Captain A H Packe

Ms letters written to his wife and parents while serving in the ranks and then as an officer in the UK and the Middle East, May 1940 - September 1945, including: service with a LAA Battery based at Sevenoaks, Kent in defence of Kenley aerodrome, May 1940 - 1941, when he was accepted for an OCTU at Pwllheli and was then commissioned into the 10th Battalion KRRC; sailing from the UK via the Cape Town, South Africa, to Egypt, July 1942, he was attached to Public Relations at GHQ in Cairo, acting as a Conducting Officer of Newspaper Reporters during the 8th Army's advance to Tripoli, October 1942 - February 1943, but his letters give little information about operations; service as Adjutant of Leave Camps at Nathanya in Palestine, 1943, and Derma, Libya, 1944; Adjutant of a POW Transit Camp in Egypt, November 1944 - September 1945, when he was demobilised; and commenting on his duties; trips around the local countryside in Palestine and Libya; the personalities of other officers; and local politics; and mentioning Sir John Hunt of Everest fame. Also included are ms and ts letters from his wife, relatives and friends, April 1940 - April 1944, mainly concerning his father's death in March 1944, and his Soldier's Service Book.

Unrestricted

Both in his letters to his wife and his parents, Anthony Packe writes well and at times vividly, but, especially from the time that he proceeded overseas, he was very cautious of the censorship and was therefore very guarded in his remarks. Packe was over thirty at the outbreak of war, and his subsequent military career suggests that he was considered better suited to administrative appointments than to the rigours of regimental service. In December 1939 he joined a Light Anti-Aircraft Battery whose headquarters were in Sevenoaks, Kent, and whose primary responsibility was the defence of Kenley aerodrome. In 1941 he was accepted for an OCTU at Pwllheli from which he was commissioned into the 10th Battalion KRRC. His letters of 27 October 1940 and 3 May (?) contain interesting comments on his training, and the latter includes a reference to his second-in-command, later Sir John Hunt of Everest fame. In July 1942 he sailed from the United Kingdom via the Cape to Egypt, where he was attached to Public Relations GHQ. From October 1942 to February 1943 he acted as a Conducting Officer of Newspaper Reporters during the 8th Army's advance to Tripoli and in this capacity he was close to the fighting for the only time. His letters for this period, however, give little information about the progress of these operations. On his return to Cairo, he was chosen to be Adjutant of a Leave Camp at Nathanya in Palestine and in 1944 he received a similar appointment in Derna, Libya. His letters from these two camps describe trips around the local countryside with occasional references to his duties and the personalities of other officers and the very rare comment on local politics. From November 1944 until his demobilization in September 1945 Packe served as Adjutant of a POW Transit Camp in Egypt, but the contents of his letters remain much the same as before.

The letters from his wife and family mention his postings, but the majority concern his father's death in March 1944.