Description
Object description
British gunner served with 88th Field Regt and 56th (City of London) Anti-Aircraft Regt Royal Artillery in GB, 1939-1940; officer served with 10th and 1st Bns King's Own Royal Regt in GB, 1940-1941; served with 1st Bn King's Own Royal Regt in India, Iraq, Egypt, North Africa, Cyprus, Syria, Palestine, Greece and Italy, 1941-1944; served with Corps of Military Police and Royal Military Police in Sicily, Italy, Austria and GB, 1944-1953
Content description
REEL 1: Aspects of period as gunner with 88th Field Regt Royal Artillery in GB, 4-9/1939: enlisted in Lancaster, 26/Apr/1939; army number; training as gunner with 4.5.howitzers and 25-pounders at firing camp in North Wales; amusing story of laxative in tea; accommodation in bell tents; latrines; called up for active service, Aug/1939; guard duty in drill hall; issued with rifle and 5 dummy rounds; posted to Blackpool, Lancashire; accommodation in car park; inoculations; medical inspection. Aspects of period as gunner with 56th City of London Anti-Aircraft Regt in GB, 3/1939-12/1940: posted to Plumstead Heath, London; volunteered for Lewis gun crew and Sanitary Squad; posted to Welwyn Garden City on 4.5 howitzers; social background of recruits; canteen; alcohol; duties on predictor at command post; role in operations during Battle of Britain, Jul-Oct/1940; number of aircraft shot down; description of gun site in park; night raids; aerial barrage; problem of running out of ammunition; composition of gun team; story of shell exploding in gun barrel; story of visit by King George VI; applied for commission and transferred to Artists' Rifles OCTU in Folkestone; further training in Pwllheli, North Wales.
REEL 2 Continues: accommodation in boarding house; amusing story of girlfriend; awarded war emergency commission as 2nd Lt. in King's Own Royal Regt, 21/Dec/1940. Aspects of period as officer with 10th and 1st Bns King's Own Royal Regt in GB, 12/1940-30/Jul/1941: youngest officer in Regt; posted to regimental depot in Lancaster; beach defence duties along Northumberland coast; billets; story about nurse at military hospital; attended Junior Leaders course in Harrogate; role in devising training course with triangular barbed wire obstacle; posted to 1st Bn King's Own Royal Regt, 5/1941; amusing story of ATS recruits and regimental sergeant-major; opinion of senior officers; posted to Heysham, Lancashire; tank and infantry field exercises; embarked aboard Cunard liner at Gurrock, Scotland, 30/Jul/ 1941.
REEL 3 Continues: Aspects of voyage to India, 8-9/1941: daily routine and duties; other units aboard ship; anchored and refuelled in Freetown; shore leave in Cape Town and Durban; sailed to Bombay, India. Aspects of operations with 1st Bn King's Own Royal Regt in India, 10/1941: first impressions India; accommodation in Taj Mahal Hotel; story of visit to red light district; description of voyage aboard HMS Devonshire to Basra, Iraq. Aspects of operations with 1st Bn King's Own Royal Regt in Iraq, 10/1941-5/1942: posted to transit camp; joined A Coy, 1st Bn King's Own in Mosul; political situation in Iraq; use of air transport for troops.
REEL 4 Continues: role of 1st King's Own in Iraq; opinion of Iraqi Army and Air Force; description of airfield at Mosul; camped in orchard; problem of Kurds stealing Lee Enfield rifles; officers' club; availability of prostitutes; duties patrolling oil pipeline in Kirkuk; billets; role in command of survey party to establish road route; terrain and wildlife; story of hunting gazelle; description of defensive position on Iranian border; commanded survey party into mountains in Kurdistan; relations with Kurds and tribal leader Mustafa Ali; contracted sand-fly fever; travelled to Baghdad for dental treatment.
REEL 5 Continues: various memories of period in Baghdad; problem of not receiving pay; opinion of Kurds; description of journey by road to Libya, 4-5/1942; problem of sand storms; length of journey; crossed Sinai Desert. Aspects of operations with 1st Bn King's Own Royal Regt in Egypt, 5-8/1942: posted to camp at Kantara on Suez Canal; attended anti-tank course at Royal Artillery Depot, Heliopolis; impressions of Cairo; informal dress code; social life; re-joined 1st Bn at Mersa Matruh; description of defensive boxes; opinion of strategy; role as 2nd Lt. in command of anti-tank platoon.
REEL 6 Continues: description of 2-pounder gun and transport; problem of missing parts; role of A Coy in support of D coy in Mersa Matruh box; daily routine and duties; reaction to fall of Tobruk and withdrawal from box, 6/1942; buried surplus ammunition; strafed by Messerschmitt 109; removal and disabling of guns; crossed minefield at Fuka; story of driving through Italian position in fog; joined desert formation of trucks.
REEL 7 Continues: arrived at El-Marah; casualties and loss of guns; location of Bn on desert road from Alexandria to Cairo; moved into camp at Mena; leave in Cairo.
Aspects of voyage aboard SS Marguerite from Port Said to Cyprus, 17-27/Aug/1942: opinion of accommodation; description of ship being torpedoed by Italian submarine; casualties and treatment of wounded; abandoned ship and swam to destroyer HMS Hero; description of Mae West lifejacket; returned to Port Said; total casualties from sinking; sailed to Cyprus aboard sister ship SS Princess Catherine; sister ship. Aspects of operations with 1st Bn King's Own Royal Regt in Cyprus, 27/Aug/1942-Apr/1943: posted to camp at Dhekelia; amalgamated with other regular battalions of Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and South Wales Borderers; reaction to amalgamation by other battalions; posted to camp at Famagusta; training for possible German invasion of Cyprus; attached to 45 Field Regt, Royal Artillery; anti-tank training with 25 pounders; story of camp flooding; billeted in mayor's house; role in charge of boxing team; sailed aboard mine-laying cruiser HMS Welshman to Syria, 4/1943. Aspects of operations with 1st Bn King's Own Royal Regt in Syria and Palestine, 4-9/1943: arrived in Beirut and entrained to Tripoli; attached to Mountain Warfare School; story of falling into culvert while drunk.
REEL 8 Continues: back injury caused by fall; rejoined 10th Div in camp near Sidon; further training; arms searches; story of visit from ENSA concert party; disarmed Royal Yugoslav Guards; moved to camp near Gaza; leave in Tel Aviv, 7/1943; combined operations training on Suez Canal with Royal Navy; story of having pistol stolen from latrine; attended Bren carrier course; 1st Bn posted to Greece; strategic situation.
REEL 9 Continues: Aspects of operations with 1st Bn King's Own Royal Regt in Greece, 9-11/1943: problem of Turkish spies; comparison of British and American attitude to campaign in Greece; formation of 234th Infantry Brigade; question of Italians supporting Allies; plan for attacks on Greek islands; sailed from Alexandria and disembarked on island of Leros, 4-5/Sep/1943; location of 1st Bn in south of island; size of garrison.
REEL 10 Continues: description of Leros; use of Italian naval base; problem of lack of air cover; Bde HQ; role as platoon commander in A Coy on beach; relations with Italian soldiers and sailors in battalion; advantage of being able to speak Italian; opinion of Italian officers; description of air attacks on island; problem of confusing Italian and German uniforms; description of German landings on Leros, 12/Nov/1943; casualty rate among German paratroopers; description of German glider bomb; nature of fighting; role of A Coy in night attack on Mount Apetiki; wounded in left thigh; medical treatment; casualties in battalion; German counter-attack recaptured positions; story of operation on leg by Italian naval doctor.
REEL 11 Continues: evacuated aboard ship; glider bomb attack; arrived on Turkish coast; transferred to HMS Effingham; description of voyage to Alexandria, Egypt. Aspects of period in Egypt, 11/1943-4/1944: further medical treatment at 64th General Hospital, Alexandria; reaction to fall of Leros; casualties during operations on Leros; description of hospital ward; body hair shave off due to lice; convalescence leave; posted to 8th Bn King's Own Royal Regt; leave in Alexandria and friendship with author Lawrence Durrell.
REEL 12 Continues: further memories of leave in Alexandria; posted to 8th Bn King' s Own Royal Regt, Gaza; appointed acting commander of 1st Bn; amalgamation of 8th and 1st Bns, 30/Jan/1944; duties as A Coy CO; rank; role of 8th Bn; Bren carrier course; landed Taranto, Italy. Aspects of operations with 1st Bn King's Own Royal Regt in Italy, 4/1944-3/1945: training on Vickers machine gun; 10th Indian Div relieved 1st Canadian Div, 22/Apr/1944; description of terrain and positions at Corsano and Monte Mario; weather conditions; night reconnaissance patrols; reward for capturing prisoners; role in charge of 3-inch mortar platoon; use of mules for transport; story of mules and driver killed in mine explosion; 1st Bn advanced up east bank of River Tiber; patrols; route of advance and engagements; description of attack on village of Montone, 12/Jul/1944.
REEL 13 Continues: description of attacks on Citta Di Castello and Bucci Nello; wounded in legs by shrapnel; withdrawn from Line, 9/1944; story of contracting hives and medical treatment at Canadian Hospital in Rome; categorised unfit for active service and posted to relocation centre, 1/1945; story of volunteering for provost officers course, Mt Vesuvius. Aspects of operations with 505 Provost Coy, Corps of Military Police in Italy and Sicily, 3-12/1945: attached to Military Police, Salerno; uniform and insignia; story of dealing with drunken senior officers; appointed Provost Representative, Sicily; only British policeman on Sicily; posted to HQ in Catania; office and staff; billets; story of brothels for soldiers and officers in Taormina; role in reducing rate of VD; story of using Army vehicle maintenance form to list prostitutes and medical condition; arranged medical examinations and hospital treatment for prostitutes.
REEL 14 Continues: acted on behalf of prostitutes; relations with American Military Police; VE Day celebrations, 5/1945; story of staff officer; posted to 103 Traffic Control Coy, Royal Military Police, Naples, Italy; home leave in GB, 9/1945; posted to HQ in Foggia; duties and area covered; friendships; story of incidents with American MPs.
REEL 15 Continues: comparison of British and American Military Police; daily routine and duties; theft of military equipment; condition of roads and traffic. Aspects of operations with 111, 501and 227 Provost Coys, Corps of Military Police in Italy, 12/1945-9/1947: posted to 111 Provo Coy in Milan; duties as second in command; posted to 501 Provost Coy, Pescara; story of drunken officer and beret; amusing story of deserters; posted to 227 Provost Coy, Bologna, 2/1946; Corps of Military Police re-named Royal Military Police; accommodation and messing arrangements; opinion of Ukrainian staff and batman; story of keeping captured German dogs; use of German staff car and other vehicles.
REEL 16 Continues: duties in command of 227 Coy; black market activities; attitude to Polish officers; confusion over use of brothels; inspection of brothels; amusing story of Scottish officer in brothel; police duties in Bologna; traffic accidents; disciplinary; accident reports; opinion of Italian drivers; posted to Trieste and billeted in school; relations with Italian Military Police; took over command of D Provost Coy in Udine; story of visit by parents; social life in Udine; appointed Deputy Assistant Provost Marshal in Rome, 1947; story of flight to Rome, 1/Sep/1947.
REEL 17 Continues: Aspects of period as Deputy Assistant Provost Marshal in Rome and Venice, 9-11/1947: accommodation in Ambassador Hotel; story of room being burgled; posted to Venice, 10/1947; returned to GB, 11/1947. Aspects of period as Deputy Assistant Provost Marshal in Vienna, Austria, 11/1947-1951: posted to Velden, Austria to disband 227 Provost Coy; posted to Vienna; marriage, 8/1948; Allied zones of occupation in Vienna; movement order to leave Russian zone; role of Provost Marshals in Vienna area; staff and accommodation; arrest procedure; organisation and role of international police patrols; re-organisation of Austrian Police; crime rate; attacks on British troops by Russians; kidnappings by KGB; story of preventing kidnapping.
REEL 18 Continues: liaison with field security; issued with permit to carry Mauser; story about Russian soldier; various memories of seeing filming of 'The Third Man'; story of actor Trevor Howard arrested by Russian police; story of Jewish activist's bomb exploding; story of British soldiers arrested by Russians; attitude to remaining in Army; reason for joining Royal Army Ordnance Corps; attached to ordnance depot; returned to GB, 1951. Aspects of period in GB, 1951-1953: posted to London Provost Coy; liaison with Metropolitan Police; story of attending war office selection board; tests and exercises; commissioned in Royal Army Ordnance Corps, 14/Nov/1952; appointed to HQ Technical Stores Organisation, Donnington, Shrophire; duties in charge of wireless equipment store; description of store and equipment.
REEL 19 Continues: further comments on store and equipment; story about competition for hand trolleys; transferred to main detail shed; problem of time-keeping with civilian staff; attended ordnance officers' course, 1953.