An Englishman at War
Page 51
30 Corps commander, General Horrocks, puts us in the picture somewhere in Normandy. Horrocks succeeded General Bucknall.
Sergeant Nelson (left) and the crew of the Recce Troop in Normandy.
A knocked-out Panther tank, Normandy.
Stanley had scrawled ‘Mk 2 tank, Normandy’ on this picture. In fact, it is one of the German much-feared Tiger tanks. At 72 tons, and armed with the 88mm gun, it was a beast, but prone to mechanical failure. This one appears to have been knocked out, however.
Sherwood Ranger Sherman tanks in Beek. This was yet another fierce and bloody battle. As the Regiment grew steadily more and more proficient, so they were increasingly used to accompany the infantry in the vanguard of an assault.
Christmas 1944 at Schinnen, in Holland. Since landing on D-Day, the Regiment had had officer casualties of double its normal compliment. The chances of any tank crew surviving unscathed was slight.
German refugees on the move – an all too common sight.
Sherman tanks camouflaged with white paint in the winter of 1944/45.
Crewmen from C Squadron in Germany, February 1945.
Tank barrage before the attack on the Reichwald.
Dead cows lie bloated in the flooded waters of the Maas near the Reichwald.
A column of exhausted German prisoners. The end was near, but there was to be no let-up in the ferocity of the fighting and the Sherwood Rangers were never far from the action.
Stanley’s citation for being Mentioned in Despatches. He was also awarded the DSO, the MC and Bar and an American Silver Star.
Preparing to cross the mighty river Rhine.
Trooper Mogford, Stanley’s batman in the closing stages of the war.
Trooper Bull, Stanley’s driver.
With the war in Europe finally won, there was a chance for some relaxation and games. Races at Einbeck.
Corporal Tuft and his band play at the Kellett Kanteen, named after Flash Kellett.
Stanley relaxes by the pool at B Squadron HQ in Hanover, with his dog “Beek” in the rubber dighy. He had carried an incredible amount of responsibility but managed to remain outwardly cheerful and optimistic to his men.
The Farewell Parade at Einbeck in October 1945 before the Regiment lost its tanks. This one is Stanley’s own Sherman – it was a tradition that the Officer Commanding’s tank was named Robin Hood.
Stanley, seated centre, with his officers in Hanover, January 1946. Soon they would be going home – Stanley to civilian life once more.
APPENDIX I
Structure of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry on 6 June 1944
Regimental Headquarters, consisting of four tanks
Lieutenant Colonel J. D’A. Anderson . . commanding officer
Major Michael Laycock . . . . . . . . . . . . . second-in-command
Captain George Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . adjutant
A Squadron, consisting of four HQ tanks and four troops each of three tanks
Major S. D. Christopherson . . . . . . . . . . squadron leader
Captain Keith Douglas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . second-in-command
B Squadron, consisting of four HQ tanks and four troops each of three tanks
Major Michael Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . squadron leader
Captain Peter Seleri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . second-in-command
C Squadron, consisting of four HQ tanks and four troops each of three tanks
Major Stephen Mitchell . . . . . . . . . . . . . squadron leader
Captain William Enderby . . . . . . . . . . . . second-in-command
Reconnaissance Troop, consisting of two HQ light tanks, and three troops each of three tanks
Captain Patrick McCraith . . . . . . . . . . . troop leader
Captain Ian McKay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . second-in-command
Headquarters Squadron, consisting of all supply and repair vehicles
Major Roger Sutton-Nelthorpe . . . . . . . squadron leader
Captain Tony Gauntley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . second-in-command
APPENDIX II
A Note on Formations
To those unfamiliar with military terminology, the complexities of structure and organization can be confusing. In the Second World War, most troops, regardless of nationality, were divided into armies, corps, divisions, brigades, regiments and battalions. A force could be designated an ‘army’ if it consisted of two or more corps, whose number is always written in Roman numerals, e.g. XXX Corps, for 30 Corps. A corps had no great significance but was a contained force within an army, usually comprising at least two divisions, i.e., no less than 30,000 men.
Next down the scale was the division, made up from around 15,000 men. This was still a major tactical and administrative unit of the army, and within its structure contained all the various forms of arms and services necessary for sustained combat. Different divisions had different emphases, however. The fighting core of the infantry division was the infantry brigade, while the same for an armoured division was the armoured brigade.
An infantry brigade would also have attached service troops plus artillery and engineers, but at its heart would be three infantry battalions, consisting of four companies of 122 men plus a battalion headquarters. A full-strength infantry battalion would be 845 men.
An armoured brigade operated on the same basis, but there were a number of independent brigades, such as 8th Armoured, which came under direct control of the corps, rather than being attached to a particular division.
Structure of a Typical Armoured Regiment, like the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, in the Summer of 1944
Officers: 37
Other ranks: 655
Commanding officer: lieutenant colonel
Squadron: major
Troop: lieutenant or second lieutenant
Regimental Headquarters
Signal Troop (3 × 15-cwt trucks, 1 × 3-ton truck)
Light Aid Detachment REME (3 × 15-cwt trucks, 1 × half-track, 2 × 3-ton trucks, 2 × tractors)
HQ Squadron
Administrative Troop (8 × motorbikes, 6 × Jeeps, 3 × 15-cwt trucks, 1 × 15-cwt water tanker, 3 × ambulance half-tracks, 2 × workshop half-tracks, 16 × 3-ton lorries)
Recce Troop (11 × Stuart light tanks)
Intercom. Troop (9 × Scout cars)
Anti-aircraft Troop (8 × Crusader anti-aircraft tanks)
A Squadron
Headquarters (1 × Jeep, 2 × Sherman tank, 1 × Sherman recovery, 1 × close-support Sherman)
Administrative Troop (3 × half-tracks, 1 × 15-cwt water tanker, 1 × 15-cwt general service lorry, 12 × 3-ton lorries)
Troops × 4 (3 × 75mm Sherman tanks, 1 × 17-pounder Sherman Firefly tank)
B Squadron
C Squadron
Glossary
2 i/c
second-in-command
AA
anti-aircraft
ack ack
slang for anti-aircraft
ADC
aide-de-camp
A/T
anti-tank
AP
armour piercing
AQMS
assistant quarter master sergeant
AVRE
armoured vehicle, Royal Engineers
Beaufort
a twin-engine torpedo bomber designed and built by the Bristol company. They saw extensive service in the Middle East.
Besa
Czech designed, British-built machine-gun used primarily in tanks and armoured vehicles
BOP
battery observation post
bully beef
tinned corned beef – a staple of British rations
CCS
casualty clearing station
CRA
commander, Royal Artillery
D&M
driving and maintenance
DAQMG
deputy assistant quarter master general
DCLI
Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry
Distinguished Conduct Medal
DLI
Durham Light Infantry
doggo
slang, meaning ‘lying low’
DR
dead reckoning
Echelon
vehicles supporting the fighting troops, and providing supplies, maintenance equipment, ammunition and food
ENSA
Entertainments National Service Association
FOO
forward observation officer
FOP
forward observation post
G3
or GSO 3: general staff officer; Grade 3 was the most junior staff officer
GOC
General Officer Commanding
HE
high explosive
HQ
headquarters
IC
intercom
IO
intelligence officer
‘I’ tank
infantry tank, directly supporting the infantry
KDG
King’s Dragoon Guards
KRRC
King’s Royal Rifle Corps
LCT
landing craft tank
LOB
left out of battle; always around 10 per cent of any single regiment or battalion
L of C
lines of communication
LRDG
Long Range Desert Group
MC
Military Cross
ME
Middle East
MET
mechanized transport
MEWTS
Middle East Weapon Training School
MM
Military Medal
M/T
motor transport
NAAFI
Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes
NCO
non-commissioned officer
NZ
New Zealand
OCTU
Officer Cadet Training Unit
OP
observation post
OR
other rank, i.e., not an officer
OTC
officer training cadets
PMC
president of the mess committee
RAC
Royal Armoured Corps
RAM
Royal Army Medical Corps
RAOC
Royal Army Ordnance Corps
RAP
regimental aid post
RASC
Royal Army Service Corps
RE
Royal Engineers
REME
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
RGH
Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
RHA
Royal Horse Artillery
RHQ
regimental headquarters
RRO
regimental ratting officer
RSM
regimental sergeant major
RTO
rail traffic officer
RTR
Royal Tank Regiment
SC
staff captain
SNOIC
senior naval officer in charge
SP
self-propelled
SQMS
squadron quarter master sergeant
SRY
Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry
SSM
squadron sergeant major
TEWT
tactical exercise without troops
TGR
Tank Group Reinforcement
TJFF
TransJordan Frontier Force
TQMS
technical quarter master sergeant
U/S
unserviceable
WO
War Office or warrant officer
YH
Yorkshire Hussars
Acknowledgements
Editing Stanley Christopherson’s wartime diaries has been a great privilege, but the task has been made considerably easier by the enormous help, support and enthusiasm shown by the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry fraternity. I am indebted to Jonathan Hunt, Michael Brown, Murray Colville and especially Michael Elliott, who went through the manuscript with such painstaking attention to detail.
I am also very grateful to the surviving veterans who allowed me and Stanley’s son, David, to visit them and hear their memories. David Render, Stan Cox and Bert Jenkins all provided fascinating insights into Stanley’s leadership and to life in the Sherwood Rangers during the war. Especially helpful, however, was John Semken, who not only spoke to us at great length but also showed me a copy of his illustrated diary/photo album. His recollections and observations were both profound and deeply moving.
My thanks, as ever, go to all the team at Bantam Press, but especially to Bill Scott-Kerr, Phil Lord and Vivien Thompson. I would also like to especially thank Hazel Orme, for her outstanding work copy-editing the manuscript, which, with the vast number of names, both place and person, was no small task. Thanks, too, go to Fran Curtis at Black Sun for her help with the photographs and copying of various of Stanley’s papers. I am also, as ever, hugely grateful to Patrick Walsh at Conville & Walsh, for all his help.
Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank Stanley’s son and daughter, David Christopherson and Sara Jane Grace. Both have been hugely supportive of this project from the outset, and David, particularly, has worked with me every step of the way. It has been an honour to spend so much time with their father, albeit his writings only. He was clearly an exceptional man, and my only regret is that I never had the chance to meet him myself.
Index
The page references in this index correspond to the printed edition from which this ebook was created. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.
Aarschot 444
Abdy, Jack
in Benghazi 152
in Egypt 72, 73, 112
on HMS Terror 134
in Palestine 48, 53, 55, 90, 103, 218
and Player 37
as squadron leader 80
in Tobruk 132, 139, 140, 169, 173
Abel-Smith, Jos 24, 37, 55, 198, 210
Abri-Thusha 26–27
Abyssinia 119, 488
Acre 36, 39
Addis Ababa 157
Africa 51
Afula 67
Agheila 294
Ahuza 67, 72
Akers-Douglas, Daisy 216
Alam Halfa, Battle of 262–263, 326
Alamein
Battle of 2, 14, 266–280, 289, 305, 316, 319, 322, 360, 369, 387, 398, 427, 469, 488
cemetery 271
Alamein Line 260, 261
Albania 158
Albert Canal 445–446
Alderson, David 184, 470
Aleppo 184
Alexander, General Sir Harold 261–262, 316, 322, 361
Alexandria 118–120, 129, 138, 148, 151, 183, 194, 203–204, 215, 259, 278, 367
bombing of 195–196, 198–199
British troops in 65, 68, 131, 179
hospital 270
Stanley’s diary stored in 152
as vital port 18
Waifa Palace Hotel 119
Algeria 39, 265
All This and Heaven Too 238
Allen, Lady 94, 113
Allied Mediterranean Air Forces 316
Allistan, Pat 229
Amariya 204, 261
Amaya 258
Amiens 430
Anderson, Colonel John D’Arcy 370, 382–383, 393, 398
Anderson, Lieutenant Colonel (of 24th Lancers) 411
Anzio 368
Aosta, Duke of 440
Apweiler 472
Arabs 25, 31, 40, 51, 78, 149, 154, 229, 240
Arcadia Conference 237
Ardennes 476
Argyll and Sutherlands 248
Ark Royal 177, 222, 224
Armoured Brigade Group 248, 317
Arnhem 449, 450, 451
/> Arnim, General Hans-Jürgen von 322, 360
Arromanches 376
Ashkelon 103
Ashton, Claud 291
Asnelles-sur-Mer 376, 381
Athens 163
Atlantic, Battle of the 147, 188, 368
Atlit Point 67
ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) 514
Au Bagne, Café de la Cours 19
Auchinleck, General Claude (‘the Auk’) 197, 224–225, 226–227, 230, 261
Aurailles 399
Australia 216, 250
Australians
at Bir Salim 92, 93
in Cairo 62, 65