Description
Object description
British private trained with General Service Corps in Brecon, GB, 1/1943-6/1943; served with 1/5th Welch Regt, 158th Infantry Bde, 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Div in GB and North West Europe, 6/1943-8/1944; hospitalisation in Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, GB, 9/1944; served with Royal Army Ordnance Corps in GB, 9/1944-4/1946; hospitalisation in Wharncliffe War Hospital, Sheffield, GB, 4/1946-7/1946
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Pontarddulais, GB, 1924-1943: education; employment; family; wartime Pontarddulais; German Air Force raids on Swansea and Pontarddulais, 1941; use of house cellar as air raid shelter; joining of Army Cadet Corps; service with Air Raid Precautions; reaction to war. Recollection of enlistment and training as private with General Service Corps in GB, 1/1943-6/1943: reaction of parents to his enlistment; attending medical in Swansea; arrival of call-up papers; reaction to joining British Army; journey with Harry Waters to Brecon. Aspects of period as recruit with General Service Corps in Brecon, GB, 1/1943-6/1943: arrival in Brecon and march to camp; fellow recruits; memories of NCOs; illness and hospitalisation; anxiety to return to unit; memories of George Williams; contact with officers; discipline; visits to Brecon; church parades; driving lessons; passing out parade; accommodation; opinion of rations; relations with fellow recruits; cleaning boots; fitness training; weapon training; pace of drill; physical training; gas precaution training; leisure activities; interest in war news; posting in Welch Regiment; leave. Aspects of period as private with 1/5th Bn Welch Regt, 158th Infantry Bde, 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Div in GB, 6/1943-6/1944: arrival in Sittingbourne; reaction to posting to battalion; journey to Milstead; joining Support Coy.
REEL 2 Continues: description of Milstead and accommodation; story of a soldier's suicide; Welsh speakers in area; training with Universal Carrier; story of artillery barrage on scheme; sleeping arrangements during exercises; role of exercises; move to Colchester; opinion of United States Army troops; training with scout platoon in Herne Bay; reason for return to Universal Carriers; preparations for move to Normandy, France; opinion of training received; German V1 Flying Bombs seen at Herne Bay and Purfleet; embarkation at East India Docks, London; visit by General Bernard Montgomery at Tonbridge; period in Thames Estuary; journey to Purfleet; send-off on journey to East India Docks, London; embarkation aboard ship; ship's crew, sleeping arrangements; sight of anti-aircraft forts in Thames Estuary; boarding of landing craft. Recollections of operations as private with 1/5th Bn Welch Regt, 158th Infantry Bde, 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Div in Normandy, France, 6/1944-8/1944: landing on Gold Beach; movement inland; Universal Carrier crew; contact with civilians; relieving 15th (Scottish) Infantry Div; house clearance; first sight of dead soldier; night spent in orchard; arrival of Support Coy; protection from shrapnel in orchard; advance to Hill 112; description of trenches in hedgerow.
REEL 3 Continues: accommodation of Baron-sur-Odon; discovery of magazines about First World War; story of artillery barrage and evacuation to first aid post; description of artillery barrage; interview with medical officer. Aspects of hospitalisation in Normandy, France and GB, 8/1944-9/1944: evacuation to hospital in Normandy; treatment received; journey to GB, 8/1944; train journey to Reading; description of Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading; restrictions on shaving; opinion of treatment received; nature of journey to Scotland; presence of patients on train; arrival at Bridge of Balgie; details of neurosis ward; treatment on isolation ward; civilian casualties in hospital; leave; reactions to suffering from shell shock; nightmares following experiences; visits of siblings to Scotland; visit to family doctor; posting in Gravesend; reactions to news of return to unit; medical board; reaction to medical downgrading; period in Croydon. Aspects of period as private with Royal Army Ordnance Corps in GB, 9/1944-4/1946: period in Donnington; posting in Saltburn-by-the-Sea; return to basic training and reason for move to cookhouse; posting to and work at Royal Army Ordnance Corps Central Ordnance Depot, Old Dalby; composition of Royal Army Ordnance Corps Central Ordnance Depot and staff; continuing symptoms of shell shock. Aspects of hospitalisation at Wharncliffe War Hospital, Sheffield in GB, 4/1946-7/1946: visit to doctor and advice to go to Wharncliffe War Hospital; opinion of medical staff.
REEL 4 Continues: reflections on army service; location and description of Wharncliffe War Hospital; sessions with psychiatrists and gym work; medical discharge and pension; improvement during stay at hospital; contact with comrades from battalion; civilian employment and clearance of shell shock; demobilisation at York; reaction on return home; reasons for move to Leicester; marriage and family; reactions of parents to psychological illness; discussion of medical treatment; symptoms of shell shock. Aspects of operations as private with 1/5th Bn Welch Regt, 158th Infantry Bde, 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Div in Normandy, France, 6/1944-8/1944: fate of Bren Gun crew and troops met since war; memories of Captain R T Davies; opinion of officers; opinion of German Army troops; opinion of what he was fighting for; confirmation and church parades; freedom of movement during day in Normandy; Allied air raid on Caen; state of Cheux; post-war visits to Normandy; contact with French civilians; passing through Bayeux; confidence in victory; degree of awareness of situation.
REEL 5 Continues: teamwork in platoon; rations; scavenging for extra rations; story of drunken soldier during German Air Force raid; discipline; question of age and that of NCOs while in Normandy. Aspects of post war life and employment: process of medical discharge; obtaining civilian employment; reason for losing job; employment as bus driver; reasons for return to Pontarddulais; employment until retirement; effects of military service; enjoyment of travelling; contrast between Leicester and Pontarddulais; changes in Pontarddulais since Second World War. Reflections on military service: visits to Leicester, 1945; guard duties in Nottingham; VE Day celebrations, 8/5/1944; reaction to dropping of atomic bombs on Japan, 8/1945; VJ Day celebrations, 15/8/1945; contact with Corps of Military Police; wartime journeys to Pontarddulais from Kent; opinion of conscientious objectors; opinion of military service; family issues.