Zona de identificação
Código de referência
Título
Data(s)
- 2017-2020 (Produção)
Nível de descrição
Dimensão e suporte
2 files, 18.5MB
Zona do contexto
Nome do produtor
História biográfica
Harriett was a PhD candidate at University of York between 2017 and 2020. As part of her PhD research, she carried out face to face interviews with a number of Second World War veterans.
Nome do produtor
História biográfica
Ken Smith was a signaller in the 43rd Wessex Division of the Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry. Ken received his conscription letter at the age of 18 and joined the army for five years. He was a member of the second wave of allied forces who arrived on June 6th at Gold Beach during the Normandy Landings. During his time in France he fought on Hill One One Two and was injured by shrapnel from Tiger Tank shells at the age of nineteen. He was subsequently sent to a hospital in Brussels before being returning to a hospital in Wales to recover further. After recovering from his injury some months later, Ken served two years in Palestine and Afghanistan, (after the end of the Second World War) where he suffered from acute nephritis caused by injury from a mine that exploded under an armoured vehicle. Ken is now a member of the York Normandy Veterans Association.
Ken Smith died in April 2020 at the age of 95.
York Normandy Veterans Association
See Also - Normandy Veterans Association
Entidade detentora
Zona do conteúdo e estrutura
Âmbito e conteúdo
Two interview recordings. The interviews 'took place in the presence of Smith’s wife, Gloria, (GS) and Nick Beilby (NB) and was held on July 24th 2017 at the interviewee's home' (transcript).
The interview transcript (HBE/1/11) provides the following background information about Ken Smith: 'Ken Smith was born in 1925 in Leeds. He worked as an Apprentice Draughtsman with Thomas Green and Son, a Mechanical Engineers. After being called up, Smith served as a Signaller in the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. He landed on Gold Beach on June 6th 1944. Following the war, Smith worked in the insurance business with the Prudential until retirement' (transcript).
The interviews include discussion about demobilisation, coming home as a casualty, not talking about wartime experiences, keeping his medals in a drawer for 60 years, joining the NVA, the British Legion, and commemoration events.
Incorporações
Sistema de arranjo
The parent folder (2020-008) contains eighteen audio files (constituting ten interviews) and one Microsoft Word document.
Arrangement intervention is level 1 (no intervention by the archivist). The original material has been retained without any intervention by the archives staff. This does mean that the collection may include filenames containing spelling mistakes and duplicate files that were placed in the wrong folder(s) by the creator.
Zona de condições de acesso e utilização
Condições de acesso
Open
Material is available subject to the usual terms and conditions of access to Archives and Local History collections.
Condiçoes de reprodução
Images are supplied for private research only at the Archivist's discretion. Please note that material may be unsuitable for copying on conservation grounds. Researchers who wish to publish material must seek copyright permission from the copyright owner.
Idioma do material
- inglês
Script do material
Notas ao idioma e script
Instrumentos de descrição
Zona de documentação associada
Existência e localização de originais
Existência e localização de cópias
Unidades de descrição relacionadas
See also York Normandy Veterans archive (NVA).