Barr-Wells, Donald (Oral history)

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Description

Object description

British soldier served as gunner with 90th and 138th Field Regts, Royal Artillery in GB, 1939-1940; served as officer with 358 Bty, 87th Field Regt, RA in GB, India, Iraq and Persia, 1940-1943; served as signals instructor with Middle East School of Artillery, RA, in Egypt, 1943; hospitalisation and release on medical grounds, 1943

Content description

REEL 1 Recollections of background in Recife and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Lausanne, Switzerland, 1920-1934: family background and connections with Brazil; speaking Portuguese; Brazilian servants; holidays in Switzerland; plans for education; move to Switzerland, 12/1928; private tutors; nature of Swiss education, 1929-1934. Recollections of education at Stowe School, 1934-1938: prior interview with headmaster; brief period as preparatory school; question of languages learnt; house organisation; question of tradition; sporting activities. REEL 2 Continues: comparison with Swiss school; training with OTC including Vickers machine gun section and field day; holidays in Switzerland; question of career; impressions of holidays with cousins in Germany including attitude to Hitler, question of Jewish ancestry and awareness of approach of war; question of future of cavalry in war; impressions of holidays with fascist cousin in Italy. Studying engineering at Faraday House College, London, 1/1939-8/1939: prior self-education in science; nature of course; infantry training with London University OTC; question of career in Royal Navy; passing OTC Certificate 'B'. Recollections of period as gunner with 90th and 138th Field Regts, Royal Artillery at Handel Street Drill Hall, London, 4/1939-9/1939: background to enlistment. REEL 3 Continues: initial absence of uniform; drill nights and gun drill on 18pdr gun; learning to drive motor bike and lorries; specialisations and signal training; training as command post assistant including artillery board and director; weekend training; annual camp at Bulford Camp, 7/1939; returning home from holiday in Switzerland prior to mobilisation with key party, 8/1939; issue of uniform; question of joint British/Swiss nationality. REEL 4 role operating telephone exchange and preparing mobilisation notifications with key party, 8/1939; mobilisation, 1/9/1939-3/9/1939; transfer to 138 FR, RA; composition of unit; outbreak of war, 3/9/1939; lack of guns; filling sandbags at Euston station; digging slit trenches. Recollections of period at Bushey, 10/1939-2/1940: billets; food rations; question of application for commission and use of family influence; training and lectures; guard duties on secret radar equipment held in depot; relationship with ORs and NCOs. REEL 5 Continues: relationship with officers. Period at Ampthil, 2/1940-5/1940: divisional exercises; initial billets; London leave; night exercises; preparations for overseas posting, 5/1940; question of 'Phoney War'; stories of train journeys; reactions to leaving unit. Recollections of period at Officers Cadet Training Unit, RA, Catterick Camp, 5/1940-10/1940: barrack accommodation; drill; lectures; observation post duty during sand table exercise; vehicle maintenance and learning to drive gun tower; army organisation and abbreviations; gun survey training; maps and panoramas. REEL 6 Continues: opinion of 25pdr gun; mobilisation on airfield defence role during invasion scare, 9/1940, including personal morale, weapons, prevailing rumours and stand down; question of responding to request for German and Portuguese speakers; attending firing camp at Redesdale including acting as gun crew firing 18pdr gun, firing French 75mm gun, role as OP officer and method of bracketing, role as gun position officer and nature of exercises; opinion of instructors; assessment, failure rate and question of being returned to unit; measurement for officer's uniform; commission, 10/1940. REEL 7 Continues: origins of cadets; commission, 10/1940. Period ar RA Depot, Larkhill, 10/1940. Recollections of period with 358 Bty, 87th Field Regt, RA at Martlesham airfield, 10/1940-11/1940: reception and Liverpool origins of unit; story illustrating prevalence of swearing; role as assistant gun position officer; relationship with ORs and dilution of Liverpool element; billets; manning gun positions covering airfield; opinion of officers including Colonel Maxwell. Recollections of period at Banbury, 11/1940-1/1941: training; transfer to D Troop, 359 Bty; opinion of officers; complaints from farmers over crop damage; attending signals course at Catterick Camp, 1/1941; issue of No 11 wireless; air cooperation shoots and use of artillery code with Lysander. REEL 8 Period at Wilmington, ca 2/1941-8/1941: coastal defence role; signals role as assistant CP officer; relationship with prominent journalists, politicians and writers living in village; minimal contacts with family; billets; story of gunner's failure to fire Bren gun at Heinkel; story of shell falling near farm whilst acting as safety officer; story of bull escaping into cows' field and consequent damages claim from farmer. Period at Tewkesbury, ca 8/1941-11/1941: training; social life; attack of pneumonia; retention with unit for overseas service; treatment with M&B drug; embarkation leave with fiancé; question of getting married prior to active service. REEL 9 Continues: preparations for overseas service including rumours of Iceland posting, issue of tropical kit; assignment to advance party and train journey to Glasgow. Embarkation with advance party aboard Duchess of Atholl, 11/1941: conditions; dockers' reaction to complaint over careless loading of equipment; discovery of mistake in assignment to ship and disembarkation. Voyage aboard Athlone Castle to Bombay, 11/1941-1/1942: conditions; embarkation of main party; convoy and escort; taking up emergency stations during air and submarine alarms; effect of depth charge detonation whilst below decks; route; visit to collect pay at Freetown, Sierre Leone; lectures; recreations. REEL 10 Continues: South African civilian hospitality during period ashore at Durban, South Africa; contacts with escort crews; reduction in tension on entering Indian Ocean; boat drills and accident; story of visit to brothel on arrival in Bombay. Period in transit camp near Bombay, 1/1942: posting to 5th Indian Div; reaction to news of Pearl Harbour, 7/12/1941; letter contact with GB and censorship role; climate; visits to Bombay. Voyage aboard Indrapora to Basra, Iraq, 1/1942. Recollections of periods in Iraq and Persia, ca 1/1942-5/1942: initial camp at Shaibah; lecture on desert including water ration and driving; liaison with RAF; lectures on political situation; arrival of guns. REEL 11 Continues: cases of desertion; exercises in desert and effect of mirages; food rations; diarrhoea and sand fly fever; latrines; afternoon breaks; story of fire picket exercise whilst acting as orderly officer; intelligence briefings; visit to Babylon; move to Baghdad; poverty of Iraqi civilians; tent accommodation; officers' kit; role of officers' servant; nature of officers' mess; opinion of Colonel Maxwell; question of Indian Army shortage of competent artillery units; liaison with Iraq Army and invite for them to attend ENSA concert at Shaibah; period based at Baghdad; move into Persia due to fears of German attack trough Soviet Union. REEL 12 Continues: nature of terrain, climate and buildings on move into Persia; battery exercises; sniper attacks and stealing by Persian civilians; use of heliograph and Chichester sun compass; preparing defensive positions; reactions to fall of Singapore, 2/1943; move to Dizful station situated on Trans-Persian railway; supply operations to Soviet held Northern Persia; question of contacts with Soviet troops and outbreak of fight in canteen; exercise with Indian Army infantry and sappers; role defending lorry convoys from Iraq and story of dispute with US officer; recreational use of wireless; reactions to leaving unit. Recollections of period as signals instructor with Middle East School of Artillery, RA, Almaza, Egypt, ca 5/1943-3/1943: journey from Persia. REEL 13 Continues: role checking on training of newly arrived drafts and units; tent accommodation; routine nature of duties; effects of Allied retreat from Gazala Lines, 6/1842; arrival of new equipment including self propelled guns after Churchill visits; arrival of 51st Div; successful efforts to track down origin of wireless signals sent from German spy network in Cairo; re-establishing contact with family in Switzerland thanks to Headquarters, Intelligence Corps; stealing by Egyptian civilians; arrival of new instructors; story of alcoholically deranged officer; visits to Shepherds Hotel, Cairo. REEL 14 Continues: visits to Pyramids; visits to Mena House Hotel; VD precautions and official brothels; situation in North Africa and consequent reduced workload; applications to Sudan Defence Force and Palestine Police; situation in North Africa, 1943. Hospitalisation with stomach ulcers and depression in 15th General Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps, Cairo, ca 3/1943. Medial downgrading and period at RA Base Depot, Almaza, 4/1943. Voyage aboard Oranje to Durban, South Africa, 4/1943. Period in South Africa, ca 5/1943-8/1943: initial hospitalisation; relationship with South African civilians; reactions to apartheid. REEL 15 Continues: recreations during period in transit camp. Voyage aboard City of Paris to Port Tewfik, Egypt, ca 10/1943. Period in transit camp, Genefa, 10/1943. Voyage aboard Leopardville to GB, ca 11/1943. Period in GB prior to release on medical grounds, 12/1943. Post-service career: financial assistance from army and resumption of engineering course at Faraday House College, London, 1943-1946; re-acclimatisation to student lifestyle; nature of service as officer with London University Home Guard, 1944-1945; V1 attacks; marriage, 1945; V2 damage to flat; VE and VJ Day celebrations, 1945; post-war career as engineer.

Object Details

Category: Sound
Related period: 1990 to the present day (production)
Creator: IWM (Production company)
Hart, Peter M (Recorder)
Barr-Wells, Donald (Interviewee/Speaker)
Production date: 2006-07
Dimensions: whole: Duration 450, Number Of Items 15
Catalogue number: 29043

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