No 7 Commando – The Bardia Raid
At the end of January 1941 No 7 Commando along with Nos 8 and 11 (Scottish) Commando sailed to the Middle East as part of Force ‘Z’, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Bob Laycock. On 19 April 1941 No.7 …
Special Raiding Squadron – Invasion of Sicily
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 …
Operation Musketoon and Hitler’s Commando Order
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 …
The Special Boat Squadron Assault on Villa Punta
On 9 March 1945, twenty-seven men from the Special Boat Squadron (SBS), were tasked to attack the enemy occupied Villa Punta, on the Yugoslav island of Lussino. Initially occupied by Italian fascists, the fortified villa had recently been reinforced with …
Operation Flipper – The Rommel Raid
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 …
Billets and Bullets
The routine for the officers and men in the Commandos was quite different to that from the regiments that they’d left behind. With no barracks or fixed accommodation, they lived in billets where their meals were provided by the families …
The Commando Piper’s Story – Sword Beach
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, …
SOE and the Pirates of Fernando Po
Operation Postmaster was one of the most audacious raids of the Second World War. In August 1941 a small force working for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) departed Poole in a converted Brixham trawler called the Maid Honor. Their destination …
Hose-Piping – The art of firing from the hip
Two weapons spring to mind when conjuring up an image of the Second World War commandos. The iconic Fairbairn and Sykes Fighting Knife popularly known as the ‘Commando Dagger’, and the Thompson Machine Carbine – the legendary ‘Tommy Gun’. However, …