Individual results

Interviewee: Mr Albert Crowder
Interviewer: Claire Hayhurst

1. Introduction

2. Born in Mason Road, Foleshill on 15 Mar 1917. Father was a coach painter. Went to Little Heath School in Chapel Lane (now Old Church). At 11 years old passed examination to go to secondary school and went to John Gulson School. Left in 1931, joined Riley Motor Company which was fairly near to where lived. Stayed there for 7 years, during which time worked in wages and costings office. In 1938, Riley got into financial difficulty and virtually closed so left for Daimler Aero engines. In 1938, preparing for war and they had opened a shadow factory to produce parts for aero engines. When war broke out, aged 22 years old, realised inevitable that would be conscripted so friend and him joined up to get into a unit that they wanted, rather than be conscripted and put anywhere. Joined army in Jan 1940. Went for initial training at Whittington Barracks, Lichfield and after two weeks went to Ramsgate to join a Territorial Army unit from Yorkshire.

3. At Whittington Barracks mainly training - marching, rifle drill and the same at Ramsgate. In Lichfield were in barrack rooms but at Ramsgate billeted in civilian houses. Used to do marching and drilling on the sands at Ramsgate, in Jan, so not very pleasant time to be there. It was a normal kind of day where you were finished in the evening and then time was your own. A lot of restrictions due to the fact that the war was on. In Ramsgate for couple of months then moved to Poole where they were drawing vehicles from main depots and was allocated to the workshop platoon of the 925 company - responsible for maintenance and records of vehicles in company. This consisted of about 300 men with 150 vehicles. Having been in clerical duties virtually all his life, put into stores and records part. Responsible for stores and materials for maintaining all the vehicles.

4. Left Poole in April time and went to Southampton, only for a few days before being shipped to France. Not awfully happy because had rifles for long time for drilling purposes but never fired them. First time fired one was in France near hills, when they had practice. Part of armoured division - tanks then weren't up to the standards that they are today. Equipped with Matilda tanks with gun, which was only effective at 200 or 300 yards. Germans could knock our tanks out at nearly a mile! The British tanks were useless plus when they got to France had to travel long distances and the tracks couldn't stand up to it. By the time they got into position of any danger to the Germans half the tanks were broken. As a result army decided to formulate tank transporter companies so the tanks were on the back lorries. In France, listening to radios - in Le Mans, about 200 miles from north coast. Listened to radios all about evacuation of Dunkirk and they were sitting in a chateau.

5. Didn't go into action at all in France - didn't know what the idea was, maybe to be brought in at a later stage? Listened to radio describing about the men being successfully evacuated from Dunkirk and there was all their division sitting in Le Mans. Has a note in his diary - on the 14 Jun all went for a bath in municipal baths in Le Mans. Two Weeks after Dunkirk! A few days after that, told they were moving to Brest - get there as quick as you can. Set out for Brest right across France. On the way into Brest the vehicle stopped just round a corner and he was sitting in the back. All of a sudden a vehicle came round the corner towing another truck. The first one swerved but the second one didn't and hit them.

6. He was thrown out of the vehicle and knocked him out. Given brandy to revive him so wasn't very good when they reached Brest. Got there and left all of the vehicles with a demolition squad. They ruined them and didn't set fire to them, as that would have attracted attention. They ran the others (workshop and stores lorry) into Brest harbour. Men returned on a ferry - left Brest on 17 Jun and landed in Plymouth the next day. Everyone was very down - they felt the Germans had kicked them out without doing anything or achieving anything. They were running away so were amazed to be given stuff on their return. Sent to Westbury - people on the train gave them cups of tea, chocolate etc.

7. People treated them as though they'd done well. Didn't lose anyone as hadn't seen any action apart from a few bombing raids. Really came back from France scott free. All given leave but on return went to a number of places. Under canvas at Aldershot for a little time but eventually went to Pierpoint House at Frensham in Surrey. Prior to the war, it had been a school. There for about six months re-equipping because brought nothing back - all tanks etc. left behind. Ideal area for tank training - common land. Job again was in records. Vehicles were inspected once every two months and there were 60 people in the workshops, doing lots of different jobs.

8. All vehicles inspected - driver's responsibility to make sure vehicle maintained so if, when inspected, it wasn't right the driver could be put on a charge. So there was a permanent inspection team and people to carry out any repairs required. The workshop vehicle had all the equipment and people to carry out repairs including a lathe and generator. No idea what future held. Was in Frensham when bombing raids happened in Coventry in November - immediately applied for leave but wasn't allowed. After a few days had info that the family were alright. Married at that time, but parents returned to Loughborough where they'd come from. Had no information as to where they were going even to extent that when they were eventually moved out of Frensham, went to Ashton Keens, near Cirencester.

9. There for a couple of months and eventually equipped with hot weather equipment (shorts, thin shirts) but no idea where going. Left there in Sep '41 and went by train to Scotland. Put on boat 'Empire Pride' and after trials on boat left there, but still didn't know where they were going. At that time submarine threat in Atlantic very severe so left from the River Clyde and virtually went up to Greenland and down coast of America to avoid submarine threat. Came down coast of America and cut across to Sierra Leone. Stopped in harbour to refuel and only there 2 or 3 days. Two month journey in total. Didn't do much on boat as nothing to do - anything to pass time. There were hundreds of people on boat - bit of training occasionally. They tried to introduce sport - boxing matches etc. but wasn't much space. Went from there down to Cape Town and landed for refuelling and refitting.

10. Did get three afternoons off there, so managed to meet some Coventry people who lived there and they were invited to house. Also went up Table Mountain on cable car. Sailed up other side of Africa, dropping in at Aiden, and finished journey in Tufig (Port Suez). Wasn't really until there that they realised where they were going - though they could even be going to Singapore or Burma. Finished up in Egypt in November 1941. Very little correspondence with family as post wasn't easy and to get to a boat was almost impossible. Wife and he devised a scheme so he could tell her where he was - had a list of women's names that represented places, so when he wrote her a letter he could mention that name and she would know where he was - weren't allowed to tell relatives where they were.

11. Going from there, stopped near Alexandria and started to draw vehicles. Tremendously different to what he'd known before. Been in army two years by that point so was used to type of living. With the same group of people all the time - tremendous amount of comradeship in that situation that you don't get anywhere else. Anybody would do anything for you, no matter what. Tremendous amount of co-operation and feeling for one another. Everybody realised that you had to make the most of it, so you do. Moved into the desert in Libya in December 1941. Christmas dinner that year was a tin of corned beef and a packet of army biscuits.

12. Like dog biscuits! Square and very hard - always used to say they were left over from the First World War! In the summer, still lived on tins of corned beef and without refrigeration, first thing had to do was stab a hole to let all the juice out. If opened it, you got covered in juice - probably been in heat for couple of days. Very hard living conditions - a pint of water a day for washing, shaving, cleaning teeth and washing clothes. Got a cup of tea from mess vehicle at breakfast time, midday and tea time but other than that the water was all you had. Day time temperatures were mostly in 80s and later on experienced five days when day time temp never dropped below 100. The hottest recorded was 122! Night times were quite cold, even had a touch of frost. To sleep, issued with bivouacs for one person, but were never used as just slept on the sand.

13. Had rain one day on Boxing Day - first time in a year! Day to day duties - made a corporal before went abroad. In charge of workshop office and records - maintained the stores vehicle and their records with two clerks. Also maintained personnel records.

14. Went first went on the desert, Tobruk had been besieged for a long time. Went hundreds of miles, which didn't seem too far at the time. (Shows map to interviewer) Travelled to Ajadabia, pushing the Germans back. When they were in Ajadabia found out that they urgently needed something from Tabruck. No road at the time apart from along the coast which was subject to air attack so decided to go along desert. Travelled across desert - 250miles between the two. No roads or track, only a compass. Quite scared - also had to lookout for minefields which were everywhere.

15. Used two vehicles for the trip so one could be lost if it broke down but they managed to get to Tabruk and back. Amazing run, travelling in day so they could see the minefields. One occasion, they were a few miles from coast road and an Arab came up on a donkey, with a man in uniform on his back. He was badly injured and had a man with him - it was a South African brigadier and his driver. They'd been in the desert and hit a mine. The man had a very badly damaged leg and driver was injured but managed to rig up a crutch to walk with. Both were taken to medical officer but don't know what happened to them. Describes surface of desert - see a vehicle moving miles away.

16. One day a hurricane plane landed - been shot at over German lines and had no instruments so couldn't tell speed etc. The one with him had to give instructions how to land! On the move nearly all the time. As the tanks advanced, they had to provide food, ammunition, petrol etc to armoured brigade. Always just a bit behind the fighting units, but subject to air attacks themselves, including cluster bombs. At night time almost as light as daytime, so they were easily seen. Problem was that the further they got from base the longer the lines of communications and materials.

17. As Germans got pushed back, their lines of communication got shorter so they were in a position to counter attack. They did that and pushed allies all the way back to El Alamein - hundreds of miles. Always on the move. Eventually got to Tripoli and moved forward to the German Marith line in southern Tunisia. He was part of the 'Left Hook' attacking round the back, forcing the Germans to retreat. They pushed through Tunisia. At one point they joined the Americans for a while, with American vehicles and American rations. Compared to British rations had lots of rich food - tinned fruit. Went down with jaundice as a result of change of rations so was in American field hospital for about 2 weeks.

18. Didn't get American uniforms though, or American rates of pay! Eventually Germans pushed out of Tunisia completely and into Algiers to a place called Blida and re-equipped there. Had newspapers so knew what was going on in rest of the world (Shows example of newspaper) Felt that things had changed then - Battle of El Alamein was the first time the Germans had been beaten and pushed through to break them completely. Things beginning to look a lot better - it will be over shortly. Always thought it would be over a lot sooner than it actually was. There was hope.

19. When the landings took place in France in June '44, already been in army for four years. Did six and a half years in total. Rumoured they were going abroad so got married in January 1941 and went abroad in September and was abroad for four years, never got home on leave. Very different to today! Re-equipping in Blida - all vehicles ruined as sand played havoc with them. Got everywhere! Had a crew that could change an engine in a matter of hours.

20. Went to Italy from Algiers, in charge of unloading vehicles and tanks. Moved the entire way up Adriatic coast and hadn't quite reached Trieste when Germans surrendered. Heard when he was on an afternoon's leave in Venice. Moved into Trieste and there to provide local communities with food - all very short. Italians weren't in favour with the Germans so the population in Trieste were very badly off. They used transport to move stuff in from the docks. They were there for a month or two. Returned to England in September 1945. Went from Trieste to Bari in southern Italy on cattle trucks! Loaded onto Lancaster bombers and came back to England by air - much quicker than going out! In England until demobbed in March 1946. It was difficult to adjust.

21. Thought about joining the police - used to uniform etc. but wife pleaded with him not to, so decided not to. Having worked at Daimler, company had to take him back although aero engine factory closing down so after a couple of months got another job in water undertaking and stayed there for 30 years. Studied for accountancy qualification, which he passed. Never returned to any of the places he's been.

World War II Oral History Project, date of birth: