Description
Object description
British officer served with 2nd (Machine Gun) Bn Cheshire Regt, 1st Infantry Div and 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Div in GB, France and Belgium, 9/1939-5/1941; served with 2nd (Machine Gun) Bn Cheshire Regt, 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Div in Middle East and North Africa, 7/1941-5/1943
Content description
REEL 1 Background in India and GB, 1920-1939: family; education; enlistment in British Army, 1939; memories of declaration of Second World War, 3/9/1939. Recollections of operations as officer with 2nd (Machine Gun) Bn Cheshire Regt, 1st Infantry Div in France and Belgium, 9/1939-5/1940: posting to unit; relations with French civilians; discipline; move to positions on River Dyle, Belgium, 10/5/1940; relations between officers and other ranks; sight of refugees crossing River Dyle, Belgium; deployment on river bank; false gas alarm; shooting at German snipers; withdrawal as part of rearguard; reaction to passing through deserted Tournai, Belgium; withdrawal towards Dunkirk, France; situation on arrival at Bray Dunes, France; reaction to sight of wounded French soldier; evacuation by HMS Antelope.
REEL 2 Continues: Aspects of period as officer with 2nd (Machine Gun) Bn Cheshire Regt, 1st Infantry Div and 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Div in GB, 6/1940-5/1941: reception on return to GB; fellow officer's plan to rescue girlfriend from occupied Netherlands; story of encounter with brigadier during 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Div exercise. Aspects of voyage aboard HMT Georgic from GB to Egypt via South Africa, 5/1941-7/1941: reason for obtaining anti-aircraft duties; reception in South Africa. Aspects of period as officer with 2nd (MG) Bn Cheshire Regt, 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Div in Middle East, 7/1941-2/1942: garrison duties on Cyprus; move to Iraq; joining battalion in French Syria. Recollections of operations as officer with 2nd (Machine Gun) Bn Cheshire Regt, 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Div in North Africa, 2/1942-5/1943: initial impressions of desert; sight of demoralised troops; taking up positions on Gazala Line, Libya, 2/1942; search for water and vehicle parts.
REEL 3 Continues: formation of Jock Columns to establish small defensive positions; machine-gunning of truck and pursuit by German tank; Italian opposition; German attack on Gazala Line, Libya, 6/1942; withdrawal of brigade from Gazala Line, Libya, 6/1942; problems of crossing through gap on route to Tobruk, Libya; retreat towards Egyptian frontier; breakout from encirclement by Deutsches Afrika Korps; heading towards Fuka, Egypt; reaction to capture by German armoured cars; removal of officer's insignia; escape from German truck.
REEL 4 Continues: recapture by Germans in wadi; Deutsches Afrika Korps reaction to request for rations; under air attack by Royal Air Force in vehicle convoy; release by Deutsches Afrika Korps to persuade troops in British box to surrender; debriefing at brigade headquarters; death of South African driver in collision with his Universal Carrier; reorganisation of unit after losses; attitude amongst infantry about performance of armoured units during Battle of Gazala, Libya, 6/1942; return to unit prior to Battle of Alam Halfa, Egypt, 7/1942; rumours about start time for Battle of Alam Halfa, Egypt, 31/7/1942; reaction to arrival of General Bernard Montgomery and later opinion of him; battlefield salvage duties after Battle of El Alamein, Egypt, 11/1942; memories of Brigadier John 'Crasher' Nichols.
REEL 5 Continues: impressions of Major General Brian Horrocks; screening role during German counter-attack in Tunisia; role of 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Div during attacks on Mareth Line in Tunisia, 3/1943; start of Battle of Mareth Line, Tunisia, 16/3/1943; problems attacking anti-tank ditch; overhearing telephone conversation between General Bernard Montgomery and Brigadier John 'Crasher' Nichols; attitude of 7th Bn Green Howards (Alexandra Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regt) after withdrawing from other side of anti-tank ditch at Mareth Line, Tunisia, 3/1943; Battle of Wadi Akarit, Tunisia, 7/4/1943; reaction to sacking of Brigadier John 'Crasher' Nichols; burial of dead at Mareth after Battle of Wadi Akarit, Tunisia, 4/1943.