A/Maj. Ralph Kent Green
British Army 517 Petrol Coy. Royal Army Service Corps
from:London
My uncle Ralph Kent Green, volunteered on September 12, 1939 and 3 weeks later was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, probably because he had taken OTC at school.
He joined the BEF, 48th Division, No. 517 Petrol Coy. in France on 5 January 1940, and was later rescued from Dunkirk. He seems to have moved around a bit during his war service. He was posted as the RASC officer to first the 73rd Independent Infantry Brigade (29-3-1941 to 28-4-1943), then with the Commander RASC staff/1st Airborne Division at Bulford.
Ralph Kent Green my uncle is back row, 5th from the left taken by a photographer from Cornwall possibly just after the return from Dunkirk.
On 12-5-1943 he went to N. Africa, which was the staging area for troops going to Italy. We think he may have been assigned to the 8th Army as part of Operation Baytown. On his return 3-10-1943, he was posted to Airborne Supply Training Wing of the 6th Airborne, which was later re-designated at the Air Training Centre in Lemsford, where he was the Chief Instructor.
After parachute training in July 1944, Kent was assigned on temporary duty to SEAC/India in Leicester, and then about 4-4-1945 again with Commander RASC in Kensington. The words "Syrencote House, Bulford, Salisbury, Wilt," are scribbled on his record, so he may have spent time there as well.
On 10-3-1945 he went by plane to Brussels, Belgium, which was the tactical headquarters for the 6th Airborne for Operation Varsity and Rhine Crossing. After that he returned to the 6th Airborne.
What I remember best about him were my grandmother's stories that had nothing to do with his war service. Apparently he had a trick gullet and could down a beer by simply pouring it directly into his stomach! It seems that gave him a considerable advantage in beer drinking races held along local beaches. At some point Kent contracted TB, and was in hospital after the war and he died in 1977. I would love to hear from anyone who knew him or served in any of the same units.
