An Englishman at War
Page 55
Repulse 229
Rhade 505
Rhine, river 2, 448, 450, 489, 493–495
Rhodesians 92
Riddle, Jimmy 240
Riethorst 454
Rifle Brigade 91, 101, 106, 109
Ringrose, Basil 32, 37, 38, 39–40, 68, 80, 90, 103, 109, 113, 248, 266, 270, 282, 286–287, 289, 322, 488, 489, 518
Ritchie, General Neil 230, 259
Riviere, Michael 71, 114, 118, 174–175, 182, 198, 217
Robin Force 489
Robinson, Sergeant 456
Rodger, Sergeant 20, 190
Rodwell, Martha 64, 68, 113
Rogers, Geoffrey 49
Rogers, Sergeant 27
Romania 106, 132, 157
Rome 368
Rome Radio 78, 142
Rommel, Field Marshal Erwin
arrives in Tripoli 134
captures Bardia 155
and D-Day 385
in desert battles 226–262, 304, 360
and Eighth Army 226–262, 287, 321, 323
at Medenine 325–326
at Sollum 158
in Tunisia 314
withdrawal from Alamein 286, 294
Roosevelt, Franklin D. 86, 147, 260, 313
Rose, Trooper 321
Rosewell, Martin 256
Rossond, Colonel 466
Rotterdam 58
Roul, Jonnie 249
Rowe Swann & Co. 2
Rowell, John 85
Roxborough (officer) 248
Royal Air Force 86, 92, 100, 378
Desert Air Force 260, 280
Middle East 280
Royal Artillery (Gunners) 328
Royal Corps of Signals 88, 247, 250, 427
Royal Dragoon Guards 370
Royal Engineers (RE) 249
Royal Gloucester Hussars 460, 472, 481, 488
Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) 289, 291, 293, 296, 299, 303
Royal Marines 134
Royal Scots Fusiliers 402, 482
Royal Sussex regiment 62, 66, 67
Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) 259, 266, 271, 276, 284, 297, 303, 304, 306, 307, 309, 314–316, 316, 317, 330, 333, 334–335, 344, 354, 356, 370, 438, 498
Rugles 430
Rugman, Trooper 355
Ruhr, river 476
Rush, Lance Corporal (later Sergeant) 239, 298, 390, 400
Russia 157, 191, 211, 215, 218, 224, 226, 228, 243, 313
Russian Guard of Honour 509
Ruth (in Jerusalem) 208
Ruurlo 497
Ryder, Bill 102
Ryes 376, 383
Sadada 305
Sadler, Corporal 336–337
Sage, Sergeant 502
St Denis de Méré 418, 419
St Denis le Ferment 432
St John, Major Stephen 296, 298, 299
St Pierre 389, 392–396, 399, 436–442
St Rémy 431, 432
St Sulpice 388
Sainte-Honorine-la-Chardonne 421
Saita 297
Salerno 368
Salisbury-Jones, General Guy 116
Salonika 157
Sandbostel concentration camp 506
Sandeman, Captain Arthur 33
Sanders, Eric 318
Sanders, Trooper 286
Sandhurst 13, 498
Sarafand 31, 32, 75, 78, 87, 88, 90, 95, 96, 102, 113–118, 181
Saunders, Guy 420
Saunders, Sergeant 449
Savignies 432
Sayers, Sergeant Major 174
Scarswall, Dick 252
Schandorf 482
Scharnhorst (cruiser) 368
Scheldt estuary 494
Schimmert 481
Schinnen 472, 473, 476–477, 481
Schinveld 479
Scots Guards 250
Scott, Mechanist Quarter Master Sergeant 469–470
Scott, Ray 403
Scottish Horse Yeomanry 13, 206
Scudamore, John 460, 468, 472
Search Lights 45, 48
2nd Armoured Brigade 321, 323, 383
2nd Armoured Division (US) 466
2nd Seaforths 495
II Corps (US) 321, 322, 342
II SS Panzer Corps 401
Sedan, Bill 338
Seine, river 431
Seleri, Captain Peter 93, 395–396, 399, 405–406, 414–415, 463, 469
Sellar, Captain Dr Bill 192, 193–194
Selling, Kent 33
Selston 482
Semken, John
on Alam Halfa 263
and Colonel Anderson 383
on codenames 272
at court-martial 228–229
on Keith Douglas 392
and Ronnie Hill 273
incidents in action 303, 304, 402, 468
on Montgomery 265
and Montgomery 474
on new officers 16
on officers’ wives 38
as signals officer 271
on Stanley 515–516
on Stanley and Stephen Mitchell 399, 478
as technical adjutant 383
Semlies, Kim 256
7th Armoured Division 91, 306, 314, 363, 397, 398, 407, 482, 511
7th Green Howards 399
7th Hussars 99
7th Somersets 424, 431, 504
Sewell, Sergeant 88, 90
Seymour-Darling, John 13
Sfax 346, 347
War Cemetery 332, 336
Shaftesbury 99
Sharp, Vera 243
Sharpshooters 55
Sherborne School 339
Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry 1, 3, 4, 5, 13–16, 32, 44
Annual Summer Camp 3
Debating Society 28
disbanded 511, 513
loses horses 43–44
mechanized as 8th Armoured Brigade 209
as mounted police force 32
role in Second World War 511, 516
Stanley joins 13
veterans of 515–516
Shewell, Trooper 319
Sicily 310, 367
Sidgewick, Chris 431, 436, 441, 474, 483, 488, 491–492, 496, 500, 502, 503, 505, 508
Sidi Barrani 81, 91, 105, 189, 258, 259
Sidi Ben Ali 348
Sidi Omar 226
Sidi Rezegh 225
Siegfried Line 464, 465–473
Signals 55
Simla (Egypt) 259
Simons, Trooper 357–359
Sinai 57
Sind 482
Singapore 123, 228, 229, 238, 241, 243, 244, 245, 251
Sirte 299
Sittard 465
60th Rifles 370
6th Armoured Division 318, 360
61st Recce Regiment 434
67th American Armoured Battalion 411
Skinner, Padre Leslie 5, 392, 396–397, 397, 423, 476, 478, 489, 502, 513, 518
Sleep, Sergeant 420
Slovakia 106
Smallwood, Tim 55
Smith (batman) 28, 31, 73, 92, 107, 134, 193, 200
Smith, Corporal 199, 343
Smith, Flight Lieutenant ‘Smudger’ Smith 161
Smith (officer) 474
Smith, Trooper 199
Smith-Dorrien, Peter 514
Smolensk 216
Smyrna 219
Sollum 81, 106, 122, 158, 162, 172, 190, 193, 201, 203, 227
Somaliland, Italian 119
Somme, river 433
Son, bridge 450
Sousse 329, 346, 347
South Africa 2–3, 26, 49, 63, 74, 151, 513
South West Borderers 388
Southampton 151, 183
Southampton 377–379
Soviet Union 191, 212, 368
see also Russia
Spain 212
Sparham, Trooper 319
Spence, Colonel Ian 383
Spring Grove, Wye, Kent 513
Staffordshire Yeomanry (Staffs) 113, 205, 209–210, 214, 218, 221, 240, 246, 248, 258, 261, 266, 272, 275, 277, 284, 295, 303, 304, 330–356, 362, 370, 4
48, 483, 494–495
Light Squadron 328
Staggerers Cricket Club 513
Stalag Luft III 49
Stalingrad 299, 361
Stanier, Brigadier Sir Alexander 453–454
Stanton, Sergeant 446
Starl 479
Steele, David 85, 248–249, 252, 253
Steele, Dick 85, 249
Stephenson, Colonel 49
Stobbs, Captain 72
Stockton, Archie 290
Stockton, Sergeant 169
Strachan (servant) 73
Strutt, Captain Mark 323, 324, 330
Stuart, Corporal 319
Suani Ben Adam 308
Suez 59
Suez Canal 18, 39, 260
‘Sugar Loaf’ hill 340
Summers, David 266
Summersall (officer) 65
Sunningdale 108
Lindsay Lodge 232
Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry 293
Sus-Saint-Léger 433
Suvla Bay 178
Sway, Hampshire 375
Switzerland 498
Sword Beach 385
Sydney, Australia 149
Syria
British in 185, 208, 214, 217, 220, 222, 225, 288
French in 38, 41, 42, 78, 116, 189
Germans in 184, 211
mounted troops in 32, 96
skiing in 239–241
Stanley on 146, 180, 196
Vichy government and 44, 217
Takrouna 351, 353–354, 362
Talbot, John 504
Tandy, SQM 88
Tank Corps 232, 242
Taranto 105, 152
Tarhuna 305, 306
Tarmstedt 505
Taylor, Christopher 112
Taylor, Robin 336
Tebaga Gap 328, 339
Tedder, Air Marshal Arthur 316
Tehran 215
Tel Aviv 31, 32, 71, 74, 75–76, 78, 90, 98, 110, 116, 242
Gat Rayman Hotel 76, 99
Reading Power Station 72, 85
Samakan 110
Soldiers’ Home 76
Tel el Aqqaqir 273, 275, 277, 280
Tel-a-dura 243
10th Armoured Division 221
10th Hussars 316, 318
X Corps 343, 359, 360
Terror, HMS 118, 121–125, 127, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 141
Tessel-Bretteville 402
Tew (officer) 72
Thessalonika 106
3rd Army Corps 88
3rd British Division 502, 503
3rd Hussars 268
13/18th Hussars 411, 431, 432, 463, 479
XIII Corps 262
XXX Corps 334, 376, 416, 450, 495
32nd Lowland Division 504
Thoma, General Ritter Wilhelm von 279, 280, 412
Thomas, General Ivo (‘Von Thoma’) 412–413, 418–419, 484, 506, 508
Thomas, Lieutenant 487
Thompson, Basil 110
Thompson, Colin 447, 448
Thompson, Stuart 108, 115, 117, 118, 148, 150, 192, 206, 217, 230
Thompson, Sergeant (later Lieutenant) 89, 319–320
333rd Regiment 466, 470
334th Regiment 466
Tilly-sur-Seulles 1, 397, 493
The Times 136
TJFF (Trans Jordan Frontier Force) 92
Tobruk 121–202, 227, 257, 292, 327, 472
departure for 115, 117, 118, 120
fall of 260, 290
importance of 119
Peter Laycock at 205, 208
Navy House 137, 153, 159, 160, 162, 163, 182, 183–184, 186, 195, 198, 201
relief of 228
retreat from 318
siege of 155, 156–202
Stanley on 211
War Cemetery 161
Todd, Colonel John 231
Toft, Tim 297
Tonbridge 503
Tournai 435
Tower Hamlets (regiment) 111
Towers, Sergeant 382, 393
Townsend, Major 36
Transjordan 220
Tres Serfuy 432
Tripartite Pact 86, 132, 228
Tripoli 129, 133, 144, 288, 304, 306, 308, 312, 367
Café Roma 314
cathedral 314
hospital 321
theatre 314–315
Tripolitania 257
Tripsrath 480
Trotter, Henry 37, 53–54, 54, 56, 59–61, 61, 64, 74, 77, 82, 85–96, 115–117, 131, 140, 148, 167, 169, 171, 174, 179, 205, 214
Trotter, Rona 37, 53–54, 54, 56, 59–62, 61–64, 68, 74, 76, 77, 80–81, 82, 85, 87, 90, 94–96, 103, 109, 113, 114
Truman, Corporal 266, 268, 278, 282
Tuker, General Francis 334, 359
Tulkarm 212
Tunis 294, 314, 320, 321, 322, 323, 329, 359, 407
Tunisia 2, 39, 265, 294, 313, 314, 316, 320, 328–364, 367, 383
Turin 100
Turkey 132, 143–144, 165, 190, 211, 212, 219
Turnabout 250
Turner, Corporal 489
12th Army Group (US) 420
12th SS Panzer Division 402
21st Panzer Division 360, 449, 493–494
22nd Armoured Brigade 302, 356
23rd Hussars 401, 407, 417, 430
23rd Motor Brigade 275, 323
24th Lancers 370, 392, 411, 415
29th Armoured Division 400
231 Brigade 445, 453–454
Tyre 185
Tyrrell, Jack 269, 270, 274–279, 281–287, 289, 292, 293, 296, 305
Ubbergen 451
Ukraine 191, 212
Ulster Prince 120
United States of America 188, 250, 289, 290, 420, 472
Randolph Churchill and 239
Winston Churchill in 239, 260
Germany declares war on 228
at Guadalcanal 299
help to Russia 216, 218
Hitler and 191
Japan declares war on (Pearl Harbor) 228
and Japanese 429–430
and Lend Lease Bill 146–147
Montgomery and 342
and Normandy landings 386
and Operation COBRA 410
Stanley on 350
tanks used by 494
and Tripartite Pact 86
Utah Beach 386
Valence 19
VE-Day 412, 515
Vegel 450
Vendetta 201
Venres 402
Verner, Victor 389
Vernon 430
Versailles, Treaty of 38
Vickers, Corporal 190
Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy 130
Vienna 32
Villers-Bocage, Battle of 398, 403
Ving, Major 47, 48
Vintelen 479, 480
Vladivostok 227, 228
Voorde 443
Wadi Akarit, Battle of 343
Wadi Faluk 227
Wadi Tamet 299, 302–303
Wadi Zem Zem 299, 302, 304, 357, 448
Waffen-SS 163
Wake Islands 237
Wallace, Dandy 19, 23, 96, 97, 98, 102
Wallace, Jane 96
Wallace, RSM 94
Wallace, Toby 94, 96, 97, 102, 214
Walpole, Hugh, The Blind Man’s House 246
Walsh (officer) 453, 483
Walters, Dorothy 244
Walters, John
in Cairo 256
in Haifa 243
in Jerusalem with Stanley 251–253
joins Sherwood Rangers 13, 89
as machine-gun officer 85
on mess committee 37, 210
in North Africa 332–333
on nurses 78
in Palestine 46, 52, 53, 69, 90, 110, 222, 225, 233, 248
and Vera Phillips 258
and Lord Yarborough 16
War Office 37, 95, 182
Warburton, Arthur 444, 483
Ward, Charles 112
Ward, Peter 111
Ward-Jackson, Bill 151
W
arminster 249
Warren, Tom 67
Warwick, Derrick
in Berlin 511
at Christmas dinner in Holland 477
as gas officer 85
gives lecture on gas 87
in hospital 291, 292
joins C Battery 142, 164
leaves for Tobruk 118
in Palestine 45, 55, 69, 71, 90, 107, 113, 232
at Tobruk 125, 133, 153, 160, 165, 166, 198, 228
wounded at Alamein 277, 475
Warwickshire Hunt 183
Warwickshire Yeomanry 93, 143, 217, 221, 223
Washington, DC 237
Wavell, General Archibald (Earl Wavell) 33, 34, 63, 91, 116, 119, 133, 181, 185, 189, 197, 215
Webb, David 223
Webb, Sergeant 505
Webster, Pilot Sergeant 161
Weele 489
Wenlow, Roger 291
Western Desert 81, 92, 99, 105, 106, 113, 224, 229–230, 257, 258, 260, 278
Western Desert Force (later XIII Corps; Eighth Army) 119, 225
Weygand, General 44
Weymouth, Bill 248
Whalen (officer) 474, 487
Wharton, Bill 403–404, 436–437, 437–439, 441, 462, 483, 502
Whatley, Trooper 272
Wheeler, Sergeant 500–501
White (officer) 303
Whitfield, Corporal 469
Whiting, Jack 116, 118, 128, 134, 135, 142, 143, 146, 149, 150, 153, 167, 170–171, 170, 176, 207, 221, 239, 242, 261, 262
Whitney, Jack 206
Wilkinson, Bridget (SDC’s cousin) 75, 88, 110, 113, 143, 150, 166, 216, 225, 241, 251, 256, 369
Wilkinson (tank driver) 268
Williams, Margot 252
Wilson, Jim 15
Wilson, Rae 15, 75
Wilson, Trooper 67
Wiltshire Yeomanry (Wiltshires) 48, 125, 142, 150, 182, 188, 248, 486, 497, 504
Winchester College 6, 13, 29, 62, 76, 100, 102, 108, 122, 165, 220, 323, 356
Windsor, Edward, Duke of 148
Windsor, Wallis, Duchess of (formerly Mrs Simpson) 148
Winlaw, Roger 226
Winssen 464
Wiseton, Nottinghamshire 394
Wittmann, Michael 398
Wooley, Sergeant 284–285
Wrangham, John 233
Wright (tank operator) 267–268
Wurm 469, 470
Wye, Kent 513, 514
Wynn, Colonel 411
Yamashita, General 245
Yarborough, Earl of (Colonel) 16, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 30, 36, 48, 52, 56–66, 68–69, 80, 82, 83, 94, 95, 96, 98, 225, 505
Yarborough, Lady 16, 37, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 71, 74, 82, 94, 95, 98
Yarmouth 372
Yorkshire Dragoons 20, 23, 48–49, 70, 96
Yorkshire Hussars 20, 23, 48, 68, 69, 70, 84, 96, 209
Young, Dr Hylda 300, 429, 441, 487, 502
Young, Marion 33
Yugoslavia 157, 158
Zaila 310
About the Authors
Stanley Christopherson was born in 1912 and trained to be a lawyer before joining the Sherwood Rangers in the autumn of 1939. Apart from two weeks in hospital, he experienced the Second World War on the Western Front in its entirety and watched as the very nature of war changed and evolved. In the North African campaign, he engaged in the Battles of Alam Halfa and El Alamein and the fall of Tunis. On D-Day he landed on the Gold Beach, before moving across France and Belgium and on to Holland where his regiment endured the terrible fighting in the aftermath of Operation MARKET GARDEN.