description
Object description
British officer served with Royal Engineers attached to No 2 Commando during St Nazaire Raid, France, 28/3/1942; served with 1st Airborne Sqdn, Royal Engineers, 6th Airborne Div in Palestine, 1945-1946
Content description
REEL 1 Recollections of period as officer with Royal Engineers attached to No 2 Commando during preparations for St Nazaire Raid in GB, 10/1941-2/1942: background to his first involvement in planning of raid, 10/1941; posting to No 2 Commando; training for raid at Southampton Docks; vulnerable points on docks targeted during raid; further training at Cardiff Docks; move to Falmouth and embarking on board HMS Princess Josephine Charlotte; preparation of explosive charges for demolition teams; security problems; near accident with explosives; realisation that St Nazaire, France was raid's objective.
REEL 2 Continues: opportunity for commandos to drop out of operation; character of escape briefing; final preparations for raid; instances of predictive dreams; embarkation on board HMS Campbeltown, 27/3/1942; composition of demolition teams, protection parties and assault parties. Recollections of operations as officer with No 2 Commando during St Nazaire Raid, France, 28/3/1942: voyage from Falmouth aboard HMS Campbeltown; luxury food available aboard HMS Campbeltown; encounters with French and German vessels on route; rendezvous with submarine HMS Sturgeon; problems of crossing mudflats during high spring tide in River Loire; sight of masts of sunken RMS Lancastria in River Loire.
REEL 3 Continues: grounding on mudflats in Loire Estuary; effect of RAF diversionary bombing raid; character of German fire and casualties on bridge of HMS Campbeltown; advantages and disadvantages of searchlights; ramming of lock gates; disembarking from HMS Campbeltown; breaking into pumping house; work of demolition parties ashore; demolition of pumping house; problems of dealing with caisson gate; use of left over spare explosive; sight of motor launch flotilla alight in estuary; his premonition that he would not return from raid; decision to fight way out into French countryside; wounding by grenade; reasons for inaccurate German fire; splitting up into small parties; refuge in civilian cellar.
REEL 4 Continues: capture and initial treatment by Germans; late explosion of HMS Campbeltown, 29/3/1942; speculation on reasons for late explostion aboard HMS Campbeltown; removal of British POWs to Rennes; opinion of treatment by Germans. Recollections of operations as officer with 1st Airborne Sqdn, Royal Engineers, 6th Airborne Div in Palestine, 1945-1946: reasons for volunteering for airborne forces; arrival in Palestine, autumn 1945; duties in Palestine; raid on Zionist headquarters in Tel Aviv, 1946; loss of two officers to mine on railway, 1946; anti-British attitude of Jewish civilians; reaction towards murder of two British Army Intelligence Corps sergeants, 7/1947; attitude towards Arabs; degree of personnel danger in Palestine.
