Mole, Ronald William (Oral history)

British trooper served with C Sqdn, 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, 8th Armoured Bde in GB and North West Europe, 1943-1946; served with 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, 2nd Infantry Bde Group in Palestine, 6/1946-1/1947

REEL 1 Aspects of period as trooper with C Sqdn, 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, 8th Armoured Bde in GB, 1943: background to joining unit; composition of unit; learning to use Davis Escape Apparatus at Oulton; introduction to M4 Sherman Duplex Drive Tank; first training with amphibious tanks in Solent, 1943; beach landing training near Inverness; accident in Poole-Swanage area, early 1944; in sealed camp at Fawley Wood; briefing for D-Day operations and attitude to impending operations. Recollections of operations as trooper with C Sqdn, 4th/7th Dragoon Guards, 8th Armoured Bde on Gold Beach, Normandy, France, D-Day, 6/6/1944: character of landing and crossing of English Channel; destruction of AVRE Churchill Tank on beach; role of tank on beach; shooting of his tank commander Sergeant Kenneth Vaughan. REEL 2 Continues: memories of loss of Lance Corporal John 'Joe' Davis at Tessel Wood, 26/6/1944; sense of security in tank; duties at end of day. Recollections of operations as trooper with 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, 8th Armoured Bde in Normandy, France, 6/1944-8/1944: B Sqdn's attack towards Tilly-sur-Seulles, 11/6/1944; German armoured counter-attack at Point 103; opinion of unit medical officer, Captain Samuel Hood and his fate; capture of German prisoners of war at Tessel Wood, 26/6/1944; character of spotter plane pilot; nickname given to M4 Sherman Tank; rest period at Jerusalem Crossroads and Bayeux; opinion of Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks; unit morale; method of largering at night; bombing by German Air Force near Caumont l'Evente; infantry's preference for operating with diesel tanks rather than petrol tanks. REEL 3 Continues: threat of Panzerfausts; opinion Royal Air Force Hawker Typhoon pilots; method of calling in Royal Air Force Hawker Typhoon attacks. Recollections of operations as trooper with C Sqdn, 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, 8th Armoured Bde in North West Europe, 9/1944-5/1945: liberation of Lille, France, 2/9/1944; result of Waffen-SS attack on unit at Beringen, Belgium, 9/1944; attack on Bourg Leopold, Belgium, 8/1944; sight of dead German snipers on bridge at Nijmegen, Netherlands, 9/1944; narrow escape from drowning in dyke near Elst, Netherlands; holding positions on The Island, Netherlands; role during Battle of Geilenkirchen, Germany, 18/11/1944-22/11/1944; leave in GB, 1/1945; start of operations supporting 51st (Highland) Infantry Div in Reichswald Forest, Germany, 2/1945. REEL 4 Continues: character of initial bombardment in Reichswald Forest, Germany, 8/2/1945; wounding in face, 8/2/1945; evacuation and hospitalisation in Belgium; return to unit in Germany, 4/5/1945. Aspects of period as trooper with C Sqdn, 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards in Germany, 5/1945-6/1946: stationing at Borstel; ignoring non-fraternisation order; incident involving Displaced Persons and German girl with tuberculosis. Recollections of operations as trooper with 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, 2nd Infantry Bde Group in Palestine, 6/1946-1/1947 transfer to Palestine, 6/1946; armoured car patrols; attitude towards Jewish refugees; co-operation with Palestine Police Force in capture of Jewish insurgents; recreational activities in Haifa; Jewish insurgent leafleting of Enzel Street; weather conditions on return to GB, 1/1947; hearing news of blowing up of his armoured car after leaving Palestine.