Alan Jolly
Sir Alan Jolly | |
---|---|
Born | Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order | 12 November 1910
Early career
Jolly joined the British Army and was commissioned into the Royal Tank Corps in 1931.[2] He served on the North-West Frontier in India from 1936 to 1937.[3]
Second World War
During the
On 8 September 1944 RAC supported the 51st (Highland) Division in the assault on the German-held French port of Le Havre (Operation Astonia). This difficult operation was successful.[8][9][10] In October, Jolly was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.[11] In January 1945, 144 RAC cooperated with the 53rd (Welsh) Division in the British counter-attacks against the northern side of the 'Bulge' developed by the German Ardennes offensive.[12][13]
In January 1945, 144 RAC became part of 79th Armoured Division, which operated specialist armoured vehicles, and the regiment re-equipped with Buffalo LVT amphibious vehicles to begin training for the assault crossing of the Rhine.[12]
On 1 March 1945, 144 RAC was redesignated 4th Royal Tank Regiment to replace the original 4th RTR, which had been captured at Tobruk in June 1942.[14][15] Jolly took the salute at the final parade of 144 RAC on 28 February, having arranged for the band of the East Lancashire Regiment to play the regimental march (144 RAC had originally been the 8th Battalion of the East Lancs).[12]
Jolly led the regiment under its new title in
Postwar career
Jolly was appointed Deputy Quartermaster General for
Notes
- ^ "Obituary: General Sir Alan Jolly". The Times. 16 September 1977. p. 16.
- ^ "No. 33685". The London Gazette. 30 January 1931. p. 676.
- ^ a b c d e Sir Alan Jolly Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ 144 RAC War Diary April 1944, The National Archives, Kew, file WO 171/878.
- ^ Ellis, Vol I, p. 334.
- ^ a b Jolly, The Battle of Noyers 16–18 July 1944, Appendix to 144 RAC War Diary July 1944, The National Archives, Kew, file WO 171/878.
- ^ Lindsay, p. 58.
- ^ Ellis Vol II, p. 14–15.
- ^ Lindsay, pp. 76–80.
- ^ 144 RAC War Diary September 1944, The National Archives, Kew, file WO 171/878.
- ^ "No. 36753". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 October 1944. p. 4785.
- ^ a b c 144 RAC War Diary January–February 1944, The National Archives, Kew, file WO 171/4720.
- ^ Ellis, Vol II p. 191.
- ^ "Regiments.org". Archived from the original on 19 May 2006. Retrieved 19 May 2006.
- ^ The Royal Tank Regiment
- ^ Walter Fuller – Across the Rhine WW2 People's War
- ^ Saunders p. 68.
- ^ Malaysian Forces Doing Well The Age, 6 July 1965
References
- ISBN 1-845740-58-0.
- Major L.F. Ellis, History of the Second World War: United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West, Volume II: The Defeat of Germany, London: HMSO, 1968/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, ISBN 1-845740-59-9.
- Lt-Col Martin Lindsay, So Few Got Through, London: Collins, 1946/Arrow Books (pbk; nd)/Leo Cooper, 2000, ISBN 0850527546. Page references are to Arrow edition.
- Tim Saunders, "Operation Plunder: The British and Canadian Rhine Crossing, Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2006, ISBN 1-84415-221-9.