Interview with Michael Fortune Cleghorn

British officer served with 17th Bn Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regt) in GB, 1940-1942; served with L Sqdn, General Headquarters Liaison Regiment 'Phantom' in GB, 1942-1944 and attached to XIX Corps, United States Army in North West Europe, 1944-1945

REEL 1 Background in London and Royal Tunbridge Wells, GB, 1918-1939: family; education; employment. Aspects of period as cadet at Royal Military College Sandhurst, Camberley in GB, 1939-1940: background to recruitment to Welsh Guards; period at Royal Military College Sandhurst. Aspects of period as officer with 17th Bn Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regt) in GB, 1940-1942: commissioning into regiment, 2/1940; attachment to Royal Fusiliers Regimental Depot, Tower of London; billeting in Blaydon area; relations with civilians in Monmouth area, 12/1940; move to Brighton, 1941; airfield protection duties at RAF Middle Wallop, 1941; incident on ranges where troops accidentally killed by Royal Air Force fighter aircraft at Warminster, 1941; move to forts above Portsmouth. Aspects of period as officer with L Sqdn, General Headquarters Liaison Regiment 'Phantom' in GB, 1942-1944: background to joining regiment. REEL 2 Continues: reception at headquarters at Richmond Park, 1942; allocation to L Sqdn; origins of unit; signals work; characters in regiment including having supper with Michael Astor at home; communications exercises with 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Div in Scotland; deception work to deceive Germans into belief that Norway was site of proposed invasion, 1944. Recollections of operations as officer with L Sqdn, General Headquarters Liaison Regiment 'Phantom' attached to XIX Corps, United States Army in North West Europe, 1944-1945: reporting to General Bernard Montgomery's Headquarters and attachment to XIX Corps, United States Army; first encounter with American commander of XIX Corps, Major-General Charles Corlett; signal problems working with XIX Corps in Normandy, France, 6/1944-8/1944; how it was decided whether Americans or British should be first to use road to River Seine, France. REEL 3 Continues: award of Bronze Star for capture of German prisoners of war; advance from Waterloo, Belgium towards Aachen, Germany, 9/1944; nature of Ardennes crisis, 12/1944; colourful language used by senior American officer towards Major-General Freddie De Guingand, early 1945; encounter with David Niven on leave in GB, 3/1945; loss of animals from Hanover Zoo, Germany, 4/1945; dangers of drunken American troops on VE Day, Germany, 8/5/1945; expectation of Germans that Western Allies would attack Soviet Union, 1945; fraternisation with major-general in Soviet Army, 1945; command structure and size of L Sqdn, General Headquarters Liaison Regt 'Phantom', 1944; memories of A P Herbert and Major-General Freddie De Guingand. REEL 4 Continues: insignia worn by unit; amusing story of David Niven's message regarding messenger pigeon.