Argyll Roger - a true enigma?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

This subject has been discussed before, but I am bringing it up again, hoping to clear up this enigma one day.

Argyll Roger is the name of the Sherman V (M4A4) which is on display at the Hartenstein Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek, the Netherlands.

Here is what we know about this Sherman: shortly after the liberation in 1945, a Sherman V (M4A4) was found on the premises of Hotel Hartenstein. A period picture shows the census number T-288627 and the name "Argyll Roger" painted on the hull side (see below, thanks to Maurice). Some years later, "Argyll Roger" was then moved to Doorwerth Castle where the museum was housed. The Sherman was moved back to Hotel Hartenstein when the Airborne museum moved there.

argyll roger.jpg

In the mid-1980s we researched the question: where did "Argyll Roger" come from? Options were:

1. It was captured by the German Army in September 1944 and left behind in April 1945.
2. It was left there by an Allied unit which liberated Oosterbeek in April 1945.
3. It was brought there for the making of a movie on Market Garden shortly after WW2. We know a number of tanks and vehicles were brought to Oosterbeek, but we are not sure the movie props included a Sherman tank.
4. For some reason (joyriding?) it was brought to Oosterbeek from the Deelen dump, a huge nearby storage area for Commonwealth vehicles.

Option 2) was the most obvious, but we could not find any units which reported a loss of a Sherman V and leaving it there. However, the Lord Strathcona's Horse(Royal Canadians) were among the units which liberated Oosterbeek, and they did have a Sherman named “Argyle”. Sounds like it, doesn’t it?!? But this tank was not reported lost, plus it was a Sherman VC Firefly. It was very tempting to stick this identity to "Argyll Roger", and this is what the museum did. They explained the fact that their tank is a regular 75-mm Sherman and not a 17-pdr Firefly by the given that “guns can be easily swapped on Shermans”. However, there is no operational explanation to do so, and if a Firefly was converted back into a 75-mm gun tank, there would be clear indications this happened. "Argyll Roger" has no signs of having ever been converted into a Firefly and/or back.
So, although this was a tempting solution to fill the gap of a missing history and have he benefit of a Regiment adopting it for restauration, repainting etc. (just like the Grizzly at Groesbeek!), the only right conclusion is that these two tanks are not the same.

Frustrating fact is the provenance of "Argyll Roger" remains an enigma to this day.

Is there anyone who could tell me who, what or where "Argyll Roger" is or was? That might prove to be a new clue to its identity.

Thanks in advance!

Hanno