Rifleman Victor Gregg, Arnhem & Dresden

In what Para battalion did Gregg serve ?

 

In what Para battalion did Gregg serve ?
The Tenth, and I have just started his book mentioned in this thread.

 

I have this book and not very good IMHO......certain strange facts in it I feel relating to Arnhem....

 

Thanks to both of you ! Pitty the part about Arnhem is so short as it would have been a more welcome to the history of 10 Para as so little has been published yet.

Peter

 

I have this book and not very good IMHO......certain strange facts in it I feel relating to Arnhem....
I finished reading this today and for me it was more about what he did not say, in all other areas of his life he said quite a bit but when it came to Arnhem he said hardly anything seemed for a guy who claims to be oh so careful in life and in his secret squirrel trips behind the iron curtain.......very detailed about those trips, but told us good as nothing of Arnhem! plus I found myself feeling very dubious about some of his stories in particular his time with PPA.

 

Sixty-eight years ago today, British and American Air Forces dropped more than 2,600 tonnes of high-explosive bombs on the German town of Dresden.

The fire storm it unleashed destroyed six square miles of the city centre and killed an estimated 25,000 people. The campaign has become known as one of the most controversial operations of the allied forces.

London-born Victor Gregg, now 92 and the author of Dresden: A Survivor's Story, was a soldier in the 10th Parachute regiment when he was captured and sent for execution in the city on the day the air raids began. He was being held in a warehouse when the bombs started falling.

He told BBC News about his experiences.

BBC News - Dresden survivor's story

 

Peter,

I do not propose to speak on the subject of the Dresden Bombing as I, and others, have spoken previously on the same subject.

The video is interesting as an Allied soldier provides his experience of being on the receiving end of the bombing.

What I find most interesting is the comment;

A Survivor's Story, was a soldier in the 10th Parachute regiment when he was captured and sent for execution in the city on the day the air raids began.

Is it known why this Paratroop was to be executed?

Regards
Tom

 

According to the blurb for his first book, for arson - he escaped, and "burned down a factory" - according to reviews of this-

Rifleman: A Front-Line Life from Alamein and Dresden to the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Amazon.co.uk: Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg: Books

...he substituted "cement powder for the powdered pumice being made into 'soap' in the factory where he worked as prisoner of war in Germany - and which naturally set solid, and caused all the electrics to blow in the absence of fuses... this earned him the death sentence"

Is this guy genuine?

 

Phylo,

Thanks for the review.

Regards
Tom

 

BBC - Podcasts and Downloads - Best of Today


It was on Radio 4 early a.m. yesterday

 

Just finished reading Rifleman, published in 2011 by Bloomsbury. It is Gregg's account of his WW2 and Cold War exploits. An interesting read to say the least but I too wondered about how genuine some parts of it are. If truthful, this man had an extraordinary career ( India, Palestine, Beda Fomm, LRDG, Snipe, El Alamein, Sicily, Italy, Arnhem, Dresden) .

 

After reading the reviews and seeing this new on Amazon for a rock bottom price ,I gave it ago .
Have nearly completed the book ,and my question is has any one else read the book and what's their thoughts on the book? Also without being rude to the veteran is the book true , the solider goes from Rifle brigade in India and Palestine then off to Western Desert and lots of action and doings in Alex and Cairo ,then a stint with Popskies Private Army , in to LRDG back to RB for action at Snipe Ridge then in to 10th Parachute Battalion ,Italy and a stint at Arnhem in the bag escape attempts off to Dresden then up for execution saved by the firestorm ,walks in to Russian lines mends their trucks and back to UK and demobbed, and more murky goings on post war within the Eastern Block,book comes out 2010
Now authors such as James Holland have raved about this but to me something's seem not quite right ? It's an amazing story but a few holes in the story here and there ,but lots seem very good and has that feel of someone who served in the army . So any thoughts and has this been questioned elsewhere ?

 

good day hesmond,sm,yesterday,04:31pm.re:rifleman by victor Gregg,you ask if the story is true,i don't think you will get an answer on that,if you liked the book make your own conclusions,there are many war story's that leave one to wonder at the bravery of the individual,there are a lot of silent hero"s but they wont tell you there story.have a good read of your next book.a lot of hero"s did not come home,regards bernard85

 

I read the book up to the 'Arnhem' part felt it was ok and was learning a lot...however when I started reading about his time in Holland i had to raise my eyebrows a few times at what I had just read.....This then caused me to ask myself whether the rest of the book (on subjects I don't know a lot about in detail) were true.....If you can get a copy for a low price all well and good..

With regard to rave reviews to me it all seems like a jolly little club (if you are in)..you give me a good review and I'll do the same for your book......

 

Thanks for the above , i had an odd inkling around the early desert bit ,mowing fown lots of Italians and Germans ,then with the PPA bit i hot a bit worried then LRDG and back to RB thats when i started to check a few bits ,some of the termanolgy just did not fit 10 para being one ,thats more 1980s ,then some of the Arnhem bits with planes crashing at the drop zone and the like ,the one bot that seems to ring true is the Dresden part though not sure how many Allied POWs killed during the raid.
I carried on till the end and the 1950s and 1960s seems to go off in to a James Bond fantasy world. As you say the reviews all seem to come from the same publishing house ,one point when demobbed he throws away all his kit ,paperwork and medals, but in the photographs there are the medals ? And in 1957 he buys a 20 year old Reliant Robin! and its made out of metal?

 

He claims to have bought a 20 year old Reliant Robin in 1957? the Robin came out in 1973! if he was mistaken and ment the Regal that came out in 1953,do was 4 years old .Sorry i have just completed the book and am not convinced of its content .

 

Canuck
Don't forget that travel was free in those days - that's why I had FOUR sea cruises -two on big WHITE illuminated ships…

that was real luxury

Cheers

 

He mentioned his best mate was killed.
What was his name

 

He referred to him as Mad Harry. I don't see any surname or background other than a reference to being from "up north" and having been captured in Italy.