At the end of January 1941 Nos 7, 8 and 11 (Scottish) Commando sailed to the Middle East as part of Force ‘Z’, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Bob Laycock. For security reasons the force was called ‘Layforce’, and …
Bill Millin was the commando piper of Lord Lovat’s 1st Special Service Brigade. The following is his personal account of landing on Sword Beach on D-Day: ‘I went along to the Hamble River, aboard the landing craft with twenty-one others, …
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 …
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 …
The Third Battle of Ypres, commonly known as the Battle of Passchendaele, was one of the bloodiest battles fought on the Western Front during the First World War. Ypres was at the centre of the Allied presence in Belgium for …
Within days of No.11 (Scottish) Commando returning from the Litani River raid it became clear that it was likely to be disbanded, a fate that had already befallen both No. 7 and No. 8 Commando. However, the unit’s fate was …
No.4 Commando landed in two waves from HMS Princess Astrid and the SS Maid of Orleans and touched down on Queen Red Beach at La Breche, a mile to the west of Ouistreham. The original plan for the British landings …
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 …
