No.11 (Scottish) Commando was raised in Galashiels in the summer of 1940, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Dick Pedder, from volunteers from the Scottish Command. From Galashiels they completed a 100-mile march to Ayr before commencing arduous commando training
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
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
On 9 March 1945, twenty-seven men from the Special Boat Squadron, were tasked to attack the enemy occupied Villa Punta, on the Yugoslav island of Lussino. Initially occupied by Italian fascists, the fortified villa with extensive gardens, and the surrounding
Recipient of the Military Medal (MM), Johnny Dowling of No. 3 Commando, was a fighting man. He learned to box at the famous St. Malachy’s Boxing Club in Liverpool, and after spending three seasons in the city’s tough boxing booths,
Commando come fighter pilot, Eric Garland MC and Bar, had a remarkable war. In a period full of incredible achievements by extraordinary people, the actions of Eric Garland were of the highest order. During the withdrawal from Dunkirk in June
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
Lieutenant Denis O’Flaherty, Royal Artillery, of 6 Troop, No. 3 Commando is helped by his fellow commandos during the raid on Vaagso, Norway, in December 1941. During the previous hours the commandos had been engaged in fierce fighting on the
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
