大象传媒

1944-45 in GHQ Liaison Regiment (Phantom)

In the weeks following the D-Day landings in NW Europe it became increasingly obvious that we would not be involved in that campaign. If I could not be involved alongside those with whom I had trained for 3-4 years, (as seemed inevitable now), I decided to take some initiative myself to get overseas. Through a friend I heard that "Phantom" was expanding rapidly and wanted to recruit officers of my sort of age and experience; he ensured that my application for a transfer reached the right quarters and it worked.
I was summoned to that regiment's headquarters, then in Richmond Park, Surrey, for assessment and training in that force's particular role (see below at p.13). The main requirements seemed to be: above average ability to drive, reasonable competence with radio communications (I never really mastered the Morse code!), ability to write concise messages, mastery of their cipher system. I must have been considered suitable for this work for there I was, involved in an intensive period of re-training.
A feature of our life in Richmond Park was the German assault on London with flying bombs, V 1 s or doodlebugs, as they were popularly known. Our officers' mess (now a cafe open to the public) was on the edge of the ridge above the Thames and from it there was a magnificent view of the Thames valley. It also provided a good view of those missiles, which had not been shot down on the final stages of their journey to central London; they seemed to be almost at eye-level, at varying distances away from us.
While you could hear their engine running they were no danger; someone else would get the impact. One incident I remember clearly. It was on a Sunday morning, a lovely fine day, and a group of us was standing outside enjoying a pre-lunch drink while we watched this aerial show - the bombs flying in and anti-aircraft fire attempting to bring them down. Suddenly the engine of one of the bombs, which was quite close and clearly visible, spluttered to a stop and the bomb's flight immediately started to curve downwards. I cannot now remember how many of us were there but I do recall that, with one accord, everyone of us went inside through the French windows and finished up in an undignified heap between two large sofas placed back
to back in the middle of the room. Without a word or any pre-planning all of us had the same instinct of self-preservation and in the same moment worked out the same route to safety without any consideration of the hierarchy of rank. There were some crumpled uniforms, some spilt drinks and broken glasses as we untangled ourselves from the makeshift shelter to resume our drinking, chatter and, in due course lunch.
Another quite different experience of this time. It was a great bonus being in London and usually free in the evenings. For me trips to the West End theatres were a special joy and I would often go up to town by train to a show. No doubt someone had decided that that sort of "normal" life should continue as far as possible to maintain morale in those difficult times. The bombing raids of the "blitz" only rarely happened now but the new menace of the V2, in addition to the V 1 s, had started. Of these there was no warning; if you heard the explosion, a terrific noise, you were safe from that one.
One evening I was at one of Shakespeare's plays and John Gielgud was on stage alone declaiming one of the great speeches. A V2 landed close enough to shake the building violently, bringing down plaster and dust everywhere including onto the stage. That great actor, with supreme and commendable professionalism, continued with his lines after a barely noticeable pause. I was sure that his composure and steadiness in continuing his speech averted a nasty panic, which surely would have otherwise occurred. We had had a very narrow escape!
The role of "Phantom"
The Regiment which I had joined was a product of WWII; it could be said that, like Topsy, it "just growed". Its antecedents had functioned in most, if not all, of the campaign areas of Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa. There had been little "private armies", individual patrols to and at the front lines and behind enemy lines, a separate service monitoring front-line radio traffic (own troops and enemy) and various other bits and pieces. The one constant and overriding common element of all the different `founding' elements was the need of Army commanders to have swift and accurate information of what was happening at the front, conveyed directly
through their `private' systems of communication rather than through the usual channels which nearly always proved too slow.
By the time I joined it the Regiment was formally organised for service in Italy and NW Europe; it had overcome much of the suspicion aroused by all such "unorthodox" organisations and was largely trusted by senior generals. As far as the campaign in NW Europe was concerned, the network involved patrols established at every divisional and high commands' headquarters within 21 Army Group and down to corps HQs in the American army, together with other patrols organised for particular operations. The Regiment had its own cipher system, good radio equipment and always an adequate supply of frequencies. We officers were trained to collect authentic information about the tactical situation at the front and about future operational plans; we then had to see that all this was concisely, regularly and quickly reported directly to Army commanders. Because each patrol could `overhear' what others were reporting, there was often the spin-off effect that our officers could easily and reliably brief the local commander's staff about what was happening on a wider front. In general terms that was the set-up for which I had now been trained and to which I was sent early in 1945.

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