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A veteran interview with

Allan Orpin

Allan Orpin provides a good account of his time with the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment.

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About Allan Orpin

Allan Orpin served in the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment as a jeep driver/mechanic. He deployed to Normandy by Horsa glider, where he was responsible for delivering ammunition and supplies. The regiment was twice withdrawn to the UK and later redeployed to the Ardennes on Christmas Eve 1944 and the Rhine crossings in March 1945. He finished his service in Palestine in 1946.

In his detailed and extensive interview, he describes the first air raids as a teenager, starting with a false alarm on 3 September 1939. He was impressed by the friendliness of the airborne unit after the formality of the regular army. He describes the unsettling feeling as the glider was towed into the air, and then the silence once the towing plane released it to land near Pegasus Bridge on the evening of D-Day. He tells relates how he deviated from the route when returning from Tilbury to stay with his mother, but then had trouble starting his jeep (which was loaded with live ammunition). He volunteered for airborne service because he didn’t want to miss the war, and he doesn’t regret it.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Brig. C Elderton
Reviewed by:
Andy Voase
Transcribed by:
Nour Mostafa

Copyright:
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Home | Veterans | Allan Orpin

A veteran interview with

Allan Orpin

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Allan Orpin provides a good account of his time with the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment.

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https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/allan-orpin/

Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Orpin, Allan. A Veteran Interview with Allan Orpin. Interview by Brig. C Elderton. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/allan-orpin/. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
APA Style:
Orpin, A. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Allan Orpin [Interview by Brig. C Elderton]. Legasee. Retrieved May 25, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/allan-orpin/
Chicago Style:
Orpin, Allan. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Allan Orpin. Interview by Brig. C Elderton. Legasee. Accessed May 25, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/allan-orpin/
Harvard Style:
Orpin, A. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Allan Orpin. [Interviewed by Brig. C Elderton]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/allan-orpin/ (Accessed: 25 May 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Orpin, A. A Veteran Interview with Allan Orpin [Internet]. Interview by B. Elderton. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2025 May 25]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/allan-orpin/
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