Campbell, Gordon Thomas Calthrop (Oral history)

British officer cadet served with Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and with No 122 (Royal Artillery) Officer Cadet Training Unit at Larkhill in GB, 8/1939-2/1940; officer served as instructor with No 122 (Royal Artillery) Officer Cadet Training Unit at Larkhill in GB, 2/1940-1/1941; served with 131st Field Regt, Royal Artillery, 15th (Scottish) Infantry Div in GB and North West Europe, 1/1941-4/1945; civilian served as Third Secretary with East European Department, Foreign Office in London, GB, 1946-1949; served as Delegate with United Nations in New York, United States of America, 1949-1952; served as Private Secretary to Secretary of Cabinet with Cabinet Office in London, GB, 1954-1956; served as First Secretary with Foreign Office in Vienna, Austria, 1956-1959

REEL 1 Background in GB, 1921-1939: family background in public service; education; anticipation of war; interest in current affairs; membership of Wellington School Officer Training Corps (OTC); reasons for decision to join Royal Artillery. Aspects of period as cadet with Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and with No 122 (Royal Artillery) Officer Cadet Training Unit at Larkhill in GB, 8/1939-2/1940: move of academy to Larkhill; concentrated course at Larkhill; syllabus; training on Ordnance QF 25 Pounder Field Gun; range simulator training; employment of different types of artillery pieces; opinion of Ordnance QF 25 Pounder Field Gun; degree of training on medium and heavy artillery and infantry tactics; communications training; superiority of artillery wireless sets; coding. REEL 2 Continues: wireless directions in clear; need for wireless silence and deception; anti-tank role of field guns; counter-battery work; gunner training; German use of mortars; awareness of German tanks; nature of course; assessment. Aspects of period as instructor with No 122 (Royal Artillery) Officer Cadet Training Unit at Larkhill in GB, 2/1940-1/1941: staying on as instructor; cadet squads; training staff; balance of practical and theoretical instruction; style of instruction; discipline; aids to calculation; value of mental arithmetic; accommodation; cadet duties; deploying as infantry after Dunkirk Evacution, 6/1940; reaction in Officer Cadet Training Unit to Dunkirk Evacuation; survivors from Dunkirk Evacuation at Larkhill; off duty activities. REEL 3 Continues: physical training; lack of instruction on leadership; character of cadets. Recollections of period as officer with 131st Field Regt, Royal Artillery, 15th (Scottish) Infantry Div in GB, 1941-1944: posting as troop commander; role of troop sergeant major in aiding his settling into regiment; awareness of latest techniques in gunnery; aiding transition of unit to Ordnance QF 25 Pounder Field Gun; comparison between Ordnance QF 25 Pounder Field Gun and Ordnance 12 Pounder Gun; rate of fire; work of Demonstration Battery at Battle School, Barnard Castle, 1943; command of guns; creation of gun pits; joining division at Colchester; invasion duties; exercises at Thetford; reception on arrival at unit; origins of officers and gunners; establishing rapport with troops. REEL 4 Continues: divisional artillery adapting to Ordnance QF 25 Pounder Field Gun; duties air spotting with Royal Air Force; other means of spotting; training with infantry; attachment to Battle School, Barnard Castle, 1943; experiments in supporting tanks with artillery fire; move of division to Northumberland; reaction to use of unit as training formation; training and exercises; age of recruits; selection of drafts; unsettling nature of depletion of personnel; changes in nature of exercises; measures to sustain morale; expectations of Second Front; off duty activities. REEL 5 Continues: alcohol consumption; cases of venereal disease; treatment of absence without leave cases; working regime; promotion to battery commander; relations between officers; relations between officers and other ranks; proportion of territorials to conscripts by 1944; reinforcements and their absorption into unit; preparations for amphibious operations; effects of poor weather on embarkation at Tilbury, 6/1944; calibration of guns on South Downs; reaction to overseas posting; psychological casualty. REEL 6 Continues: later battle fatigue casualties and their treatment; attitude of personnel to being in action; causes of psychological break downs; rations and water supply in field; how cook was poached by commanding officer; religious provision for troops; religious and political attitudes of unit personnel; attitude towards discovery of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, Germany 1945; level of interest in current affairs; effect of visits by General Bernard Montgomery; degree of awareness of progress of war. Recollections of operations as officer with 131st Field Regt, Royal Artillery, 15th (Scottish) Infantry Div in Normandy, France, 6/1944-8/1944: voyage across English Channel. REEL 7 Continues: landing in Normandy; divisional concentration area; battery vehicles including battery command vehicle; battery command team and equipment; use of Universal Carriers; problems with overload of communications network; battery charging for radios; use of Morris C8 Quad Gun Tractor; obstacles to movement in bocage; move into concentration area; preparations for action; briefing for Operation Epsom; air reconnaissance prior to operation; artillery preparatory bombardment for Operation Epsom, 26/6/1944; location of guns and choice of suitable positions; use of explosive to create gun pits; layout of guns; pace of barrage; use of artificial moonlight. REEL 8 Continues: strategic purpose of Operation Epsom; scope of briefing; rate of fire for artillery barrage; moving up behind 2nd Bn Gordon Highlanders; forming up near Cheux; infantry formation moving up; degree of armoured support; attack on Colleville-sur-Orne and Tourville-sur-Odon; knocking out of forward observation officer's Universal Carrier; nature of attack; selection of artillery targets; close co-operation with infantry; lack of liaison with tanks and their use during Operation Epsom; occupation of Colleville and Tourville; mortaring of his command White M3 Half-Track by Germans and casualties; work with reduced command team; supporting two infantry battalions; cutting off during German counter-attack on Cheux and Grainville-sur-Odon; 11th Armoured Div's withdrawal from Hill 112. REEL 9 Continues: in action against German tanks; wounding of brigadier; infantry defensive positions; German shell hits on slit trenches; move of platoon of 2nd Bn Gordon Highlanders in daylight and subsequent casualties; opinion of German artillery; move to reinforce south west flank; direction of German counter-attack; types of artillery fire employed; provision of direct fire; description of term 'stonk'; use of own communications to aid 2nd Bn Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders at Gavres; move along River Odon in dead ground; opinion of German opposition and their behaviour; determination of divisional troops to reach objectives. REEL 10 Continues: massing of artillery fire against counter-attacks; decision to withdraw 11th Armoured Div; forward observation officer at Grainville-sur-Odon; lack of counter-battery fire by Germans; temperament of Scottish troops; relief by 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Div; absorption of non-Scottish reinforcements; lack of rest for gunners after Operation Epsom; reasons for failure to take Maltot and Éterville; sight of Germans on Carpiquet Airfield; rotation of functions in battery; lack of chance for recreation in rest area; accommodation in bivouacs over slit trenches; start of attack during Operation Greenline, 15/7/1944; sight of brigadier near start line; loss of brigade headquarters; on Hill 113 by daybreak, 16/7/1944; setting up command post/observation post in dark using gun flashes. REEL 11 Continues: over-running of divisional positions on Hill 113 by German tanks; knocking out of German tanks by Ordnance QF 6 Pounder Anti-Tank Guns; effect of German tank machine guns; incident of being buried by earth by near miss; German artillery fire; German counter-attack; 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Div passing through positions; effect of dust in Normandy; German Air Force attack on positions at Mouen; spotting German front line; air situation in Normandy; sight of Allied air bombardment prior to Operation Goodwood, 7/1944; reasons for not receiving air support prior to Operation Epsom; need to conceal positions; move west to right flank into American positions; view of Operation Bluecoat and terrain from observation post; sight of knocking out of Churchill Tanks on ridge. REEL 12 Continues: fighting at Estry; artillery support provided for Operation Bluecoat; infantry advance; contrast between nature of fighting in Operation Bluecoat and Operation Epsom; effects on shell fire of embankments; suppressive effects of shell fire; need for co-ordination between artillery and infantry; move eastward and sight of devastation around Falaise; advance to River Seine; spotting German positions; putting down smoke for 2nd Bn Gordon Highlanders assault over River Seine; dealing with Waffen-SS prisoners of war; question of nature of attack across River Seine. Recollections of operations as officer with 131st Field Regt, Royal Artillery, 15th (Scottish) Infantry Div in North West Europe, 8/1944-5/1945: advance to Antwerp, Belgium; degree of contact with civilians. REEL 13 Continues: division's holding of bridgehead at Gheel, Belgium; evacuation of position at Gheel, Belgium including disabling of anti-tank guns; opinion of German opposition; positions at Gheel, Belgium; effect of terrain on artillery work at Gheel, Belgium; supporting 101st Airborne Div, United States Army at Eindhoven, Netherlands; German counter-attack at Helmond, Netherlands; in action on banks of River Maas, Netherlands; supporting 6th Guards Tank Bde; lack of difficulties with resupply; restrictions on movement to preserve road surfaces; supporting 51st (Highland) Infantry Div near Best, Netherlands; effect of mines on advance; maintenance of morale. REEL 14 Continues: gunners' ability to make dug out comfortable; winter clothing and boots; infantry fieldworks and exchanges of artillery fire; counter-battery and counter-mortar fire; in positions on River Maas, Netherlands, winter 1944-1945; view from his observation post; condition of River Maas, Netherlands; impact of Battle of the Bulge, 12/1944-1/1945; attack on Siegfried Line at Cleve, Germany; work of forward observation officers; loss of command post to shelling; organisation of new crew drawn from battery; use of suppressive fire during attack on Siegfried Line; sight of Churchill Tanks advancing through artillery fire; advance into Reichswald Forest, Germany; artillery work in dense forest; signal intelligence about German party hiding up in rear area. REEL 15 Continues: German use of self-propelled guns; casualties to shelling; firing on German self-propelled guns; allowing Germans to collect wounded under Red Cross flags; effects of shelling in forest; withdrawal to Tilburg, Netherlands; practicing river crossings; reconnaissance of positions on the River Rhine, Germany; use of smoke to hide preparations for crossing of River Rhine, 3/1945; taking temporary second in command role; artillery support for crossing of River Rhine, 3/1945; move across River Rhine, 3/1945; reaction of troops to discovery Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, Germany, 4/1945; assault crossing of River Elbe, Germany and reaction to strength of German opposition. REEL 16 Continues: wounding and hospitalisation. Recollections of period as Third Secretary with Eastern European Department of Foreign Office in London, GB, 1946-1949: sitting examination for Foreign Office; selection testing; attending Civil Service Commission Interview; effect of wounds on initial service; treatment for his disability; shortage of staff in Foreign Office; procedures for drafting telegrams; expectation to self-study Eastern European politics; Communist policy in East Europe; situation in Yugoslavia and Trieste; Yugoslavian break with Soviet Union; solution to Trieste question; dealing with Yugoslavians and Josip Tito; aiding Romanian defector; how eastern European countries were puppets of Soviet Union. REEL 17 Continues: role of Foreign Office training officer in organising lectures; learning Russian language; Soviet influence on Italian General Election, 1948; Allied attempts to influence electorate; duties as Residence Clerk during Berlin Blockade; briefing Ernest Bevin; workload; Soviet procedure for delivering diplomatic notes; importance of diplomatic statements; attending Council of Foreign Ministers; attitude towards French; relations with Americans; belief in American military commitment to Europe; question of Soviet influence on Communist insurgency in Greece; dealings with Albania over Corfu Channel Incident, 1946; economic aid to Yugoslavia; Communist seizure of power in Czechoslovakia. REEL 18 Continues: emergence of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), 1949; relations with President Josip Tito; fear of Soviet intervention in Yugoslavia; British role as go between United States of America and Yugoslavia; assessment of Soviet threat; Joseph Stalin's behaviour; behaviour of Soviet Union towards German prisoners of war; Soviet subversion in East Europe. Recollections of period as delegate with United Nations in New York, United States of America, 1949-1952: background to transfer to United Nations; organisation of United Nations; British Delegation; origins and purpose of United Nations; major security issues; Soviet use of veto; Anglo-American accord and differences of opinion; situation in Kashmir, India. REEL 19 Continues: Pakistani tactics employed at United Nations; question of China; United Nations representation; start of Korean War, 1950; mystery of Soviet Union absence from security council at time of Korean War; delaying tactics employed by Soviet Union on return; question of North Korean attack not being seen as a diversionary attack; nature of 'Uniting for Peace' resolutions; the Military Staff Committee obstructed by Soviet Union; United Nations policy on Palestine; United Nations atomic policy. REEL 20 Continues: life in United States of America; offices, paperwork and meetings; opinion that Soviets used United Nations as propaganda; writing and drafting of speeches; timing of statements. Aspects of period as Private Secretary to Secretary of Cabinet with Cabinet Office in London, GB, 1954-1956: appointment to job in Cabinet Office; issue of Prime Minster Winston Churchill's retirement; Prime Minister Winston Churchill's work routine and interests; memories of Norman Brooke; drafting answers to Parliamentary questions; other duties; Prime Minister Winston Churchill's other personal advisors; Cabinet minutes and committees; experiment with 'overlords'. REEL 21 Continues: Recollections of period as First Secretary with Foreign Office in Vienna, Austria, 1956-1959: posting to Vienna; reaction of Austrians to Soviet withdrawal; Austrian policy; standards of living and economy; Austrian domestic politics; impact of changes in Soviet policy; opinion of how Austrians handled Soviets including removal of signs of Soviet occupation; Soviet behaviour in Vienna; accommodation; entertainment; question of titles; Austrian diplomatic service; lack of forewarning about Hungarian Uprising, 10/1956-11/1956; reaction of Austrians to Hungarian Uprising, 10/1956-11/1956; border territory in Burgenland. REEL 22 Continues: closing of frontier during Hungarian Uprising, 10/1956-11/1956; arrival of British volunteers to assist Hungarians; how volunteers were used as relief workers to assist refugees; Hungarian hopes of help from United Nations; wireless contact with British Embassy in Budapest and how his wife was employed on cyphering; Austrians sympathetic with Hungarian Uprising, 10/1956-11/1956; voluntary organisations in GB to aid Hungarian refugees; volunteer terms; disappearance of volunteer; visit by Lady Edwina Mountbatten; lack of prospect of Soviet reoccupation of Austria; Soviet behaviour during Hungarian Uprising, 10/1956-11/1956; flow of refugees reduced by cold weather; accommodation for refugees; effects of Suez Crisis; visit by Lord Astor. REEL 23 Continues: ceremony for volunteers who had gone to Austria; view of Suez Crisis; process of resignation to enter politics; previous invitation to become parliamentary candidate.