Korea - Major Bryan Clipston

·1 hr 28 min·10 clips

Military Histories comes from York Army Museum and draws on the Royal Dragoon Guards audio archive. Alan Jude interviews Major Brian Clipston at his home in Brigstocke, Northamptonshire, on Monday 23 October 2013. The first twenty minutes focus on Korea. Clipston begins with life before the Army, working as an apprentice gas fitter at the Thrapston Gas Light and Coat Company. He describes finishing his apprenticeship and receiving notice to be called up. He travels to Richmond in Yorkshire by train, not quite sure what is ahead. The station is chaotic, with Army trucks everywhere and military police telling people where to go. From there the interview moves into service memory in a loose, spoken rhythm. Clipston recalls a dramatic run over a dam, with a thunder flash below to simulate bombing. He remembers the aircraft going very low, the air lifting it up the face of the dam, and the shock of the moment in his stomach. He says he will never forget it. The account then returns to the squadron and to the Cranwell cadets who watched the demonstration. He explains that they tried to re-create the event as closely as possible, though not at night and not with the same dropped object skipping over the water. The interview then shifts to later Army work at the junior leaders regiment. He says he was posted there with his wife and son and looked after four Centurion tanks. His job was to teach junior leaders how to drive them and to show them the parts of the engines they maintained. He also gives a sense of the everyday routine around those tanks. The younger soldiers drove on the heath, learned the machinery, and got a general familiarization with the vehicles. Another posting takes him to the Royal Tournament, where he is involved with a Conqueror tank parked in front of Earl's Court. Members of the public climb over the tank using the steps at the front and rear. He remembers children with severe asthma coming to look and says he felt very sorry for them. The interview continues through other Army duties, including the Royal Tournament horse of the year show. Clipston also mentions later postings to Aden and Cyprus. He admits there were jobs he did not like. One of them was being football officer, since he never liked football much and still does not watch it on television. Even so, he says he played some good games. He speaks with pride about commanding different squadrons. He says he would join the Army again if asked today. He also says he would like to have done better and perhaps reached Major General. Even so, he treats his career as something worthwhile. His closing advice to younger listeners is plain and direct: join, enjoy yourself, do as you are told, and you will get on in life.

As heard by us

A Korean War oral history that treats pauses as part of the record.

Military Histories presents Major Brian Clipston's memory as plainspoken oral history, framed by York Army Museum and the Royal Dragoon Guards archive.

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Why you'd press play

You want Korean War memory told by the man who lived it.

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