De la Torre, Eric (Oral history)

British NCO served with No.3 Commando during Vaagso Raid, Norway, 27/Dec/1941 and St Nazaire Raid, France, 28-29/Mar//1942

REEL 1: Aspects of period in GB, 1939-1940: role as accounts clerk with Royal Army Ordnance Corps; reason for volunteering for commandoes; family background. Aspects of training with No.8 and No.3 Commando in GB, 1940-1941: description of training in Scotland including physical training, night marches and night landings on Isle of Arran; role as wireless operator for CO Bob Laycock; personal weapons; story of spraining foot jumping off bus in blackout; transferred to No. 3 Commando as wireless operator for CO John Durnford-Slater; given special allowance to find own billets; story about billet on Isle of Arran; discipline; reasons for men being Returned to Unit; opinion of officers; question of commandoes being elite unit; further description of training including cliff climbing and route marches; relations between officers and men; description of night map reading exercises and scheme against the Guards Regt in Scotland; relations with regular army; role as part of HQ signals; description of training disembarking from barges at Scapa Flow. REEL 2 Continues: further description of landing barge training; comparison of terrain in Scotland and Norway; sailed on Christmas Eve, 24/Dec/1941; raid postponed until 27/Dec/1941 due to heavy seas. Aspects of operations with No. 3 Commando during Vaasgo Raid, Norway, 27/Dec/1941: description of first sight of Vaagso and HMS Kenya opening fire; role carrying wireless for CO in landing barge; description of tracer rounds going over barge; story of hearing bagpipes being played; description of two Hampden bombers laying smoke screen; disembarked onto snow covered rocks; story of being strafed by two Messerschmitt ME 109s; reaction to death of Cpt Johnny Giles; description of Vaagso; description of setting up signalling station in house; opinion of CO John Durnford-Slater; story of taking No.18 wireless set up mountain to improve reception and being fired on by German sniper; received messages from Aldis lamps on ships; problem of being unable to communicate with CO; personal weapons; story of order to attack German strongpoint in hotel being cancelled after recall rocket fired by HMS Kenya; opinion of example set by CO Durnford-Slater; story of putting valuables into brown envelope and changing into clean underwear before raid; attitude to writing letter home before raid. REEL 3 Continues: description of evacuation of wounded, German and Norwegian prisoners and Norwegian volunteers; attitude of local civilians to raid; strength of German resistance; opinion of success of raid; reason for some commandoes being Returned to Unit after raid; story about giving bar of chocolate to Norwegian child aboard HMS Prince Leopold; description of burial at sea service at dusk; conditions in Vaagso after raid; further description of being strafed by two Messerschmitt ME 109s; problem of wireless set not working. Aspects of training with No. 3 Commando in GB, 1941-1942: story of keeping box of plastic high explosive under bed in billet at Largs, Scotland; description of training in dock demolition under Bob Pritchard and Bob Montgomery at Rosyth, Southampton and Cardiff; moved to Falmouth for briefing on model for St Nazaire raid; tested guns on motor launches on Scilly Isles; opinion of Operation Vivid training exercise at Plymouth; size of demolition team; security measures prior to raid including issue of tropical kit as decoy. REEL 4 Continues: description of packing charges and detonators; story of being given chance to pull out of raid; attitude to use of motor launches and chances of surviving raid; story about reading Eric Linklater’s novel ‘White Maa’s Saga’; story of writing to landlady in Largs about box of plastic high explosive under bed. Aspects of operations with No. 3 Commando during St Nazaire Raid, France, 28-29/Mar/1942: description of voyage up Loire estuary aboard Motor Launch 262; final briefing and checks; armed only with Colt .45 revolver; role of protection parties; reaction to hearing Germans guns opening fire; issued with rum ration; description of disembarkation and attempting to reach objective under heavy fire; story of being buried under rubble after demolition of winding house; returned to quayside and helped wounded back onto motor launch; description of wounded on tables in mess deck and shells going through walls; story of Cpt Smalley being decapitated; description of abandoning motor launch and drifting to shore on Carley float; story of being taken prisoner by German marines and given souvenir ring; opinion of treatment by Germans. REEL 5 Continues: fate of protection party; further description of time on Carley float; problem of losing contact with other members of demolition team; casualties in Motor Launch 262; taken by truck to Hermitage Hotel at La Baule; story of windows being blown out following explosion of HMS Campbeltown; reflections on success of raid and role of senior officers; methods of recognising other commandoes including use of blue flashlight and webbing painted white; opinion of weight of pack; assessment of own contribution to raid and attitude to not reaching objective.