In the evening we had a lecture from the Brigade signals officer on the wireless layout for a regiment and brigade.
Friday, 12 September
Jim Lovett, Jack and I did an hour’s Morse reading during the morning. It’s quite extraordinary how it goes if you don’t practise regularly.
There is quite a strong rumour going round that now America is giving so much help to Russia we may not get our tanks at the end of this month.
Saturday, 13 September
In the afternoon I went out with Lawrence Biddle and Geoffrey Brooks riding. We left at four in the afternoon and decided to ride to Caesarea but on the way we found the old Roman viaduct, which ran to Caesarea. Lawrence, who is a great expert on these matters, spent such a long time examining it that we never got to Caesarea. On the way there I fell into a ditch. I was trying to cross what appeared to be a small wadi but the mud was very soft and my horse sank up to its belly and I fell in.
It was a most lovely evening and we had a thoroughly enjoyable ride. Today is Mummy’s birthday.
Wednesday, 17 September
The most wonderful bit of news. This evening Myles Hildyard, last heard of as a prisoner-of-war (captured in Crete), rang up from Jerusalem, I think Government House. And what is more, old Mike Parish is with him. Everybody is terrifically thrilled and longing to see them. I hope they will come to lunch tomorrow and then expect that they will go on leave again. Mike’s cheerful madness and amazing originality and Myles’s delightful vagueness is exactly what the Regiment wants as a contrast to the rather serious soldiering we have been doing. I am longing to see old Mike.
We had a Brigade TEWT today from 9.15 until five in the evening. Five officers from each regiment. It was a most interesting and well laid-out programme. It struck me that the Staffs gave the most intelligent answers. Our Brigadier Lloyd I thought most sound in all his answers.
Although the survivors of B and Y Batteries, which had been posted to Crete, had reached the evacuation beaches, the lift of men had ended before they could be picked up – the last ships had left on 31 May, when a number of B Battery had been just 20 yards from the embarkation point. At 4 a.m. on 1 June, the Rangers left on Crete had been told it was each man for himself. Most of the men surrendered, but Captains Myles Hildyard and Mike Parish managed to escape, eventually bought a small 20-foot caïque, a traditional Greek fishing boat, and island-hopped their way to Turkey, then, via Smyrna, Damascus and Jerusalem, eventually reached Cairo. The adventure is recounted in Myles Hildyard’s colourful book of letters.
Thursday, 18 September
We have five new officers now, mostly Tank Corps out from England. A couple of them have been in the 1st Cavalry Division and then to an OCTU in India. A fellow called Lang has joined this squadron. He has been to France, flown an aeroplane in the RAF, driven many different types of tank and also was at Wellington. He seems very pleasant and seems to simply live for tanks. He appears to be a most intelligent person and owing to his enthusiasm we have nicknamed him ‘Sparking Plug’. It’s most descriptive.
Friday, 19 September
Great excitement today. Myles Hildyard came to lunch from Jerusalem. Poor old Mike Parish is ill in hospital with sand-fly fever. Also an injury to his eye is rather serious and there is danger he might lose it. He is deaf in one ear and broke his arm in two places as a result of falling down rather a steep cliff in the dark. Myles looked very well, in spite of his ordeal, and told us his truly amazing tale.
It will be great fun having them both back again with the Regiment.
Sunday, 21 September
We had a whole-day match (cricket) against the Greys. They came over and played us here. We had great fun and lost by 20 runs. Their colonel played. He is a very keen cricketer. Knows Winchester well, and also Kent. I had a long talk with him. I told him I knew Seymour, whom he said he liked. Thoroughly enjoyed the day.
We heard today that Kiev had fallen.
Tuesday, 23–Friday, 26 September
Each day this week has been much the same. No more tanks have arrived yet. They might have gone to Russia.
Most evenings I have been for a ride, which has been most pleasant.
Donny, Roger and two NCOs have gone up to Syria to make going maps.
Saturday, 27–Sunday, 28 September
I went to Jerusalem for the weekend. A great change and most enjoyable.
I had to take one of my corporals to see the advocate general at Area HQ in connection with a divorce. His wife has been put in a family way by a guardsman.
I then went to Kodak Ltd and saw a movie film I had taken at Jerusalem and had had developed in Cairo.
I lunched with Stephen Mitchell, who had been on a camouflage course, spending half his time at Jerusalem and half in Transjordan.
After lunch Stephen and I went to see Mike Parish in hospital. It was great to see him again, and to hear his description of the escape was most interesting. He can’t open his damaged eye and at the moment he has lost the sight of that eye and I only hope that he gets it back again, which I am afraid is doubtful.
October
Life has been so very busy here that I have not had the time to keep up my diary.
At the moment we are in camp training to become part of the 8th Armoured Brigade, consisting of the Greys, the Staffordshire Yeomanry and ourselves as the armoured regiments and the Household Cavalry as the support group. Together with the 9th Armoured Brigade, we shall become the 10th Armoured Division, under General Sir George Clark. Our brigade is the first to be formed, and each regiment has got three American cruiser tanks, with the promise of more in the very near future.
Flash Kellett is still our colonel, and most efficient, so much so, I am afraid we shall lose him. Donny Player is second-in-command and now the squadron leaders are as follows: A Squadron, self; B Squadron, Mike Laycock; C Squadron, Stephen Mitchell; and HQ Squadron, Lawrence Biddle.
In my squadron the officers are as follows: Roger Nelthorpe, second-in-command; Mike Parish when he gets back, Jack Whiting, and two new officers called Hepton, commissioned from the Household Cavalry, and Ganalt, commissioned from the Warwickshire Yeomanry.
Life continues much in the same way each day. I am going to start writing daily again from Thursday, 13 November.
Thursday, 13 November
A regimental TEWT during the morning, which was organized by the colonel. We worked in squadron syndicates. My whole day has been spoilt by toothache. I went to the dentist last Tuesday in Haifa, and he is endeavouring to kill a nerve in a tooth, but ever since I left his chair, I have had toothache.
The TEWT was held at Point 78, along the Haifa road, where we had done many exercises in horsed-cavalry days. We really are getting to know all this country extremely well.
In the evening I watched a troop of my squadron play a troop of C Squadron in the league competition, which we lost. Each squadron was due to get three more tanks, but I hear not until some future date.
Friday, 14 November
I was called at 6 o’clock in the morning and went for a ride with John Walters. It was absolutely dark, and both moon and stars were up. We were back again by 7 o’clock – hardly time, but great fun.
Douglas, a new officer who has just joined the squadron, took his troop away to Syria for the weekend. It really is an excellent idea, leaving Friday morning and returning Sunday night. They take rations, bedding, etc., and go where the spirit moves them, camping where they like. This time they are going to Haifa, Beirut, Damascus, Baalbek. It’s a great change for them to get away from camp, and a good chance of driving instruction.
I got the intelligence officer to give a lecture to my squadron on the present war situation. He is a most knowledgeable person and what he said was most interesting, especially as regards the Caucasus. I understand that we have got troops up there now. In the afternoon we had an inter-squadron tank commander competition, including D&M, gunnery, gas, first aid and general knowledge questions. In the evening my
squadron HQ played C Squadron HQ at football. All officers played, and we lost 4–1. HQ Squadron and B did the same thing, and both Donny and the colonel played!
I heard on the wireless tonight the old Ark Royal aircraft carrier has been sunk in the Med, which is very sad especially after such magnificent work. She was torpedoed, and being towed back to Gib, then contracted a bad list and sank. I don’t know the casualties yet.
I had an air-graph today from Betty Bailey, my cousin. I hear that she is going to leave Charles.
The new officer Stanley mentions was Keith Douglas, the poet. Douglas arrived with a number of others, including Kit Graves and Ollie Hutton, which helped further to distance the Regiment from the old pre-war outfit of privileged country landowners it had been during the Yarborough era.
Sunday, 16 November
It’s actually Sunday night, 10 o’clock, and I am just about to go to bed with a headache, toothache and a pain in my lower abdomen. I went out to Haifa for the weekend, and had a very late night on Saturday.
I left on Saturday afternoon about 4 o’clock, with Mike Laycock, Scottie and Arthur Lang, our technical adjutant, with the idea of going to the dentist, but I decided to stay the night. Before leaving, I rang up Margaret Blieby who is in the air force at Haifa with a commission, and asked her to come out to dinner. She said that she could, but that she had arranged to go out with Pip Somebody, her boss, who is also in the air force with a commission. So I told her that I would bring along another officer and make up a four, and persuaded Scottie to do the honours. Since Mike Laycock also came up to Haifa with us, we couldn’t very well let him dine alone so we asked him if he minded if we brought two air-force officers along to dinner – not mentioning, of course, that the officers were female.
When we arrived at Haifa, I paid a visit to the dentist, who didn’t stop my toothache, then met the others at the Lev-Carmel Hotel. After changing, Scottie and I went to pick up Margaret Blieby and this other girl called Pip Somebody – they both looked most attractive in their uniforms. Then we all found Mike at the Piecadith restaurant. His face was an absolute study when we introduced them! He had expected to meet two huge, beefy, air-force officers, but instead there were two attractive, slim girls in air-force uniform. As Pip had only just got out of bed, we took them home early, then continued to another nightclub, where we found David Webb (of the Warwickshire Yeomanry), very tight and dancing around with some girl.
All Haifa shuts down at midnight, but Mike Laycock said that he knew of a place where we could get a drink. We arrived at some lowdown place, which was nothing else but an officers’ brothel – we honestly went there to get a drink. We were all in very good form and started opening doors along the passage, but opposite one door, the old madam barred the way, saying that the room had been booked privately by an officer. However, Scottie pushed past her and with a yell of delight came face to face with a subaltern in my squadron, waiting for his girlfriend! We roared with laughter, and pulled his leg unmercifully! Two minutes later, from another room came another officer from our regiment! I have not laughed so much since I have been out here!
We had a drink and then left them; and after two taxis breaking down, we eventually got back to our hotel.
The Lev-Carmel Hotel is actually right on top of the Carmel Range with a wonderful view over Haifa. Mike and I had a long walk, which was most pleasant, discussing the problem of marriage. He told me that to marry your cousin is a very bad thing. I had meant to get back to camp before lunch and play hockey for the squadron, but I was persuaded to stay up and lunch at Prosse’s with all the others.
Tuesday, 18 November
I heard at dinner that our big push in the desert had started. The Russians are holding all along the line except in the Crimea. According to the news the Ark Royal only had one casualty when she sank.
Thursday, 20 November
The push in the Western Desert has started, and according to the news we have advanced 50 miles along a 150-mile front! All the opposition has been German and, according to reports, they were very much unprepared for the advance of our forces.
The push that Stanley mentions was Operation CRUSADER, the first major offensive by General Auchinleck since taking over as C-in-C Middle East in July; he now believed he had sufficient forces to retake Tobruk and push Rommel’s troops back across Cyrenaica. The Western Desert Force had been transformed into Eighth Army, made up from XIII and XXX Corps and commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Alan Cunningham, younger brother of Admiral Cunningham. Launched on 18 November, it caught Rommel, who was just returning from Rome, off-guard, and Eighth Army pushed 50 miles and captured the important airfield at Sidi Rezegh.
Monday, 24 November
Training continues as usual. We still only have three tanks in the Regiment. One is on Jaffa Ranges, and the other two are off the road. We have had no fresh news about the battle in the desert. According to the news, Hitler is making fresh demands from Pétain, including use of the French Fleet for convoy in the Mediterranean, and the use of French territory in North Africa.
After dinner I went to the camp cinema, and saw a rotten film. Afterwards I showed some of my own films on my new projector. Some were quite good.
Tuesday, 25 November
A good mail today, letters from Mummy, Daddy, David, Aunt Mabel, Bridget and Jack Yarborough, our ex-colonel. But nothing from Pat. Before break I went for my usual early-morning ride with John Walters, which was very pleasant.
Training as usual during the morning. Lawrence Biddle gave my officers a lecture on star navigation, which as usual was absolutely excellent. He really has the most remarkable brain. In the afternoon Paul Boswood gave his lecture on his experiences as a prisoner-of-war, after being captured in Syria, then taken to Greece and right across Europe to Germany. It was all most interesting and very well told by him. It was so typical Paul, as he was in the old Inns of Court days. He stressed the absolute amazing discipline he noticed in the German Army whenever he came across German soldiers, the incredible pluck of the Greeks, and the great shortage of food there. His interview with the Gestapo officer before leaving for Germany was most interesting. At times they were very short of food, and most uncomfortable, and their party consisted of about 37 officers from all three services, including three Indian officers, all under a British colonel.
After dinner I had a talk with Stephen in his tent, and then returned to my own to read my mail and write letters. I also had a long and most amusing letter from Clive, all about his hectic love affairs. When last he wrote, he almost broke his heart, because Peggy Marriott wouldn’t marry him, and now is having a violent love affair with one of his old flames, who is married with three children. At the same time having another hectic love affair with another married girl – who is a girlfriend of Roger Winlaw!
Wednesday, 26 November
The battle is still raging in the desert. Both sides have brought up reinforcements. I am afraid we may have underestimated the number of German tanks in Libya. Casualties have been very heavy on both sides. If we thoroughly beat up the Germans in this battle it will make all the difference in the world to our morale.
On the Russian front news is not too good. The fight for Moscow still continues.
The battle was certainly raging fiercely. On 22 November Sidi Omar and Fort Capuzzo, to the east and south-east of Tobruk, had been captured and the main coast road, via Balbia, had been cut. Rommel counterattacked hard the following day and the 5th South African Brigade was encircled and destroyed by his Deutsches Afrika Korps. Thinking the British were in complete disarray, he then ordered a ‘dash to the wire’ to the Egyptian border, which became known by the Eighth Army men as the ‘Matruh Stakes’. In fact, the British were not as disorganized as Rommel had thought, even though General Cunningham wanted to call off the offensive. The Auk refused this request, and on 27 November, as Rommel’s armour sped over the Egyptian border well to the south of Sollum, the Tobruk garrison linked up with the New Zealand Division. Wit
h large formations of both sides still loose and fighting to the east, Tobruk was still not safe, but the Auk’s decision to fight on appeared to have been justified.
Sunday, 30 November
After lunch I produced a hockey team, consisting mostly of officers to play against my squadron. We lost 4–3.
The news on the wireless is much better. The desert campaign seems to be going as well as can be expected. We have captured one German general, who commanded a German panzer division. The Russians have retaken Vladivostok.
Saturday, 6 December
After lunch Donny, Lawrence and I went shooting at Wadi Faluk. As a result of the rains we had great sport in these swamps, and saw plenty of birds in the form of duck, snipe and quail. We all had a most enjoyable afternoon. We took the Bantam scout car, which is absolutely ideal, and will get you over any kind of ground. We got a very good bag.
Sunday, 7 December
Church parade followed by a service in the cinema, which I attended. Did some work in the office, and then Lawrence and I rode to Caesarea. It took us about 1½ hours. For the last few miles we followed along the beach, which was perfectly delightful. We had our lunch, which we brought with us, sitting on the old medieval wall overlooking the sea.
Afterwards we rode out and followed the old Roman viaducts, which brought water to the towns. All most interesting. We got back to camp about 4 o’clock. A most enjoyable day. In the evening I worked on the court-martial of which I am president on Tuesday.
An Englishman at War Page 22