Interview with Alan Peter Humphries

British officer served with 1st Airlanding Light Regt, Royal Artillery, 1st Airborne Div in GB and during Operation Market Garden, Netherlands, 3/1944-9/1944; served as staff officer with 1st Infantry Div in Palestine, 1945-1946

REEL 1 Background in Saidpur, India and GB, 1920-1938: family; education; story of lodging with Jewish family in Vienna during Anschluss, Austria, 12/3/1938-13/3/1938. Aspects of period as clerk in London, GB, 1939-1940: employment as articled clerk; German Air Force bombing of his lodgings at Mostyn Hotel; effect of Prime Minister Winston Churchill's speeches. Aspect of enlistment and training with Royal Army Pay Corps in GB 1940-1941: call-up to Royal Army Pay Corps, 11/1940; attitude to serving with Pay Corps in Leicester; application to transfer to Royal Artillery, 1941. Aspects of period as officer with 170th Field Regt, Royal Artillery, Home Forces and 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Div in GB, 12/1941-3/1944: posting to unit after officer training at Catterick Garrison, 12/1941; situation on arrival with regiment at Hamilton; reason for move of regment to Thurso, 1942-1943; mixing with people from different backgrounds; move to Banbridge, Northern Ireland. REEL 2 Continues: role as assistant adjutant at Banbridge, Northern Ireland, 1/1944-3/1944. Aspects of period as officer with 1st Airlanding Light Regt, Royal Artillery, 1st Airborne Div in GB, 3/1944-9/1944: role as assistant adjutant and adjutant with regiment; abandoning of plans to drop unit behind German lines in Normandy, France; sense of frustration in 1st Airborne Div at not getting into action. Recollections of operations as officer with 1st Airlanding Light Regt, Royal Artillery, 1st Airborne Div during Operation Market Garden in Netherlands, 9/1944: sound of German anti-aircraft fire hitting glider; nature of landing; setting up regimental headquarters and role of adjutant in action; movement of regimental headquarters; personnel and conditions at regimental headquarters; wounding of commanding officer; degree to which German forces pressurised regimental headquarters; move of headquarters to church at Oosterbeek; relations with commanding officer and acting commanding officer; escape across River Nederrijn. REEL 3 Continues: condition he was in when he crossed river; failure of air supply drops; narrow escape from German sniper crossing road near Old Church, Oosterbeek; question of likelihood of Operation Market Garden; memories of liberation of Stravanger, Norway, 1945. Aspects of staff officer with 1st Infantry Div, Palestine Command in Palestine, 1945-1946: basing in Caesarea area; danger of wires across roads; attitude towards service in Palestine; attitude towards illegal immigrants and role as commandant of holding camp for them; his pro-Jewish sympathies over Palestine issue.