All Tanked Up - part 9

Exercises and Inspections.
While the tank regiments were here, they took part in any number of exercises. As Pat Lewis put it: “Headley was the ideal place to get yourself orientated with your tanks to the English countryside. Later, we were involved in what they called ‘schemes’ as we were moved around the country prior to D-Day. The British army, often the Home Guard, fought you in mock battles and they gave us a hard time throwing mattresses over the tanks so the driver couldn’t see, and so forth. We had to get through towns and countryside as we would see it in France – trying to use tanks in roads where there’s hedges all over the place and you can’t see what you’re doing. But basically we came to Headley to learn how to handle the tanks.”
Harvey Theobald recalls that they used ‘A’ Squadron tank park as a primary area to train new drivers. “Once they became proficient within its confines, our main training could be concentrated on Ludshott and Frensham Commons – which became very busy at times considering that these somewhat small areas had to be shared by three regiments.”
Marcel Fortier of the Foot Guards remembers: “Convoy and harbouring schemes occupied much of the time. During the first of these hasty harbour changes it was soon discovered to be not the proper training area, but the private property of the Right Honourable David Lloyd George!”
Individual regiments were inspected during their time here by a number of dignitaries and various Generals, but in April 1942 the 5th Canadian Armoured Division as a whole was inspected by the King and Queen on Frensham Common. Pete Friesen of the Garrys has a picture from a Canadian newspaper showing him with his kit laid out for inspection just prior to the visit (see photo). He remembers thinking that the King looked very ill and white – ‘not real’. The official record of the Straths tells how they were wearing their new Maroon patches for the occasion, with ‘L.S.H.’ inscribed on them, but the King suggested the letters might be confused with other regiments, and recommended they should be changed to ‘Ld.S.H.’ – which was duly done.
Tanks based in the Headley area used Frensham, Thursley, Hankley and Ludshott Commons for training, as did those based in the Elstead/Tilford/Milford area. The 1st Hussars noted that at one time: “The brigade was awaiting repairs to be completed on Ludshott Common before beginning to fire Browning practices at moving targets.” They also did tank firing on the 30 yd Conford ranges.
But tanks were in short supply. In the History of the 1st Hussars, it states that around June 1942 “the number of our [Ram] tanks never exceeded 18, and the necessary 100 hour inspection of the radial engines meant that several tanks were always off the road for maintenance.” It continues by saying that: “The problems were accentuated by the fact that the tanks arrived in England without wrenches and tools, so needing a continual improvisation of the required articles.”
Nearly a year later than this, things had not improved much. In early 1943, Pat Lewis remembers sharing the few Ram tanks the Sherbrookes had between their four squadrons: “When we didn’t have the tanks, we would use pieces of timber with a centre piece and a rope, and you hung that over your neck, and the group commander was behind with a piece of rope in his hand, and we used to run round Ludshott Common acting as a tank to learn the commands.”
One time when he did have a tank to drive, “it was a clapped out Grant, and it broke down in a gully on Ludshott Common. The spares took 3 days to arrive, and we had to stay with the tank until then.” By the end of May 1943, the supply of Rams had improved somewhat, and the Sherbrookes were able to transport ‘all 49 tanks’ when they moved out of the area to go to Worthing.
Al Trotter of the 16/22 Saskatchewan Horse recalls that they started to receive tanks from Bordon when they arrived in the summer of 1943, only to find the regiment was to be broken up. He transferred to the British Columbia Regiment (28th Armoured) and did his armoured training with them around Brighton and Tunbridge Wells.
Floods and Fires.
Despite complaints from the regiments of insufficient vehicles, enough tanks were in evidence for the commons to suffer serious loss of vegetation through their movements during the war. Comments from villagers and servicemen sum it up: “Ludshott Common was absolutely barren except for the bigger trees – it was as bare as could be” – “... just a sea of mud where the tanks were – it was so muddy they had duck boards for the troops to walk on where the tanks had cut it up – not a bit of green or anything” – “... it was the tanks and the lorries and what not, going backwards and forwards, that killed the heather and everything” – “... it was just like a rice field – churned up the entire common – no vegetation left on the common at all” – “Ludshott Common was desecrated by the time we’d gone.” Jane Durham recalls the common was polluted with oil. At the end, in April 1945, the Ludshott Common Committee reported: “The restoration of the common to anything resembling its pre-war state will be an uphill task which the committee view with great anxiety.”
Those of us lucky enough to live near that Common now, nearly 50 years on, know that thanks to the dedicated work of the National Trust, it is once again a glorious habitat for heathland flora and fauna. But during the war years, with nothing growing there to absorb the water, heavy rains ran straight off, down Pond Road and into Arford causing major flooding. Pat Lewis noticed the results of it: “By the time we arrived in Headley (February 1943), the road near the Wheatsheaf was a sea of sand washed down there with all the rain.”
The water came across the bottom of Beech Hill and down Fullers Vale by Pearce’s shop. Elsie Johnson recalls: “We had such terrible floods in October 1942, a particularly wet period – it just came down the full width of Pond Road like a river – it went past our shop and washed the garden of Rose Cottage away – the high kerb was built after that (see photo) – the water was up to the second stair in the shop. That was the first time – after that it flooded more often.” Tom Grisdale remembers going down Beech Hill one morning after it had flooded overnight, and right opposite Elsie Johnson’s shop the water was still deep, and there were “all these tench that had been washed down off the common flopping about in the road.” Sue Allden recalls buses were diverted down Barley Mow Hill when Fullers Vale flooded badly, and Mary Fawcett remembers cycling along Fullers Vale each morning to catch the No.6 bus at Bordon for Petersfield, where she went to school: “It was nothing to come home and find it flooded along Fullers Vale.”
“It really was bad”, said Katie Warner, “I went to the fish shop (also a chip shop, run by the Jelphs) in Arford one morning, and the fishmonger’s wife said, ‘Have you seen the flooding? You should go down and have a look’. So I walked down as far as Eashing Cottages and the front door of the lowest house was wide open and the water was up to the second step of the stairs – flooded to that depth. Not funny for the people. Every house there was flooded – plus others lower down.”
There were times, however, when a spot of water might have been welcome. The 1st Hussars, stationed in the Elstead area, were called out on the night of 9th May 1942 for fire fighting duties on ‘Grayshott Common’; and in the History of the Sherbrooke Regiment it notes that: “On the afternoon of the 19th May [1943] the unit practised tank-infantry co-operation on Ludshott Common, training which did not occur as planned, because the infantry were chiefly occupied in extinguishing fires started by their mortars.”
On a lighter note, Tom Webb of the Garrys writes: “While having an after-duty game of volleyball, our squadron was informed there was a grass fire somewhere and that the Duty Sgt was on his way. Everyone vanished so quickly that the ball was still in the air when he arrived. Being good soldiers, no-one ever volunteered!”

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