Description
Object description
British officer served with 2nd Bn, Royal Norfolk Regt in GB, India and Burma, 1941-1946
Content description
REEL 1 Aspects of background, 1919-1939: family military connections; father's career as teacher and parson; education; training with Inns of Court OTC. Service with 2/7th Bn, Queens Royal West Surrey Regt in France, 4/1040-5/1940: lack of equipment; reactions under fire; evacuation from Le Havre, 5/1940. Training as officer at 167 Officers Cadet Training Unit at Malvern ca 1940-1941. Recollection of period with 17 Platoon, D Coy, 2nd Bn, Royal Norfolk Regt at Hessle, 6/1941-12/1941: relationship with various officers, NCOs and Other Ranks; story of meeting Major Robert Scott and subsequent relationship; opinion of Colonel George Winter illustrated by experiences as MT officer in India; question of interview prior to permission to get married; training; billets; marriage and stories illustrating wife's initial reception, 10/1941; working parties searching for corpses in Hull grain mills following German air raids; theatre visits; coastal defence duties; exercises and policy of meeting junior officers in other divisional units; story of practical joke played on of Company Sergeant Major Jock Milne; regimental dances; drunk officer.
REEL 2 Continues: question of drinking habits; relationship with women. Period at Fairford, 12/1941-3/1942: river crossing training; breaking camp to visit wife; relationship between Winter and Scott; officers' mess and recreations; story of dispute between Lieutenant Jack Randle and Major Scott over dangerous rifle range; inspections by George VI. Voyage aboard Orbita to Bombay, India, 3/1942-6/1942: crowded conditions; guards on watertight doors; state of morale; training; reception from civilians at Capetown, South Africa; news of birth of son; question of pay and mess bills; question of 'ranker' officers; opinion of Randle.
REEL 3 Continues: period at Retreat Camp, Capetown; story of group of Royal Scots attempting to desert at Freetown, Sierra Leone; first impressions of India. Period at Chinchwad Camp, 6/1942-7/1942: monsoon; route march; visit to Poona Club; opinion of Lieutenant Gerry Myler; exercises. Recollections of period at based mainly at Ahmednagar, 7/1942-12/1943: combined operations training at Kharakvasla; competition between companies; policy of learning many different roles within unit; dispute with Lieutenant Basil Aitkins during voyage out; role as MT officer; story of soldier's mental breakdown; nature of convoy discipline and organisation during training trip to Goa; jungle warfare training; combined operations training at Juhu; role on internal security duties at Ahmedabad, 8/1942-9/1942.
REEL 4 Continues: role on internal security duties at Ahmedabad, 8/1942-9/1942; period of light duties due to outbreak of sores in unit; leave and attempt to shoot tiger; daily routine, conditions of service, recreations and sport; opinion of Provost Sergeant Bert Fitt and Regimental Sergeant Major Gordon Wright; opinion of various officers; background to replacement of Winter by Scott, 7/1943; question of active service; awareness of treatment of POWs by Japanese; visit by Mountbatten, 1/1944; train journey to Amada Road, 4/1944; question of religion; return to D Coy; airlift to Dimapur, 4/1944. Recollections of initial move to Jotsoma, 4/1944: situation.
REEL 5 Continues: terrain; acidental shooting of Company Sergeant Major Milne. Recollection of Operation Strident flank march to GPT Ridge, 25/4/1943-3/4/1944: role of 143 Special Service Coy; night march to Khonoma, 25/4/1944; equipment carried; terrain; rest period in Death Valley; food poisoning from eating leaves, 3/5/1944; story of Scott organising tea for troops, 4/5/1944. Attack and consolidation of positions on GPT Ridge, 4/5/1944-5/5/1944: initial approach; assisting wounded Lieutenant Savory; confused nature of situation; question of fire control; attempt to conceal status as officer in action; attachment to B Coy and consolidation of former Japanese slit trenches; batman's accident with tommy cooker during shell fire; Japanese sniping; reconnaissance patrol and conversation with Captain Jack Randle, 5/6/1944. Account of attack on Norfolk Bunker, 6/5/1944: support role in command of Carrier Plattoon; view of attack on Kohima Ridge; situation on arrival at Norfolk Bunker; fetching in corpse of Lieutenant David Glasse; order to leave wounded and coprses; use of grenades to deal with bunkers facing Jail Hill; story illustrating unreliability of Sten gun; effects of rum ration; role of Company Sergeant Major Bert Fitt; orders from Scott to consolidate; mist and Japanese 'jitter' tactics during night; Japanese method of building bunkers; corpses in bunker and story of eating bully beef; reaction to casualties; expectation of Japanese counter-attack. Aspects of operations of operations on GPT Ridge, 7/5/1944-28/5/1944: death of Brigadier William Goschen at Norfolk Bunker, 7/5/1944; chappatis from Gurkhas; posting to command C Coy; casualties; food rations; effects of dysentery; improvements to positions; capture of rest of Norfolk Bunker, 15/4/1944; rest period at Dimapur.
REEL 7 Continues: rest period at Dimapur; Japanese 75mm shell fire; casualties from parachute air drop; water supply from Aradura Nala; opinion of Scott, Slinn and Glover; patrol illustrating failure of Brigade Intelligence Officer Captain John Howard to appreciate difficult nature of terrain; role as commanding company acting as carrying party during failed attack on Aradura Spur, 28/5/1944; opinion of Major Henry Condor and Scott; question of battle tactics. Rest period at Dimapur, 5/1944 Aspects of operations during advance to Viswema, 6/1944: opinion of Colonel Jock Carroll; situation; Japanese POWs and discovery of Norfolk regimental badges from fall of Singapore. Recollections of attack on Vishwema ridge, 6/1944: situation; dislike of Carroll's plan for advance up track; casualties; story of leading attack on bunker including officer's refusal to advance and receiving multiple wounds; return to battalion headquarters and influence of Signal Officer Sam Horner; evacuation with wounded.
REEL 7