party for move to Sudan; character of Port Sudan; climate; company employment on railway protection duties; company strength; opinion of use of sergeant-majors as platoon commanders; company fitness; move to Mersa Tacial in Eritrea, 2/1941; supply of local dhows for transport; plan to attack Keren, Eritrea; problems during march to rejoin battalion and consequences.
REEL 2 Continues: advance on Keren, Eritrea using waterholes; water rationing; sleeping arrangements; encounters with local tribesmen; rations on march; relations between British and Indian troops; Italian withdrawal. Aspects of period as Base Commandant with 7th Indian Infantry Bde Depot, Mersa Tacial, Eritrea, 1941: taking command of brigade depot at Mersa Tacial; depot personnel; behavior of French Foreign Legion personnel; duties at depot; depot operations; dumping of valuable supplies into sea; move to Port Sudan, Sudan, 4/1941; effect of rainstorm on water supply and method of alleviating problem; setting up of brothel by French Foreign Legion; local security at depot.
REEL 3 Continues: degree of contact with local tribesmen; method of storage; unloading dhows; accommodation in dug out; quality of facilities; lessons learnt from period in East Africa; maintenance of flow of supply; performance of transport.