Description
Object description
British officer served with 1st Bn Parachute Regt, 1st Parachute Bde, 1st Airborne Div in North Africa and Sicily, Italy, 11/1942-7/1943; commanded 4th Bn Parachute Regt, 2nd Parachute Bde in Italy, Southern France and Greece, 9/1943-1/1945
Content description
REEL 1 Recollections of operations as officer with T Coy, 1st Bn Parachute Regt, 1st Parachute Bde, 1st Airborne Div in North Africa, 11/1942-5/1943: role as second in command of company during Operation Torch, 11/1942; parachute landing at Beja, Tunisia, 13/11/1942; split among opposing French forces; opinion of fighting quality of Moroccan Goumiers; opinion of performance of paratroopers in his company; attempts at disruption behind German lines, 11/1942; character of Welsh reinforcements; unit's heavy weapons; problems obtaining suitable ammunition; question of degree to which local population got involved in fighting; attitude of Arabs to each opposing side; strategic problem for Allies as German lines of communications contracted; impression of American troops in Tunisia; opinion of German Tiger Tank; use of arterial roads as airstrips; German conscription of civilians to create defensive positions. Recollections of operations as officer with 1st Bn Parachute Regt. 1st Bn Parachute Regt, 1st Airborne Div during landings on Sicily, Italy, 7/1943: role as company commander of R Coy; briefing for Operation Fustian.
REEL 2 Continues: planning of landings; proposed objective to take Primosole Bridge; character of his parachute drop which missed the objective; capture of Italian prisoners of war at gun site; problems encountered by unit during landings. Aspects of operations commanding 4th Bn Parachute Regt, 2nd Parachute Bde in Italy and Southern France, 9/1943-9/1944: taking over command of unit; unit's infantry role in Italy, 1943-1944; defensive character of Italian terrain; visit to meet Pope Pius XII, Vatican City, summer 1944; proposed role of unit during Operation Dragoon in Southern France, 8/1944.
REEL 3 Continues: quick diversion of 2nd Parachute Bde from Southern France to Greece. Recollections of operations as commanding officer of 4th Bn Parachute Regt, 2nd Parachute Bde in Greece, 10/1944-1/1945: capture of Caucasian troops serving with German Army, 10/1944; character of unit parachute drop on Megara Airfield in strong winds, 12/10/1944-13/10/1944; his landing into barbed wire fence; march into centre of Athens; telegram received from Prime Minister Winston Churchill not to cross from Greece into Yugoslavia; fraternisation with Soviets on Greek/Yugoslavian border; NCO with Communist leanings opinion of Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS); shooting dead of battalion medical officer by Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS); street clearing in Athens; character of supporters of Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS); comments on Greek methods of communication; liaison with Greek Democratic National Army (EDES); problems British troops had with local speech in Greece; local differences among Greek civilian populations.
REEL 4 Continues: prior recollection of Operation Dragoon in Southern France, 15/8/1944-14/9/1944.
