In 1942 my friend Jim Fraser was a corporal in the Eighth Army, the Desert Rats, and the driver of the converted tank that was General Montgomery's command vehicle during the North African campaign to El Alamein and Tunis. Jim gave "Monty" the black beret which became his trademark.
Montgomery initially wore a broad-brimmed Australian hat which blew off whenever he looked out to observe and encourage his troops. They kept having to stop to fetch his hat. Jim, who has died aged 92, recalled in his memoirs: "I shoved my beret up into the turret, muttering: 'Tell him to wear this and we'll get there quicker.' The aide-de-camp handed the beret to Monty who tried it on and liked it."
James Marshall Ralston Fraser was born in the Anderston district of Glasgow. After his father died from tuberculosis in 1927, the family moved in stages to live with his uncle in Colchester, Essex, where Jim attended the Bluecoat school.
In 1937, after rejection by the Royal Navy because of his youth, Jim claimed to be 18 and enlisted in the army. Soon after the second world war was declared, Jim's unit shipped out to Egypt. Jim was wounded at Sidi Rezegh, and again during the battle of the Knightsbridge Box near Gazala. His tank took a direct hit; he was badly burned and three fellow crewmen were killed. He was wounded three times during the war, was awarded the Military Medal and the British Empire Medal, and was mentioned in dispatches.
Jim played rugby, hockey and football for the Royal Tank Regiment and for the Combined Services, later qualifying as a referee. He was discharged with the rank of warrant officer class two in 1959. By then he had served in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Italy, Austria, Germany, India, Palestine, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Korea.
He became a postman in Colchester and a passionate trade unionist, rising to become national chairman of the Union of Post Office Workers (now the Communication Workers Union). Like many war heroes, he wanted to see a better world. He also served as a magistrate and a Labour councillor on both Colchester borough and Essex county councils, regularly deploying his ferocious wit against the opposition. Later, well into retirement, he continued to visit the graves of fallen comrades in Libya, Italy and Korea.
Jim was predeceased by his wife, Margaret, whom he married in 1944. He is survived by three children, Jean, Nigel and Gillian, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.