Description
Object description
British officer served with 6th Bn North Staffordshire Regt in Normandy, 1944; colonial administrator in Nigeria, 1950-1957 and Aden, 1957-1967
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Oxford and at Marlborough College, 1923-1942: family; education; life at Marlborough College early Second World War; description of Blacker Bombard and other weapons; opinion of Home Guard instructors. Enlistment and training with British Army in GB, 1942-1943: call-up, 8.1942; initial training at Bodmin; Royal Artillery training at Newtown; transfer to infantry; pre OCTU at Wrotham, early 1943; character of OCTU at Douglas; breaking his ankle in airborne training; sight of German internees on Isle of Man.
REEL 2 Continues: commissioning into King's Shropshire Light Infantry; story of how his accent was received by other ranks in barrack room; stoppages in soldiers' pay. Period as officer commanding Pioneer Platoon, Support Coy, 2nd Bn Herefordshire Regt in GB, 1943: posting to unit during Operation Harlequin in Kent; moves to Amersham and Alnmouth, autumn 1943; question of instructors lacking experience of action; guarding PLUTO pipeline on Isle of Wight, 6/1944; break-up of unit, 6/1944; duties as commander of Pioneer Platoon. Period on draft in GB and Normandy, 6/1944- 7/1944: move to reinforcing unit at Aldershot, 6/1944; sailing from Newhaven, c11/7/1944; sight of Allied ships off Normandy; how German mines can be located by rabbit excrement; differences between regular and hostility only officers; posting to 6th Bn North Staffordshire Regt. Recollections of operations as officer with C Coy, 6th Bn North Staffordshire Regt in Normandy, 7/1944- 8/1944: action unit had seen before he joined them; character of bocage country.
REEL 3 Continues: rations supplied to troops; use of Benghazi cooker to boil potatoes; memories of officers John Towers and Dougie Gage; consequences of unit prisoner hunting patrols; reasons why patrols should be drawn from reserve companies; story of death of platoon member and loss of his battle dress jacket; reconnaissance patrol to snatch German prisoner; memories of Robert Maxwell; opinion of information about intelligence gathered from POWs; training in infantry-tank co-operation; riding on tanks southwards into Normandy; reconnaissance of River Orne; accidental mining of armoured car.
REEL 4 Continues: advance across River Orne, 6/8/1944; problems of radio communication in infantry; capture of German POWs; impressions of German troops; contrast between rates of fire of Bren and Spandau Machine Guns; wounding in back during attack, 6/8/1944; his evacuation to rear. Period of hosptialisation in France and GB, 1944-1945: two week period in France; meeting with wounded officer who did not want to convalesce in GB; evacuation to Southampton; character of his bullet wound.
REEL 5 Continues: Aspects of service as officer with British Army in GB and Middle East, 1945-1946: posting to 8th Bn Manchester Regt in Northern Ireland, early 1945; state of 2nd Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers on posting after VJ Day; move to Egypt; attending course at Mount Carmel College'; move to 64 DID, Royal Army Service Corps at Ismailia; Arab self-mutilation to avoid Egyptian Army service; use of German POWs to guard camps in Canal Zone, 1946; return to GB. Recollections of period as colonial administrator in Nigeria, 1950-1957: studying for Colonial Service at London University 1949-1950; voyage from GB to Nigeria; journey from Lagos to south east of country; duties in Initra Province; problems of communication and lack of stone.
REEL 6 Continues: initial duties in Orcha; commanding bush prison; operation of court system in Iboland; spending of taxes; lack of road transport; operation of dispensaries; demeanour of people; different divisions he served in including Newi; how over- population caused litigation over land possession in Initcha; fishing in rivers; use of river transport in Brass; organisation of daily life on launches.
REEL 7 Continues: role of District Officers; question of cause of 'leopard murders'; story of prisoner who stood in for his warder the night before his execution; question of ease with which British personnel were able to administer south eastern Nigeria; low level of crime amongst civilian population; relations between police and local population in Brass; relations between different tribes; attitude towards paid employment with Government Service; control on firearms size of armed forces available to administration.
REEL 8 Continues: interest of local population with judicial process; supervision of native courts; examples of judgements he gave as Assistant District Officer; raid on Andoni Islands to collect taxes; parochial viewpoint of Assistant District Officers; question of degree to which government expenditure was dispersed; amount of government tax resources; difference between de-tribalisation and urbanisation; question of governablity of Nigeria.
REEL 9 Continues: question of effect of urbanisation on influence of village collective; loss of educated Nigerians to ambassadorial posts; low level of entrepreneurship in south eastern Nigeria; absence of actual coinage in south eastern Nigeria; his attitude to levying high taxes on bachelors to pay for universal primary education c1957; use of letters of appointments; question of effects of Nigeria Regt serving in Congo, c1960. Recollections of period as colonial administrator in Aden, 1957-1967: historical background to extension of British influence into Western Aden Protectorate.
REEL 10 Continues: job as Assistant Adviser to Emir of Dhala; areas of Dhala not under Emir's control; military forces available to him; lack of political outspokenness; problems of dealing with local potentate; inspection of accounts of Emir of Dhala; use of 1st Bn King's Shropshire Light Infantry in cordon and search operations; methods of tax gathering especially on Mufari Plateau; story of attempt to apprehend Arab who shot at the Adviser's house; role of Yemenis in supplying insurgents weapons; availability of weapons to both sides; situation of Radfan.
REEL 11 Continues: control of tribesmen arms; work he did as Resident Assistant Adviser; building house; wounding by hand grenade at Steamer Point; question of defence of El Ittihad by Federal Army, 1967; role in last month of British rule; background to flight of Arab rulers to Saudi Arabia, 1967; question of preference for service in Nigeria; political dilemma for Foreign Office in Aden after Yemeni revolution early 1960s.
