4th ROYAL TANK REGIMENT
EL QUASSASSIN - 1947
As Remembered By 14482515 David Guy Gorton
“A few salient points about my time in the Canal Zone in 1947:
Arrived from Venice to attend wireless instructor’s course at Shandur. Turned out that the rest of 4th R.T.R. was on the same ship, the “City of Canterbury”.
After finishing training, joined the regiment at El Quassassin. Never did any wireless instructing! Went on exercises, usually in command (Lance Corporal) of the Sherman ARV rescuing half-tracks and other light vehicles.
Later wireless operator on the first Centurian in the Middle East. Order were to “break it if we could” – We Did!
Left for England shortly before Christmas on the troop ship “Cheshire”. Very stormy Christmas Day in the Bay of Biscay.”
4th R.T.R. on Camrai Day 1947. I am third from the right in the second row up.
A few days before Armistice Day, November 11th, someone decided the 2 minute silence should start and end with a gun being fired. The chosen gun was the 95mm Howitzer in a Cromwell. I was the gunner. There were no blank rounds available so it was decided to make them. Four 95mm shells were removed from their cartridges, explosive then concentrated into 2 cartridges with wood and cloth stuffed into the cartridges to give some resistance to the explosion.
At 11 o'clock I fired the first round which went off with a quiet
"woof". Did the parade hear it? At 11:02 I fired the second round
and it went off with a very loud bang! Did the 2 minute silence start then or
end then? I never did find out.