Captain S. G. Armstrong
2nd Bn. Queen’s Royal Regt. (West Surrey)
189082
Killed in action, 7 December 1941, Libya. Aged 35.
______________________________________________________
Sidney Armstrong was born about 1906 in Egham, the son of George and Mary Armstrong. George was a police Constable who later rose to the rank of Inspector. Sidney had two sisters (Edith and Frances) and a younger brother (Richard). About 1910 the family moved from Egham to Dawney Hill in Pirbright.
Sidney appears to have had some health problems as a child. In April 1911 when the national census was taken he was a patient at the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford.
He attended Woking County School from 1919 to 1923 and as a youngster one of his hobbies was bell-ringing and he was well known in many local churches.
Sidney first enlisted with the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), possibly serving in the ranks and then spent time at the Officer Cadet Training Unit before being commissioned as Lieutenant in the Queen’s Royal Regiment on 29 December 1940.
In May 1941 the Vichy French government signed an agreement (the ‘Paris Protocols’) allowing the Germans use of their airfields and railway system in Syria, which together with Lebanon was under a French mandate. This would provide support to the pro-German Iraqi forces fighting the British near Mosul. It could also over time provide a springboard for an attack on the British in Egypt who were pre-occupied fighting a major campaign against Axis forces in the deserts of North Africa. The allies attacked Syria in June 1941 (Operation Exporter).
At the time Sidney was based in Northern Palestine with the 2nd Battalion Queen’s Royal Regt. which formed part of the British 6th Infantry Division. The Division was held in reserve for the initial invasion but as the fighting grew more bitter they advanced. Sidney was taken prisoner at some point but later released.
Following his brush with danger Sidney took the opportunity to get married to a girl called Helen, from Durban, South Africa. This was probably during leave in Cairo where Helen was working (possibly as a nurse).
Meanwhile in North Africa the strategically important harbour city of Tobruk in Eastern Libya had been taken from the Italians with little resistance in January 1941 during Operation Compass which was intended to drive the Italian forces out of North Africa. However, Churchill’s decision to then move the most experienced troops to Greece following the fall of Tobruk left it exposed to Rommel’s Afrika Korps.
By 10 April 1941 Rommel had surrounded ‘the poor Desert Rats of Tobruk’ and so began the siege of the city. At first it was held by the 9th Australian Division but in August it was decided they should be relieved, partly to allow all Middle East Australian troops to fight under one command and partly due to the sheer numbers of casualties they had suffered (some 3,000 wounded and almost 1,000 taken prisoner). Newly married Sidney and the 2nd Battalion Queen’s were now part of the newly formed British 70th Infantry Division. They were brought into Tobruk by sea to complete the relief of the Australians during September and October.
The plan to end the siege of Tobruk was code named Operation Crusader. The battle plan was for the British 8th Army to engage Rommel’s Panzers whilst the British 70th Infantry Division broke out of Tobruk to cut the German communication lines. On 21 November the 70th Division advanced out of Tobruk. The 240 day siege had ended.
The 2nd Battalion Queen’s were ordered to exit the perimeter and swing right to take the German strongpoint at Tugun. At first they were driven back and only with the aid of reinforcements from the Beds and Herts and 7th Royal Tank Regiment were they able to take half of the post. After two days of fighting the remaining Germans surrendered.
A planned link up of the 7th Armoured Division advancing from the east with the Tobruk garrison failed to materialise when Rommel’s 21st Panzer won the day at Sidi Rezegh and captured the allied airfield.
At Tugun the night time temperatures were starting to drop and heavy rainstorms settled the dust giving good daytime visibility for both sides.
The 2nd Queens were to advance eastward in a sweep to the main Badia Road supply route but the commanding slopes of Bir Behamed were occupied by the enemy and providing a vantage point over the Queens route across the plains. Sporadic fighting took place over the following week in an attempt to dislodge them.
On the night of 6/7 December the 2nd Queens were ordered to support an attack on the hillside of Bir El Azazi. Their orders were to attack the heavily defended enemy strongpoint known as ‘Queen’, it was intended as a harassing raid rather than an attempt to take the position. Nine men of the raiding party were killed in the attack including Captain Armstrong.
When Sidney’s parents heard of his death George had retired from the police force and he and Mary were living at Cobden, 357 Woodham Lane.
Sidney Armstrong is buried in Tobruk War Cemetery, Libya (grave 8.N.11). He is also remembered on the Woking County Grammar School roll of honour located in Christ Church, Woking.
______________________________________________________
Sources
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Woking News and Mail
London Gazette
1901 UK Census
1911 UK Census
Australian report on Ed-Duda
No comments:
Post a Comment