Fitz-John, Harold (Oral history)

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Description

Object description

British trooper served as driver/mechanic with 42nd Royal Tank Regt, 1st Army Tank Bde in North Africa, 1941-1942; prisoner of war in Campo PG 116, Benghazi and Campo PG 313, Tripoli, Libya, 6/1942-7/1942, Campo PG 66, Capua, Italy, 7/1942-9/1943, Stalag IX-C, Bad Sulza and W27 Arbeitskommando, Werdau, Germany, 9/1943-5/1945

Content description

REEL 1 Background in Kingston upon Hull, GB, 1919-1940: family; education; employment; reaction to declaration of Second World War, 3/9/1939. Aspects of enlistment and training with Royal Armoured Corps and 43rd Royal Tank Regt in GB, 1/1940-4/1941: call-up to Royal Armoured Corps, 1/1940; pattern of basic training on armoured vehicles; abortive transfer to 15th/19th Hussars; joining 43rd Royal Tank Regt on coastal defence duties in Northumberland, summer 1940. Aspects of voyage aboard HMT Oronsay from GB to Egypt via South Africa, 5/1941-6/1941: embarkation; reception by civilians in Durban, South Africa, 5/1941; arrival in Egypt, 6/1941. Recollections of operations as driver/mechanic with 42nd Royal Tank Regt, 1st Army Tank Bde in North Africa, 6/1941-6/1942: relations with Egyptian civilians; prior recollection of misbehaviour of Australian Army troops in Durban, South Africa, 5/1941; clashes between British army and Royal Air Force personnel in Alexandria, Egypt, 1941; off duty in Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt; participation in Operation Crusader, 11/1941. REEL 2 Continues: driving Matilda Mk II Infantry Tank in desert; reaction to orders to attack German positions at Halfaya Pass, Egypt, 12/1941; discovery of abandoned canteen supplies and cash of echelon of 1st Armoured Div, 11/1941; diet in desert; role of dung beetles in desert; presence of egg traders in desert; procedure for laagering in desert; his fear of snakes; desert wildlife; cleanliness in desert; quiet period on Gazala Line, Libya, spring 1942; decimation of part of unit on patrol, 4/1942; in action on Sidar Ridge during Battle of Cauldron, Libya, 6/1942. REEL 3 Continues: withdrawal with damaged tank towards Tobruk, Libya, 6/1942; capture by German Deutsches Afrika Korps troops, 6/1942. Aspects of period as prisoner of war in Campo PG 116, Benghazi and Campo PG 313, Tripoli, Libya, 6/1942-7/1942: German captor's apology for handing prisoners of war over to Italians; reasons for Italian officer firing on prisoners of war; conditions in Campo PG 116, Benghazi; move to Campo PG 313 at Tripoli; treatment by Italian guards. Aspects of period as prisoner of war in Campo PG 66, Capua, Italy, 7/1942-9/1943: reaction to arrival of first Red Cross parcels in camp; Italian surrender, 9/1943. Recollections of period as prisoner of war in Stalag IX-C, Bad Sulza, Germany, 9/1943-5/1945: on railway working party near Erfurt; relations with German guard; prisoner of war who had relations with German female civilian; exploitation by prisoners of war of Red Cross supplies to assert superiority over German guards; volunteering to work at I G Farben AG with W27 Arbeitskommando, Werdau; his friendship with female German civilian. REEL 4 Continues: his attitude towards German civilians and later clash with his father; sight of American advance in Saxony, 1945; kicking to death of German by crowd of Polish women; his patronage of his female German friend and her family after war had finished; journey from Germany to GB via Brussels, Belgium; processing of former prisoners of war at Abingdon, GB; adjusting to civilian life on rehabilitation leave, 1945. REEL 5 Continues: Story of shelling of Deutsches Afrika Korps column from ridge in Knightsbridge Box area, Libya, 6/1942.

Object Details

Category: Sound
Related period: 1990 to the present day (production), Second World War (content), Second World War (association)
Creator: IWM (Production company)
Wood, Conrad (Recorder)
Fitz-John, Harold (Interviewee/Speaker)
Production date: 1991-07-30
Dimensions: whole: Duration 150, Number Of Items 5
Catalogue number: 12163

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Fitz-John, Harold (Oral history)

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