Description
Object description
British schoolchild in Kenya, 1952-1955; officer cadet in Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Camberley, GB, 1956-1958; officer served with 3rd (Kenya) Bn King's African Rifles in Kenya, 1958-1962; served with Intelligence Corps in GB, 1962-1963; served with Intelligence Corps attached to Headquarters, 99th Gurkha Infantry Bde in Brunei and Borneo, Malaysia during Indonesian Confrontation, 1963-1964; served with Intelligence Corps attached to Headquarters, 28th Infantry Bde in Malaysia, 1964-1965; served with Intelligence Corps at School of Military Intelligence, Ashtead, GB, 1965-1968
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Chesterfield, GB and Tanganyika, 1937-1952: family; education; family move to Tanganyika; father's involvement in Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme; recreational activities in the bush; education in and Kenya. Aspect of period as schoolchild in Kenya, 1952-1955: nature of Mau Mau; degree of threat felt; attacks on European civilians; question of Mau Mau's abilities to confront Europeans; incident when he thought he saw figures moving outside family home. Recollections of period as officer cadet with Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Camberley, GB, 1956-1958: ambition to get into Sandhurst; employment and study, 1956
REEL 2 Continues: haircut; aptitude tests; degree of understanding of shooting and drill; pattern of instruction; daily routine; weapons training including Lee-Enfield .303 Rifle; degree of tactical training; winning drill competition; attitude to boxing; sporting activities; exercises; assessment throughout course; award of prize; social activities.
REEL 3 Continues: choice of Kings African Rifles to be commissioned into; arrival of uniform; attending small arms course; attending platoon commander's course. Recollections of operations as officer with 3rd (Kenya) Bn King's African Rifles in Kenya, 1958-1962: reception on arrival at Nanyuki; company move to Wajir; advantage of understanding language; relations with company commander; company organisation; relations with African NCOs; calibre of African NCOs; opinion of troops; degree to which he knew battalion members by name; pastoral role; question of language skills amongst newly arrived British officers.
REEL 4 Continues: question of pay for officers serving in Kenya; mess life; working hours; club life and social recreations; question of standards in regiment; character of journey to Northern Frontier District; situation and terrain in Northern Frontier District; training in containing civil unrest; daily routine; nature of rations; unit competitions; source of rations; football matches; method of showering.
REEL 5 Continues: visits to yacht club; presence of Asian traders in area; racial relations; supplementing rations with game; nature of patrols on border; recruitment in Northern Frontier District; reasons for lack of presence of wives with troops in Northern Frontier District; return from northern territory to Nanyuki; opinion of troops' shooting abilities; shooting team; shooting competitions; sporting competitions; physical condition of troops; troops' accommodation; tracking in jungle.
REEL 6 Continues: batman's duties; role of sergeant-major; posting to mortar platoon and return to Northern Frontier District; communications; regimental standards; question of marriage in unit; opinion of rush towards Independence and it's effect on the military. Aspects of period as officer with Intelligence Corps in GB, 1962-1963: background to joining Intelligence Corps; degree of training received. Recollections of period as officer with Intelligence Corps attached to Headquarters, 99th Gurkha Infantry Bde in Brunei, Borneo and Sarwak, Malaysia during Indonesian Confrontation, 1963-1964: reasons for volunteering for service in Brunei; role and duties; degree of responsibility he held; composition of brigade; opinion of performance of Malay battalions.
REEL 7 Continues: location of headquarters; changing situation in Borneo and move of headquarters to Kuching, Sarawak; intelligence gathering operations; learning Malay language; impressions of Ibans living in jungle; description of Iban longhouses; nature of Indonesian military infiltration; daily routine in Kuching, Sarawak; sources of intelligence; collation of intelligence; pattern of daily routine; state of health.
REEL 8 Continues: periods of leave in Singapore, Malaysia; marriage. Aspects of period as officer with Intelligence Platoon, 28th Infantry Bde in Malaysia, 1964-1965: posting to brigade; security measures taken; liaison with Special Branch; vetting of personnel; composition of brigade; relations with Commonwealth elements of brigade. Aspects of period as officer with Intelligence Corps at School of Military Intelligence, Ashtead, GB, 1965-1968: initial role as recruitment officer for corp; duties as adjutant; question of behaviour of commanding officer; reasons for leaving army, 1968.
REEL 9 Continues: opinion of quality of officers in Intelligence Corps; question of moving from King's African Rifles to Intelligence Corps; background to leaving British Army, 1968; period on Army Reserve after leaving British Army.