Description
Object description
British driver served with 1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, 1st Light Reconnaissance Bde, 51st (Highland) Infantry Div in France and Belgium, 9/ 1939-6/1940; served with 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars, 29th British Infantry Bde in South and North Korea, 10/1950-1/1951; prisoner of war in Camp No 5, Pyuktong, North Korea, 1/1951-8/1953
Content description
REEL 1 Aspects of period as trooper with Royal Armoured Corps in GB, 1939: enlistment, 1939; British propaganda about German tank quality; question of preparedness of tank units for war; tank training at Bovington Camp; transfer to 1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry; contrast in discipline between regular army and Territorial Army personnel. Recollections of operations with 1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, 1st Light Armoued Reconnaissanc Bde, 51st (Highland) Infantry Div in France and Belgium, 9/1939-6/1940: places unit was based in France, reconnaissance role within 51st (Highland) Infantry Div; move into Belgium, 5/1940; initial contact with Germans at Ath, Belgium; direct hit on his tank by German tanks; withdrawal and stand at Cassel, France.
REEL 2 Continues: morale of 1st Bn Welsh Guards at Cassel; orders to make way to Dunkirk, France; German Air Force attack on 6th Bn York and Lancaster Regt; arrival Bray-Dunes, France; evacuation process in rowing boat; transfer to trawler; crossing English Channel to Ramsgate, GB; reception in GB; opinion of Royal Air Force inactivity over beaches; aid given to trawlers by Short Sunderland Flying Boats during crossing of English Channel; morale on return to GB; reaction to Junkers Ju 87 Stuka attacks on Cassel. Aspects of period with 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars in GB, 8/1950-9/1950: reaction to recall as reservist, 8/1950; posting to unit at Tidworth Camp, 8/1950; opinion of reconnaissance role in unit. Aspects of voyage aboard HMT Empire Fowey from GB to Korea, 1950: accommodation; organisation on board ship; reaction to going back to war.
REEL 3 Continues: Recollections of operations with 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars, 29th British Infantry Bde in South and North Korea, 10/1950-1/1951: reception in Pusan; journey north by train into North Korea; formation of screen for retreating United States Army; abandoning Centurion Tank in mud; loss of brakes on his tank and transfer of tank to transporter; halt north of Seoul, 12/1950; opinion of Lieutenant Alexander; formation of Cooper Force; early 1951; in action against Chinese People's Volunteer Army, 1/1/1951-2/1/1951; capture of Chinese prisoner of war; exposure of left flank with retreat of United States Army, 2/1/1951.
REEL 4 Continues: retreat with 1st Bn Royal Ulster Rifles riding on tanks; mortar hit on tank; running over Chinese wounded; suicide attack by Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldier; unit casualties; abandoning tank; pursuit on foot by Chinese People's Volunteer Army; capture 3/1/1951. Recollections of period as prisoner of war march into North Korea, 1/1951: treatment by Chinese on capture; march into Chinese People's Volunteer Army rear; Chinese respect for personal possessions of prisoners of war.
REEL 5 Continues: effect of climate on prisoners of war; initial interrogation; suffering from frost-bite during march; contrast in attitudes of Chinese and North Korean guards; conflicts with North Korean guards; sight of Chinese People's Volunteer Army on march; attitude towards Chinese People's Volunteer Army troops; Chinese sensitivity to disrespect; attitude towards Korean War. Recollections of period as prisoner of war in Camp No 5, Pyuktong, North Korea, 1/1951-8/1953: American prisoners of war attitude to camp life; camp diet; methods employed by British prisoners of war to maintain morale; character of Turkish prisoners of war.
REEL 6 Continues: nature of Chinese indoctrination; role as monitor during 'discussion' on indoctrination; how indoctrination affected his views; opinion of Marine Andrew Condron; western Communists visits to camp including Alan Winnington, Wilfred Burchett and Monica Felton; morale about prospects of release; arrival of prisoners of war from 1st Bn Gloucestershire Regt captured at Battle of River Imjin; contrast between Beckerly's imprisonment and Anthony Farrar-Hockley's experiences as portrayed in his book 'The Edge of the Sword' (1954); prospects of escape; Chinese misconceptions of life in the West; instruction and education in camp.
