|
On 13 June 2009 a new permanent display was
unveiled in the Museum featuring the Allied
campaign in North Africa between 1941 and 1943
and the participation in Eighth Army’s order of
battle of four motor battalions each from The
King’s Royal Rifle Corps and The Rifle Brigade.
The display focuses, in particular, on the role
of 1, 2 and 11 KRRC and 1, 2 and 7 RB during the
Battle of El Alamein (23 Oct-4 Nov 1942) and on
the ‘Snipe’ action fought by 2 RB on 27 Oct 1942
which resulted in gallantry medals being awarded
to 21 members of the Battalion, including a
Victoria Cross to the commanding officer,
Lt-Colonel Vic Turner.
The display includes a new model with a
detailed, accompanying explanation of what
happened at ‘Snipe’ and a reproduction of
Terence Cuneo’s famous painting of 2 RB’s
action. There is also a new showcase displaying
the seven ‘Snipe’ gallantry medals owned by the
Museum, including Vic Turner’s VC, two
Distinguished Conduct Medals, a Military Cross
and three Military Medals.
Some of the 70 people who attended.
Some 70 people attended the unveiling of the new
display. They included five Green Jacket
veterans of the Battle of El Alamein, three of
whom were involved in 2 RB’s ‘Snipe’ action.
They were:
L to R: Lieutenant Jimmy Stow, a platoon
commander in 2 KRRC, Rifleman Vic Gregg, a
rifleman in 2 RB at ‘Snipe’, Major Tom Bird,
commander of 2 RB’s anti-tank company, S
Company, Major (later General Sir Thomas)
Pearson, Second-in-Command of 2 RB, Major Sir
Hereward Wake, Bt., a company commander in 1
KRRC The unveiling was a memorable occasion
made more special by the presentation to the
Museum by Mr Ken Swann, acting on the Swann
family’s behalf, of the Distinguished Conduct
Medal awarded to his father, Sergeant Joe Swann,
as a result of the latter’s gallantry as an
anti-tank platoon sergeant in S Company, 2 RB,
at ‘Snipe’. The Museum Trustees are especially
grateful to the Swann family for donating to the
Museum Sergeant Swann’s very fine medal group,
which includes the 1962 Queen’s Medal for
Champion Shot in the Territorial Army.
Mr Ken Swann with his father's medals in the new
display As well as the five veterans of the
Battle of El Alamein and the Swann family, the
gathering on 13 June included a number of
relatives of those who fought at Alamein. They
included Mrs Ann Bayley, aged 92, sister of
Lieutenant Martin Crowder, a platoon commander
in 2 RB at ‘Snipe’ and Mr Phillip Harding, whose
father was a rifleman at ‘Snipe’. Mrs Bayley
knew Rifleman Harding who was her brother’s
batman, but had not previously met Phillip
Harding. It was an emotional meeting as
Lieutenant Crowder had saved Rifleman Harding’s
life at ‘Snipe’ by lying on top of him when the
two of them had come under enemy fire. Crowder
was hit and later medically evacuated to
Jerusalem where he died of his wounds on 17 Dec
1942. |
