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Jake Wardrop (16 May 1915 – 4 April 1945) was a British 5th Royal Tank Regiment tank commander during the Second World War who became famous for the diary he maintained throughout his service. His diary was first published in the book 'Tanks Across the Desert, The War Diary of Jake Wardrop' in 1981 and forms the centrepiece of an exhibition at the The Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset.

Early Life
Jake Wardrop (full name John Richard Wardrop) was born on 16 May 1915 in Milton, Glasgow, Scotland. His father, John Wardrop was an electrician. Jake was the second eldest of four children, two boys and two girls. In childhood he was keen on outdoor pursuits such as scouting and swimming. He and his brother also spent a lot of time canoeing on Loch Lomond. Educated at Woodside School, Kelvinbridge, Jake found it difficult to settle to a routine nine-to-five job. He began training as a dental technician, then switched to painting and finally decided to join the Army. He had love of mechanical things, inherited from his father, so he choose tanks. In 1937, aged nineteen, he enlisted, becoming 7888470, Private Wardrop J.R., Royal Tank Corps. After basic training at Bovington, Dorset he was posted to the medium tank section of C Squadron, 5 RTC based in Perham Down, Hampshire.

France, 1940
Jake's tank regiment was embarked at Southampton on 28 May 1940 to fight in the Battle of France. After landing at Cherbourg the regiment moved by tank train to a wooded area northeast of Rouen and from there on to Abbeville. The original intention was to cross the Somme and help ease the pressure on the British Expeditionary Force who were falling back towards Dunkirk. Jake’s squadron fought only one action on the southwest outskirts of Abbeville, which was followed by a short lull before the general retreat began. This was hampered by refugees flooding the roads, several tanks breaking down and having to be abandoned whilst also being repeatedly strafed and bombed by German aircraft. The regiment moved 275 miles to Brest where they embarked on 16 June, disembarking at Plymouth where they moved to barracks at Warminster near Salisbury Plain.

North African Campaign, 1940-43
In October 1940 the tanks moved by train to Glasgow for loading on the ship SS Clan Chattan, while the rest of the regiment sailed on the RMV Stirling Castle out of Liverpool. Jake's diary records this departure thus: ''‘The Stirling Castle was bliss and the convoy commander made it his headquarters. We sailed out into the river to await the other ships, and a couple of days later moved out into the open sea with a large convoy and a heavy naval escort. Later, the cargo ships from Glasgow, including the Clan Chattan with our tanks and comrades in arms joined the convoy as we steamed into the Atlantic. . . It would be many a long day before those that survived the desert battles would see the green fields of England.’''

By the time the tanks of 5th RTR were unloaded in Alexandria, Egypt (27 December 1940) there had already been a lot of fighting between the British and the Italians. During September 1940 the Italians invaded Egypt from Libya but after initial advances they were repulsed by the British under Operation Compass and then pushed back well into Libya which then prompted the Germans to send Erwin Rommell to reinforce the Axis position in North Africa.

Jake's first action in the north Africa Campaign was on 2nd April 1941. He was the driver of an A13 tank which formed part of C Squadron 5th RTR which was defensively positioned position, between Ajdabiya and Brega.

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Death
On 10 April whilst the 5th Tanks were operating in countryside south of Bremen and ordered to support the 53rd Welsh Division in clearing operations of pockets of resistance. After pushing across the River Weser near the town of Hoya, a wood lay to their front. The officers of the 6th Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers did not expect the wood to be contested and decided to push companies through on two parallel routes, each with a troop of tanks for support. Wardrop and the other tank commander present wanted the infantry to walk ahead but they rode on the armour instead since it was felt safe to do so and they were under pressure to advance. Wardrop’s Firefly reached a crossroads in the woods where tall dense avenues of trees stretched away in four directions. The commanders were just checking their maps and some infantry had dropped off the vehicles to have a look around when they were attacked. Panzerfausts were fired at the tanks and machine-gun fire sprayed on the Fusiliers who rode them. Wardrop’s Firefly was hit by one of the anti-tank rockets and the crew bailed out. Wardrop was shot in the legs by machine-gun fire. Several men already lay dead around the tank, and the German fire sweeping the forest track was ricocheting off its hull. Those who could ran for cover, leaving Wardrop in a ditch with only his revolver for protection. The troop’s sole surviving tank also pulled back. Later that night a party returned to locate Wardrop. One of those present later recalled ''‘The two tanks were still and quiet and there were bodies of British soldiers everywhere. I found Jake’s body at the side of his tank.’ '' Jake's Firefly was still operable and was therefore brought back to the squadron that night. Four members of 5th Tanks had been killed in the action, and five were missing. Six of the Welch Fusiliers had also lost their lives; three wounded made it back to friendly lines and another fifteen were missing. They and the five captured tank men were sent back by the Germans to Rethem, a town several miles to the south-east.