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Frederick William Digby (Military Medalist) Born 7/12/1918
Now approaching my 85th birthday.

I was actively engaged in the 2nd World War, being called up as a militia man under a law passed in April 1939, whereby all men aged 20 had to register for for 6 months service with one of the armed services. My registration was made in June 1939, but was not called up until October of that year, due to the shortage of accommodation and of equipment.

Having been employed as a van driver. I was sent to Tidworth to train for 6 months on tanks with the 53rd Armoured Training Regiment. With me was my old school friend, Walt Mallard and Gordon Heard from St. James End in Northampton, with several others from the town. There was also my good friend from Woodford, Northants, Danny Sanders who unfortunately lost his life when the ‘Lancastria’ was bombed and sunk off St. Nazaire.

I enjoyed those months of training and the sports, particulary the football and boxing. It was through the latter that I met Lofty Jennings, who had then taken part in several tournaments which I had also.

In March 1940 I landed at Le Havre and stationed for some weeks at a reinforcement camp at everue. Being then a member of the British Expeditionary Force. I had passed out at Tidworth as a driver/mechanic. With me there was ‘Wardy’ from Nottingham and about 5 others. It was there that I met and made a friend of Jock McLeod, who was the first casualty of the War which I witnessed. He escaped from France and later in the War I met him having recovered from his wounds in Cairo. Sadly though, I learned that he was killed just prior to the Armistice in Germany.

When the Germans broke through we were given the duties of airfield defence, the guarding of ammunition dumps and keeping roads and bridges open to allow the free passage of our troops where roads were blocked by fleeing refugees.

When France and Belgium surrendered, our group comprising 7 Bren Gun carriers and crews, 1 Officer, and 2 NCO’s, we were too far from the Channel ports (Dunkirk and Calais) which we heard were surrounded with men awaiting evacuation on the beaches, therefore it was too late for us. It was decided to take our chance by moving up the Cherbourg Peninsular, where we were fortunate to make it and find the last ship about to leave, so were able to escape. Arriving at Southampton about 6 days after the final sailings from Dunkirk, we stayed for some days in Bournemouth.

At home I found that both my brother had joined the R.A.F., and Dad was in the Home Guard. My parents then had 3 sons serving their country. In August 1940 I joined the 2nd Battalion Royal Tank Regiment and after a day or so sailed from Liverpool for Egypt, where I fought throughout the Italian campaign, ending with the Battle of Beda Fomm in the area of Ajedabia. In early February 1941, after 62 days of battles we had defeated Mussolini’s 10 Divisions.

My main friend during that time was man named ‘Batty’. Also I had met one of my old school and playmate from the next street, he was Doug Driver, I found him at Almaza Camp.

In 1941 there had been one or two engagements with the Germans who had then entered the desert theatre. We had new tanks, the A13 or (Christie Cruiser). In November we made a full scale attempt to relieve the Tobruk Garrison whose forces had been trapped by the Germans. I had been made a Lance Corporal and had to Command a tank in battle. The codename for this campaign was ‘Crusader’.

At first light of the second morning of our advance into Lybia my tank was hit and the Bogey’s were so damaged that steering was difficult. During a chase after enemy transport we ran onto dug-in artillery and an armour piercing shell entered the driving compartment and took off the drivers leg. He was Ginger Downing. He was transferred to a nearby damaged tank whose officer, Mr. Storey, took over from me.

We fought very hard in what was later called the Sidi Rezegh Battle, when towards evening we were engaged in a standing shoot-out with German Mark 3 & 4 Panzers. We were hit by a high explosive shell, the tank was almost burst open with the main gun pointing to the ground. The driver, ‘Brownie’, was trapped inside and the others badly wounded, but the tank was driveable and between us ‘Brownie’ was freed and able to drive us to the Medical Officer and ambulances. On the way there we were hit again. I never saw those men afterwards, with the exception of the Officer who I met at Base Depot when we were both recovering from our wounds. He had a broken neck among other injuries. I suffered shrapnel wounds, the worst being to my right elbow. I was operated on the the 63rd General Hospital, Cairo.

In January after being released from Hospital and moving to our Base Depot at Abbasia, Cairo, I found that my Regiment had left without me for Burma. I was to join another Desert Regiment, the 8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars. Once there beneath the Pyramids at Beni Husef Camp I learned that I was then a full Corporal and had been awarded a Military Medal. We were there re-equipped with Sherman Grant and Honey (Stuart) Tanks, our introduction to the American armoured vehicles. I commanded a Honey.

We were in position to attack in the Bir Hakin area, where Germany’s general Rommel was massing his large, efficient Afrika Corps. The enemy surprised us and caught us with our tanks dug in pits early one morning in May, causing us to lose most of our new tanks, with many crews taken prisoner.

Then the great retreat took place, seeming that the whole of the 8th Army was moving eastwards. We reformed at Bardia and operated as ‘Jock Columns’ to harass the advancing enemy. My tank and Corporal Wilsons became separated, and as one broke down, the two crews were carried on the other. We were lost deep to the south with no-one of the 8th Army in sight,only the enemy towards the coast and moving fast towards Egypt. We had heard rumours of a defensive line somewhere, but without a map reference were unable to locate it.

After some days we ventured cautiously northwards where we came across masses of vehicles, and all of them our own forces. Further on there were as number of sheds and a railway line with a board stating that this was a place called ‘Alemein’. That was a point to which a month or so later we would return to take part the great battle. Our position in the Alemein line was the most southern tip at the high point of Hemeimet on the edge of the Quatara Depression (The Sea of Sand). After weeks of patrols we took part in the first Battle of Alemein, and later were relieved.

We then moved to several camps such as Sidi Bish (Alexandria), Port Said and Beirut. We eventually landed in Cyprus with armoured cars to train for conditions as we would find them in Europe. A friend I made at that time was George Gilgrass from Carlisle. I found a Northampton lad who joined us there, Tommy Scarrot. I also made a friend of a boxing opponent who I fought in the Island Championships (and lost). His boxing name was ‘Boy’ Meters.

There was another move or so after Cyprus, then it was back to the Desert for a spell. On the way there we spent a week in Cairo. While there I went to look up an old workmate (Gilbert Gibson) who was at Almaza Camp, but he had already moved out for the invasion of Sicily. At this time I had also been promoted to Sergeant.

We returned to England for Christmas 1943 and in January reported to West Tofts in Thetford Forest, where we were equipped with the ‘Cromwell Tanks’ and from there I was given leave to get married in Irthlingborough to my fiance Hilda.

After months of training we moved to Bognor Regis where we waterproofed our vehicles for the landing on the French coast. From there I was given a pass to London to attend an Investiture at Buckingham Palace, we I was presented with a Military Medal by King George 6th. That was on June 6th ‘D-Day’! The next day we boarded landing crafts for Normandy.

When patrolling in the Bocage Country (Normandy) I was slightly wounded, but enough to return me to England. After hospital treatment I was moved from several different rehabilitation camps from Taunton to Chester, and then Stoke-on-Trent, finally arriving at Catterick Armoured Corps. Base Depot.

After some weeks I and about 20 other Sergeants were sent to Morpeth (Northumberland) where we had been told that we were to be assessed for the possible granting of early release. Some of the Sergeants received theirs, but us others were sent to Surrey where we studied the German language and enemy armoured equipment.

We were to be working in Germany with the ‘Control Commission’ in the department of ‘The Demolition of Enemy War Equipment’. Which meant for us tank-men the destruction of all tank parts. These we found were stored in a Salt Mine at Hanigsen, a village near Celle in the Hanover area. My job was to check the weight of components and to supervise the despatching of parts by train. The actual work was carried out by German prisoners of war and civilians.

When my demob. group drew near I was asked to sign on for a further six months, but decided to stay only for another three months. I was demobbed on the Racecourse at Northampton on March 26th 1946, and returned to life with my new family in Ithlingborough, Northamptonshire.