Interview with Douglas William George Botting

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Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
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Sound: © IWM

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.

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Description

Object description

British private served with 5th Bn Royal Berkshire Regt (Princess Charlotte of Wales's), 8th Beach Group in Normandy, France, 6/1944-7/1944; served with 5th Bn Wiltshire Regt (Duke of Edinburgh's), 129th Infantry Bde, 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Div in North West Europe, 7/1944-11/1944

Content description

REEL 1 Background in Sialkot, India and GB, 1925-1943: family; education; German Air Force bombing of family home at Greenwich, London. Aspects of period with 5th Bn Royal Berkshire Regt (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) in GB, 1943-1944: transfer to unit after basic training; duties including delivery coal; inspection by Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Recollections of operations as private with 5th Bn Royal Berkshire Regt (Princess Charlotte of Wales's), No 8 Beach Group on Juno Beach, Normandy, France, D-Day, 6/6/1944: character of beach landing; under fire on beach; exchanging entrenching tool for American manufactured folding shovel; alleged French female sniper killed at Bernières-sur-Mer. Aspects of operations as private with 5th Bn Royal Berkshire Regt (Princess Charlotte of Wales's), No 8 Beach Group in Normandy, France, 6/1944-7/1944: attitude of French civilians to Allied troops; attitude of French Canadian Army troops towards Germans. REEL 2 Continues: fear of stepping on mines; probing for mines; participation in reconnaissance patrols; soldier who escaped with light injuries after sitting on mine. Recollections of operations as private with 5th Bn Wiltshire Regt (Duke of Edinburgh's), 129th Infantry Bde, 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Div in North West Europe, 7/1944-11/1944: use of boats to cross River Seine, France, 8/1944; reception from civilians in Belgium, 9/1944; encounter with corpse near Elst, Netherlands, 10/1944; his reaction to asking for fire to be called down on German forces; wounding by machine gun fire at Tripsrath, Germany, 11/1944; medical treatment in Netherlands and GB, 1944-1945. REEL 3 Continues: Reflections on military service: prior recollection evacuation to Worcester, GB, 1939; reaction to having to leave British Army; post-war effects of wounding; attitude to having served with 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Div during Second World War.

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)
Botting, Douglas William George (Interviewee/Speaker)
Production date: 2002-05-03
Dimensions: whole: Duration 70, Number Of Items 3
Catalogue number: 22680

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Interview with Douglas William George Botting

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