Eight months before the attack on the French port of Bordeaux by the men later immortalised as the Cockleshell Heroes, a less well-known, equally daring, and arguably more successful raid was carried out by two canoeists from No. 6 Commando.
The Litani River Raid was one of the earliest large-scale Commando actions of the Second World War. In June 1941, No. 11 (Scottish) Commando launched a daring amphibious assault on Vichy French positions in Syria, fighting with extraordinary determination to
Lt Col Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne DSO and 3 Bars, 1 SAS Regiment, was a courageous and brilliant special forces soldier, and one of the most outstanding leaders of the Second World War. A qualified solicitor and Irish Universities heavyweight
The venerable Lord Lovat briefs his fellow commando officers prior to Operation Abercrombie, the raid on Hardelot, near the Channel port of Boulogne in April 1942. The intention of the raid was to ‘make a reconnaissance of the beaches and
At 04.30 hours on 9 April 1945, Danish born, Major Anders Lassen MC** and his ten-man SBS patrol set out on a diversionary raid on the north shore of Lake Comacchio in north-east Italy. Their tasks were to cause as
After David Stirling, commanding officer of the Special Air Service (SAS), was captured in Tunisia in January 1943, the unit was reorganised into two squadrons – the Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) and the Special Boat Squadron (SBS). The indomitable Paddy
The invasion of Sicily in July 1943 was based on two Allied armies landing on the island. The US 7th Army were tasked to land on the south-west at Gela, with the British 8th Army on the south-east at Pachino
Often overshadowed by the Heroes of Telemark – the Special Operations Executive’s (SOE) raid on the heavy water plant at Vermork – Operation Musketoon was an equally daring raid on a Norwegian industrial target that was vital to the Nazi
Dick Holmes, on the left, and Duggie Pomford were both awarded the Military Medal while serving with the Special Boat Squadron during the Second World War. In the early hours of 23 June 1943, the men of B and C
For his “great gallantry, skill and devotion to duty” during the St. Nazaire Raid in March 1942, Sergeant Tommy Durrant of No. 1 Commando and the Royal Engineers was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Having been ordered to withdraw from
Stood first on the left is Lieutenant George Herbert DCM MM of No. 3 Commando. Herbert, who was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry at Dunkirk, was one of the most courageous soldiers of the Second World War. On his
Lance Corporal Eric Harden of the Royal Army Medical Corps attached to the Royal Marines, posthumously received Britain’s highest award for valour in the presence of the enemy, after giving his life to save his wounded comrades. Victoria Cross recipient
