Interview with John Coombes

Sound: © IWM (33813)

1516127250
Order this sound recording under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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.
134680804
Order this sound recording under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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.
254925148
Order this sound recording under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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.
1101185341
Order this sound recording under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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.
173880095
Order this sound recording under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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.
1929059494
Order this sound recording under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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.

Description

Object description

British marine trained with Royal Marine Depot Deal and Commando School, Royal Marines, Lympstone in GB, 1961-1962; served with 42 Commando, Royal Marines in Federation of Malaya and British Borneo, 1962-1963, including Limbang Raid in Sarawak, British Borneo, 12/12/1962; served with 45 Commando, Royal Marines in Aden, Federation of South Arabia, 1964-1965; served as coach trimmer and metal smith at Royal Marine Depot Lympstone, GB, 1965-1973

Content description

REEL 1 Background in Cardiff, GB, 1942-1961: family; education. Aspects of enlistment and training with Royal Marines at Royal Marine Depot Deal in GB, 1961: background to joining Royal Marines; reasons for enlistment; reception at Royal Marine Depot Deal; pattern of training; two week landing craft training after period at depot; sea training aboard HMS Bellona. Recollections of training at Commando School, Royal Marines, Lympstone in GB, 1961-1962: nature of advance training; punishment for losing cover for rifle; ambush exercise; treatment of marines who had problems with personal hygiene; reasons for not acquiring commando training award. REEL 2 Continues: passing out parade at Plymouth; nature of commando course including speed march; Tarzan and assault courses; endurance course on Bickleigh Common; description of water filled tunnels; prior recollection of swimming training; presentation of commando beret; reaction allocation to driver training at Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth. Aspects of operations as marine with 42 Commando, Royal Marines in Federation of Malaya, 1962: drafting to commando in Singapore; question of not meeting recruit squad members again during service; jungle training in Malaya. REEL 3 Continues: treatment of officer during escape and evasion exercise; air supply drops during jungle patrols; jungle patrolling; nature of casualties; river trip; volunteering to become weapons storeman. Recollections of operations as marine with 42 Commando, Royal Marines during Limbang Raid in Sarawak, British Borneo, 12/12/1962: background to involvement in raid; flight from Singapore, Malaya to Brunei Town, Brunei; briefing; description of Z-craft lighters; voyage down river towards Limbang; opening fire on North Kalimantan Liberation Army (TKNU) positions; reaction of Lieutenant Peter Taggett-Adams to taking over; drifting of Z-craft lighter. REEL 4 Continues: disembarkation from Z-Craft lighter under fire; position of No 1 Z-craft lighter and casualties; advance to police station; his capture of two North Kalimantan Liberation Army (TKNU) insurgents; sight of Sergeant John Bickford carrying wounded marine; role escorting village electrician to put power on; role collecting dead North Kalimantan Liberation Army (TKNU) insurgents and overseeing their burial; collection of North Kalimantan Liberation Army (TKNU) weapons; casualties; initial reaction to surviving action; discovery of policeman who had been hiding in loft of police station; patrolling after raid to capture North Kalimantan Liberation Army (TKNU) insurgents; return to Brunei Town, Brunei then Singapore, Federation Malaya. REEL 5 Continues: Aspects of period as marine with 42 Commando in Far East, 1963: training exercises aboard HMS Albion; riding out typhoon in Hong Kong; recreational activities in Singapore, Federation of Malaya; training as coach trimmer on return to GB; marriage. Aspects of operations as marine with 45 Commando, Royal Marines in Aden, Federation of South Arabia, 1964-1965: unit casualty to mine; climate in Aden; nature of cordon and search operations. Aspects of period as coach trimmer and metal smith at Royal Marine Depot Lympstone in GB, 1965-1973: drafting to depot as coach trimmer, 1965; reasons for volunteering for metal smith training; purchase of property. REEL 6 Continues: types of metalwork; leaving Royal Marines, 1973.

Object Details

Category: Sound
Related period: 1990 to the present day (production), 1945-1989 (content), 1945-1989 (association)
Creator: IWM (Production company)
McDonough, Richard (Recorder)
Coombes, John (Interviewee/Speaker)
Production date: 2012-10-23
Dimensions: whole: Duration 180, Number Of Items 6
Catalogue number: 33813

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.