Home | Veterans | Frank Coulton
Frank-Coulton

A veteran interview with

Frank Coulton

Frank joined the REME and served with The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

Video Coming Soon

Bringing military history to life

Help us tell this veteran's story!

About Frank Coulton

Frank was born in Plymouth and after leaving school became a motor trade apprentice. He worked in the REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) workshop and later served with them after being called up. After training as a vehicle mechanic in Chester, Frank went to various countrywide postings, finishing in an anti-tank unit in Berkshire on D-Day.

Frank describes landing on Sword Beach, one of the allied landing areas in Normandy in the initial phase Operation Neptune of Operation Overlord and the devastation he was met with. He helped to repair army vehicles with water damage, staying until the city of Caen was taken by the British army.

Frank then travelled to Belgium with the SP’s (Self Propelled Anti-Tank Guns) unit and then later another tank unit called The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He made his way to Eindhoven in Holland with the unit and fired 17 pounder anti-tank guns at German tanks. The enemy shells exploded through the tank chassis radiators and Frank spent night after night repairing the damage.

Frank recalls the tough experiences of collapsing and being treated by a German prisoner of war doctor, the rough trip across seas and the carnage he witnessed. He also discusses how the army made him more mature, climb the ladder without an educational background and give him his later army civilian work which he stayed in for 42 years.

Credits


Reviewed by:
Vicky Barnes

Transcripts:
Please note that transcripts and closed captions in the video player are automatically generated by Vimeo.

Copyright:
All video content, web site design, graphics, images (including submitted content), text, the selection and arrangement thereof, underlying source code, software and all other material on this Web site are the copyright of Legasee Educational Trust, and its affiliates, or their content and technology providers. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Any use of materials on this Web site – including reproduction for purposes other than those noted above, modification, distribution, or republication – without the prior written permission of Legasee Educational Trust is strictly prohibited.

Home | Veterans | Frank Coulton

A veteran interview with

Frank Coulton

Frank-Coulton

Frank joined the REME and served with The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

Related topics & talking points

Keep on watching

More veteran stories...

Share this interview on:

https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/frank-coulton/

Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Coulton, Frank. A Veteran Interview with Frank Coulton. Interview by Unknown. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/frank-coulton/. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
APA Style:
Coulton, F. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Frank Coulton [Interview by Unknown]. Legasee. Retrieved May 21, 2026, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/frank-coulton/
Chicago Style:
Coulton, Frank. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Frank Coulton. Interview by Unknown. Legasee. Accessed May 21, 2026. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/frank-coulton/
Harvard Style:
Coulton, F. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Frank Coulton. [Interviewed by Unknown]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/frank-coulton/ (Accessed: 21 May 2026)
Vancouver Style:
Coulton, F. A Veteran Interview with Frank Coulton [Internet]. Interview by Unknown. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2026 May 21]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/frank-coulton/
An interview with

Julia M Crockett

Julia describes her time with the Intelligence Corps both within and beyond the WRAC.

Originating from a military background, Julia recalls how it was somewhat inevitable that would serve in the army. After excelling in the aptitude tests, she was offered a position in the Intelligence Corps. In her interview Julia remembers finding the transition into army life difficult and struggled with the uniform due to both its impracticality and restrictiveness. Additionally, she found the climate of fear surrounding the IRA shocking and saw many women horrified by threats they either personally, or by an extension of their trade, received. Julia was posted to former West Germany with the 13th Signal Regiment where she worked alongside Signals Personnel. Within this role she would map the movement of troops in East Germany and flag Russian tanks, and being her first time overseas, she reflects on this period as particularly exciting. After leaving in 1975, Julia went on to join the MET as she felt there were more equal opportunities for women in organisation's that didn't restrict roles to gender. She continued to work for the Intelligence Corps at GCHQ on the Palestinian desk for many years. Reflecting on the WRAC, Julia describes the potency of class divisions within the military and her frustrations with the gendered restrictions. She maintains however that the fundamentals of the WRAC gave her the determination to continue her work in intelligence and commends the importance of documenting a history of female veterans.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
An interview with

Peter Lee

Peter avoided being sent back to base for a mundane duty and instead was assigned to SOE.

Peter Lee was at the War Office when his superior tried to have him posted elsewhere but he was able to join Special Operation Executive (SOE). Initially he was at SOE HQ in London, in charge of field agent’s security. After this he was posted to north Africa and later Italy, where he worked with secret agents recruited from First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY). He also supervised two Russian agents who were parachuted into German occupied Italy. Peter was responsible for the training many of the FANY’s and ensuring the secrecy of their missions. One of these operations was the destruction of a huge steel press used to make German tanks. It was realised at the time that many agents sent out would never return and this unnerved some of the trainers. He regards the war as the most interesting time of his life and was in some ways sorry when it ended.
An interview with

Phillip Govett

Phillip Govett, a Private, served with the 117 Pioneer Company, landed in Normandy, and supported the Allied advance through Europe.

Phillip Govett served with the 117 Pioneer Company. He landed in Normandy on D plus 6 and moved through France, Belgium, and Holland. His main duties included supporting command supply depots (CSDs), prisoner of war camps, and providing supplies like ammunition and water. The unit experienced a rough time outside of Caen and had to dig in. They faced the dangers of mines, with one sergeant being severely injured by a booby trap. Phillip’s company waited to move up, but the advance was delayed due to the fighting at Caen. Phillip's journey took him near the German-Holland border, where they were in a forward area of a prisoner of war camp holding thousands of German prisoners.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Brig. C Elderton