Bill Close had a remarkable war. Throughout the conflict, in campaign after campaign, from the defence of Calais in 1940 to the defeat of Germany in 1945, he served as a tank commander in the Royal Tank Regiment – and he survived. His tanks were hit eleven times by enemy shellfire and he baled out. He was wounded three times. He finished the war as one of the most experienced and resourceful of British tank commanders, and in later life he set down his wartime experiences in graphic detail. This is his story.
