Page 100 - The Wish Stream Year of 2021 (Crest)

Sandhurst Collection News
By Dr Sebastian Puncher, Deputy Curator
Despite 2021 bringing the Academy a sec- ond disrupted year, with school closures and restrictions in its wake, work has nev-
ertheless progressed in the Sandhurst Collec- tion. The collection is an outstanding resource for the Academy to draw upon for both research, engagement and the enjoyment of staff, cadets and visitors. The following are some highlights of the collection’s work during 2021.
First off, in terms of displays, work could be completed on the display of the medals of Cap- tain Sydney Jary MC. The medals came to the Academy due to Jary being the author of 18 Platoon, an account of his experiences in the Second World War, which became a work of ref- erence at the Academy.
The story begins when, on 31st July 1944, 2nd Lt Jary (aged 20) was appointed to command no.18 platoon of the 4th Somerset Light Infan- try. He had originally commissioned into the Royal Artillery, in 1942, after selection for officer training from the Royal East Kent Regiment. As a platoon commander, his chances of survival were, at best, a few weeks before being killed or wounded. So, it was a remarkable achieve- ment to survive for ten months until the German surrender in May 1945. In later years, some of the surviving platoon members suggested their experiences be shared in a book, and so Jary set about writing 18 Platoon which was pub- lished in 1987.
Although published over 40 years after the events, Sydney Jary’s recall of what befell 18 Platoon is amazingly vivid and credible. It is
Captain Sydney Jary MC (taken from 18 Platoon book)
Cover of Sydney Jary’s Book with badge of the Somerset Light Infantry
a rare record of the inner workings of a small group of soldiers, whose operations were virtu- ally a summary of the last ten-and-a-half months of the Second World War in Europe. There is little discussion of grand strategy but is instead a val- uable study of the realities of war as experienced by a minor formation. It features the last days in Normandy, the crossing of the Seine, Market Garden, the fighting for Groesbek, the desper- ate winter battles of the Reichwald, and finally, the crossing of the Rhine. Jary won his MC in November 1944 for leading a fighting patrol near Reichwald Forest, which destroyed enemy posi- tions and located machine gun posts.
Jary’s narrative is concerned with the minutiae of soldiering, including how to earn and keep the respect of a very varied group of war-time soldiers. It reveals the complex levels of trust and cooperation between individuals and how
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