Interview with Vivian Henry Spencer Hannay

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Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
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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 officer served with 237th and 236th Field Coys, Royal Engineers in GB, 1940-1942; served with 421st Indian Field Coy, Queen Victoria's Own Madras Sappers and Miners Group in India, 1942; staff officer with Headquarters, Madras District, Bangalore, India, 1942-1943; served with 362nd Indian Field Coy, Queen Victoria's Own Madras Sappers and Miners Group in India, 1943-1944; served with 24th Indian Field Coy, Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners Group in India, 1944; served with 21st Indian Engineer Bn, Forward Airfield Group, XXXIII Indian Corps in India, Burma and Malaya, 1944-1945; served with Royal Engineers during Operation Delegation Delia in France, 1946-1947; commanded 55th Field Engineer Sqdn, 28th Field Engineer Regt, Royal Engineers in South Korea, 1953-1954

Content description

REEL 1 Background in India and GB, 1921-1939: family involvement in India; education in GB. Aspects of enlistment and training as officer with Royal Engineers in GB, 1939-1940: background to joining Royal Engineers; commissioning into Royal Engineers; duties reconnoitring bridges in Northern Command after Dunkirk Evacuation, 6/1940. Aspects of period as officer with 237th and 236th Field Coys, Royal Engineers in GB, 1940-1942: posting to 237th Field Coy, 6/1940; arrival of new equipment; construction of prisoner of war camp in greyhound stadium; move to Kent; preparing bridge for demolition at Appledore; courses and training for overseas deployments; background to posting to 236th Field Coy, Royal 9/1941. REEL 2 Continues: reasons for volunteering for service in India. Aspects of voyage from GB to India, 1942: embarkation; threat of German Navy submarines; arrival in India, 5/1942. Aspects of period as officer with 421st Indian Field Coy, Queen Victoria's Own Madras Sappers and Miners Group in India, 1942: lack of information given on Indian engineer unit organisation; posting to company; language comprise reached in company; opinion of commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Bailey; hospitalisation with rheumatic fever in Bangalore and Ahmednagar, 8/1942-10/1942. Aspects of period as staff officer with Headquarters, Madras District in Bangalore, India, 1942-1943: posting as staff officer; prosecution of Indian civilians over military offenses. Recollections of operations as officer with 362nd Indian Field Coy, Queen Victoria's Own Madras Sappers and Miners Group in India, 1943-1944: posting to company with responsibility for chemical warfare, 6/1943; relations with commanding officer; organisation of company; construction of airfield; move to Milestone 45 on Tiddim Road near Imphal. REEL 3 Continues: description of Tamil Track; area of responsibility; problems obtaining aggregate; method of constructing road; decision to abandon road during Imperial Japanese Army's advance, 3/1944; Imperial Japanese Army 'jittering' attack on company's defensive positions; accidental shooting of his batman by commanding officer; withdrawal from defensive position; move over to Bishenpur Track to construct road; construction of defensive position near suspension bridge; Imperial Japanese Army attempt to blow up suspension bridge. REEL 4 Continues: Imperial Japanese Army Air Service attack on trestle bridge; problems with ration supply; return to Silchar on completion of suspension bridge; taking commanding of company; move to Imphal area to repair bridges; booby-trapped bridge; description of Stock Span Bridge; his removal from company by commanding officer. Aspects of period as officer with 24th Indian Field Coy, Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners Group in India, 1944: joining company to build Bailey Bridge; problems with folding boat bridge. Aspects of period as officer to 21st Indian Engineer Bn, Forward Airfield Group, XXXIII Corps in India, Burma and Malaya, 1944-1945: joining battalion; method of ascertaining correct soil for earth airfields; importance of water supply. REEL 5 Continues: construction of earth airfields; promotion to adjutant; advance to Prome, Burma and return to India; technique for laying metal planking for airfields; problems during Operation Zipper, Malaya, 9/1945; move to Singapore, Malaya, 9/1945; reaction to end of Second World War, 8/1945; impressions of Imperial Japanese Army and Indian National Army (INA) troops; opinion of working abilities of Madras sappers; appearance of Madras Sappers and Miners; reasons for using large numbers for sappers. REEL 6 Continues: Recollections of period as officer with Royal Engineers during Operation Delegation Delia in France, 1946-1947: origins of work on former German fortified sites in France; method of demolition used on former German gun sites at Sangette; question of indestructibility of submarine pens constructed for German Navy; destruction of former German V weapon site; dealing with gun sites at Cap Grez-Nez. REEL 7 Continues: concrete infilling of former German V weapon site at Siracourt. Recollections of operations commanding 55th Field Sqdn, 28th Field Engineer Regt, Royal Engineers in South Korea, 1953-1954: attending Commonwealth Division Battle School at Haramura, Japan; effects of jeep accident; description of positions on The Hook; descriptions of construction of new positions on The Hook, including tunnels. REEL 8 Continues: description of tunnels; covering approach trenches; transfer of position from 1st Bn Black Watch (Royal Highland Regt) to 1st Bn Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regt); Chinese People's Volunteer Army's attack on The Hook; destruction of bridges on eve of Battle of The Hook; construction of new positions and other work after Armistice, 27/7/1953.

Object Details

Category: Sound
Related period: 1990 to the present day (production), Second World War (content), 1945-1989 (content), Second World War (association)
Creator: IWM (Production company)
McDonough, Richard (Recorder)
Hannay, Vivian Henry Spencer (Interviewee/Speaker)
Production date: 2013-07-03
Dimensions: whole: Duration 240, Number Of Items 8
Catalogue number: 33896

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Interview with Vivian Henry Spencer Hannay

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