Interview with Charles Ralph Smith

Sound: © IWM (22622)

1944461484
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

Sound: © IWM (22622)

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80021527&media_id=189229" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
266605654
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

Sound: © IWM (22622)

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80021527&media_id=189230" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
888903879
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

Sound: © IWM (22622)

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80021527&media_id=189231" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
346901158
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

Sound: © IWM (22622)

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80021527&media_id=189232" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
817828564
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

Sound: © IWM (22622)

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80021527&media_id=189233" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Description

Object description

British signaller served with Royal Corps of Signals attached to 6th Armoured Div in GB, North Africa and Italy, 6/1942-7/1944

Content description

REEL 1 Background in Kingston upon Hull, GB, 1922-1941: family; education; employment; reaction to declaration of Second World War, 3/9/1939; use of air raid shelters, 1940-1941; damage to place of employment; public morale in Kingston upon Hull. Aspects of enlistment and training as signaller with Royal Corps of Signals, 1941: reasons for volunteering for military service, 1941; duties in Newcastle upon Tyne; posting to Orkney Islands; problems of finding things to do. Aspects of period as signaller with Royal Corps of Signals in GB, 1941-1942: attachment to 152nd (Ayrshire Yeomanry) Field Regt, Royal Artillery at Thurso; seasickness crossing Pentland Firth; method of scaling telegraph poles; duties at Thurso. REEL 2 Continues: line work at Thurso; move to Epping; commanding officer's reaction to his motorcycle accident; deployment of unit; story of encounter between commanding officer and brigadier; opinion of commanding officer; attachment to 6th Armoured Div at Ayr, 6/1942; training in Scotland, 10/1942; embarkation at Glasgow, 11/1942. Recollections of operation as signaller with Royal Corps of Signals attached to 6th Armoured Div in North Africa, 11/1942-5/1943: briefing about Operation Torch on board ship; accommodation on arrival in Algiers, French Algeria; move towards Medjez-el-Bab, Tunisia. REEL 3 Continues: first unit casualty to German Air Force attack; story of being placed on charge by commanding officer for not wearing his helmet; move to Bou Arada, Tunisia; line laying in Bou Arada area, Tunisia; reaction to proposal to use mines to stop advancing Germans tanks; attachment to 1st Guards Bde; move to Kasserine Pass area, Tunisia; contact with United States Army troops who had sheltered in trench for three days at Kasserine Pass, Tunisia; link-up with Eighth Army; story of narrow escape from German Air Force aircraft attack and encounter with Corps of Military Police policeman. REEL 4 Continues: further escape from German Air Force attack; advance towards Cape Bon, Tunisia, 5/1943; taking surrender of large number of Axis prisoners of war; night he spent with dead camel; end of Tunisian Campaign, 5/1943; state of fatigue at end of Tunisian Campaign. Recollections of operations as signaller with Royal Corps of Signals attached to 6th Armoured Div in Italy, 3/1944-7/1944: arrival in Naples, 18/3/1944; degree of confidence in his jeep driving; move northwards; story of dangerous jeep drive in dark; move to Monte Cassino area; line laying work in Monte Cassino area; reasons for being placed on second charge; attempt to meet uncle in Naples; United States Army troops looting of German prisoners of war personal effects. REEL 5 Continues: opinion of United States Army Air Force bombing of Monte Cassino; breakthrough at Monte Cassino; advance towards Perugia; loss and recovery of commanding officer's vehicle; jeep accident he had under artillery fire, 7/1944; medical treatment received with 92nd British General Hospital in Naples; return to GB for hospitalisation.

Object Details

Category: Sound
Related period: 1990 to the present day (production), Second World War (content), Second World War (association)
Creator: IWM (Production company)
Wood, Conrad (Recorder)
Smith, Charles Ralph (Interviewee/Speaker)
Production date: 2002-02-28
Dimensions: whole: Duration 135, Number Of Items 5
Catalogue number: 22622

Object associations

Our collections information

We have over 1.7 million object records online, and we are adding to this all the time. Our records are never finished. Sometimes we discover new information that changes what we know about an object, such as who made it or used it. Sometimes we change how an object is interpreted. We sometimes make mistakes in our spelling, transcription or categorisation, or miss information out of our records.

Read more about our collections and the information we hold. Developing our collections information

If you have concerns about the language in this record, or you have information to improve it, please share your feedback.

We receive a lot of comments and can't respond to each one, but we do read them all and will respond where we can.

Interview with Charles Ralph Smith

Description

Object description

Content description

Object Details

Object associations

Associated people and organisations

Associated places

Associated keywords

Associated themes

Our collections information

Related content

The Medics Who kept Duxford's Pilots in the Air During the Second World War