sign in sign up
<<
Home , Achnacarry, Commando (aircraft), David Stirling, Dudley Clarke, Layforce, Long Range Desert Group

Oxford and Club Military History Group

2016

Newsletter Number 49

1 Contents

Commando Evening 29 November 2016 Page 3

Book Reviews Page 9

The SAS and LRDG Roll of Honour

When Shall Their Glory Fade? The Stories of the Thirty-Eight Battle Honours of the Army Commandos

All Behind You, Winston: Churchill's Great Coalition 1940-45

2 Editor

There is a waiting list for the next presentation on October 12 Wednesday given by Robert Chase (member) Napoleon's disastrous Russian Campaign

I am looking for speakers for the 6 June 2017. This is of course the anniversary of D Day and I would like to have speakers covering what was going on behind the lines, SOE, SAS, and Airborne etc.

The evening will be first class. There are a number of places still available and it would be satisfying to continue the tradition of the sell out when we occupy the Princess Louise Room. Just consider the panel. The leader of the Commandos in the Falkland’s War and subsequent author of a number of military works along with a very famous military historian who has written on the Commandos.

Commandos 1940 -1946

Promises to be one of the best MHG gatherings

Delay booking at your peril – there are only 16 of 50 places left

Discussion panel to include General Julian Thompson Royal Marines and military historian Charles Messenger chaired by member Richard Mead.

November Tuesday 29 2016

The evening will start at 1800 for an 1830 presentation by Richard Mead. Supper at 1930 then a discussion chaired by Richard from 2045 to 2130. The MHG have taken the Marlborough Room on the basis that there will be a high demand for places with 34 of the 50 sold. If you are not quick off the mark you will be disappointed. Guests are encouraged.

3 Richard’s presentation:

The Evolution of the Commandos from 1940 to 1946

On 3 June 1940, as the evacuation from Dunkirk was drawing to a close, Churchill wrote to the CIGS, General Sir , demanding the creation of a new type of unit to carry out raids on the enemy coastline. Named ‘Commandos’ by Colonel , who was given the responsibility for raising twelve such units, each of 500 men, they were formed entirely of volunteers from the Home Commands under conditions of service markedly different from those of the rest of the .

The first eighteen months were difficult ones, with the raids on the Lofoten Islands and Vaagso in being rare successes for the UK-based Commandos, whilst those in the experienced disaster on and serious losses in . 1942 saw an improvement, with the dramatic raid on St Nazaire being followed by the only successful actions during the . The latter showed that the Commandos were well suited to carry out operations in support of conventional and, from then on, Commandos were employed in every landing, beginning in Operation Torch in and continuing through , Salerno, Anzio and elsewhere, before reaching a climax in Normandy on D-Day. In the meantime, raiding continued under more specialised units.

With the War Office opposed to the Commandos from the start, it proved difficult to replace losses and the Admiralty was approached to raise new Commandos from the

4 Royal Marines. The first such RM Commando was formed by volunteers, but in 1943 it was decided to convert the Royal Marine into Commandos and, from then on, they played a vital role with the Army Commandos in every theatre of the War, not only in and the Mediterranean, but also in South-East Asia.

After the War the continuing hostility of the War Office and the push to cut military spending forced the disbandment of the Army Commandos, but it was decided to retain three RM Commandos within 3 Commando which, now much expanded, exists to this day and has seen action in many operations, from Suez and the Falklands to the Gulf War and Afghanistan.

The talk will go into detail on the history of the Commandos from their original formation until the disbandment of the Army Commandos in 1945/6.

Richard Mead’s soon to be published latest book:

The Commando General: The Life of Major General Sir KCMG CB DSO

Pen & Sword Military ISBN 1473854075 / 9781473854079 Format Hardback Published 30/11/2016

RICHARD MEAD was born in 1947 in In June 1940 Bob Laycock was a 33 year- Shanghai. Educated at Marlborough College old captain bound for a job in the and Pembroke College, Cambridge, Richard Middle East. One month later he was a qualified as a Chartered Accountant and lieutenant colonel and CO of 8 Commando, was successively an investment banker and one of the first to be formed on Churchill’s a partner in a Big Four accountancy firm, order. before working as an independent corporate In 1941 Laycock was sent to the adviser and non-executive chairman or Mediterranean, where experienced director of a large number of public and disappointment and disaster. Lacking private companies. He retired in 2014. reinforcements, it was disbanded and, after Richard has always been interested in leading the abortive Rommel Raid, Laycock military history, with a focus on the Second was recalled to command the Special Service World War. His first book, Churchill’s Lions; Brigade, the umbrella formation for the A Biographical Guide to the Key British Commandos. Generals of World War II, was published In 1943 Laycock led his brigade in in 2007. He has subsequently built himself the invasion of Sicily and the landings a reputation as a military biographer with at Salerno, before being brought back General ‘Boy’: The Life of Lieutenant to take over Combined Operations as General Sir Frederick Browning and The Last Mountbatten’s successor and the youngest Great Cavalryman: The Life of General Sir major-general in the British Army. He Richard McCreery. These two books and his attended most of the major Allied most recent publication, The Men Behind conferences for the rest of the War. Monty, which was shortlisted for the British Laycock resigned from the Army in 1947, Army Military Book of the Year 2016, are all but returned to public service as Governor in print with Pen & Sword. of from 1954 to 1959. He was later to become Colonel of the SAS, an appropriate appointment for one who had originally recruited into 8 Commando. This long overdue and deeply researched biography reveals the leadership qualities

Jacket design: Jon Wilkinson and character of a legendary soldier.

For a complete list of current titles ring or write to: PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED 47 Church Street, Barnsley South Yorkshire S70 2AS uk £19.99 · us $34.99 E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 01226 734222 Or visit our website at: Scan the QR www.pen-and-sword.co.uk code foR moRe uk £19.99 titleS fRom OVER 5000 TITLES AVAILABLE. Pen & SwoRd us $34.99 www.pen-and-sword.co.uk www.pen-and-sword.co.uk

COMMANDO GENERAL jckt.indd 1 27/06/2016 09:04

Commando General

Author Richard Mead

5 Summary of the book: In June 1940 Bob Laycock was 33 years old, a captain in the Royal Horse Guards and waiting for a passage to the Middle East as a chemical warfare specialist. One month later he was a lieutenant colonel and CO of 8 Commando, one of the first to be formed on Churchill’s express order, his appointment coming partly on the back of his qualification as a Finnish Able Seaman, following a voyage on a windjammer around the Cape of Good Hope. This was the start of a meteoric rise, which would see him, in October 1943, as the youngest major general in the British Army and the successor to Lord Louis Mountbatten as Chief of Combined Operations.

In command of Layforce in 1941, Laycock was sent to the Mediterranean, where his formation experienced disappointment at , disaster on Crete and a costly success in Syria. Forbidden to recruit locally Layforce was disbanded. Having led the abortive Rommel Raid, from which he emerged after 41 days on the run, Laycock himself was recalled to command the Special Service Brigade, the umbrella formation for all the Commandos.

In 1943 Laycock led his brigade on active service in the invasion of Sicily and the landings at Salerno, before being brought back to take over Combined Operations HQ, with oversight of all the Commandos, including those recently formed by the Royal Marines; at the age of 36, he was the youngest British general of the War.’ In addition to continuing Mountbatten’s work, he attended most of the major Allied conferences for the rest of the War. In the first year of peace, he was instrumental in the decision to retain Royal Marines, although the original Army Commandos were disbanded.

Laycock resigned from the Army in 1947, but returned to public service as Governor of Malta from 1954 to 1959. He was later to become Colonel of the SAS, an appropriate appointment for one who had originally recruited David Stirling and Jock Lewes into 8 Commando.

The Foreword is by Major General Julian Thompson, who famously led 3 Commando Brigade in the Falklands in 1982

Major General J H A Thompson Panel member

6

Major General Julian H A Thompson CB OBE served in the Royal Marines for 34 years in the Near Middle East, the Far East, Europe and Northern Ireland. He commanded 40 Commando Royal Marines for two and a half years and the 3rd Commando Brigade for two years. The latter period of command includes the Falklands War of 1982 in which he was the Land Forces Commander for the initial landings. He is a graduate of the British Army Staff College, and later instructed there. He graduated from the Royal college of Defence Studies in 1980. He retired as a Major General in 1986 and completed a Leverhulme grant at the Department, researching logistics and armed conflict, which was subsequently published by Brassey's.

Areas of expertise

The Falklands War The The Royal Marines Amphibious Operations First and Second World War Sea and Land Campaigns Logistics Dunkirk and and 1940

Publications relevant to the evening – there are many more

No Picnic: 3 Commando Brigade in the Falklands; Three editions, Latest edition paperback in Cassells Military Paperback series.

Ready for Anything: The Parachute Regiment at War 1940-82; Weidenfeld & Nicolson Hardback and Fontana Paperback.

The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force; Hardback Sidgwick & Jackson, Paperback Pan

7

General Thompson in the Falkland Islands

Charles Messenger

Panel member Charles Messenger served for twenty years as an officer in the Royal Regiment before becoming a full-time military historian and defence analyst. He is the author of nearly forty books. He is the author of A Century of Warfare, the book that accompanied the highly respected television series. A professional military historian and defence analyst he has lectured on defence in both Britain and North America. He was educated at Marlborough College, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Exeter College Oxford where he read Modern History and won a Murray Naval History prize.

8

The Commandos: 1940-1946 (Paperback) Charles Messenger

The definitive and thrilling history of those who wore the famous green beret. COMMANDO is the definitive history of the units raised to answer 's call to arms: 'Enterprises much be prepared with specially trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror.' These units and their courageous operations would take many forms, including the spectacular assaults of the Small Scale Raiding Force, No. 30 Commando's shadowy intelligence gathering, and the highly secret missions of 'X' . Acclaimed military historian Charles Messenger follows these elite forces from the snowy wastes of Norway to the jungles of South- East Asia, from North Africa and Operation Torch to the Normandy beaches and Operation Overlord. The result, based on extensive research as well as interviews and correspondence with former Commandos, is the true and thrilling story of those who wore the famous green beret.

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers ISBN: 9780008168971

9 Book Reviews

All Behind You, Winston:

Churchill's Great Coalition 1940-45

Published April 2016 416PP, AURUM, £20

Roger Hermiston: Roger's latest book, 'All Behind You, Winston - Churchill's Great Coalition 1940-45', is published on 7 April 2016. It's the compelling story of the men (and two women) in Churchill's government who helped win the war, primarily on the Home Front. Many of those characters have been forgotten - eclipsed by the great man's giant shadow - and the book seeks to recover the memory of the likes of Lord Woolton, Sir John Anderson, Lord Beaverbrook and Ellen Wilkinson.

Roger's previous books were 'The Greatest Traitor', a biography of the spy

10 (and KGB mole) George Blake, and 'Clough and Revie', the story of the fierce rivalry between those two great football managers.

Roger was a print and broadcast journalist before turning to full-time writing. He was a reporter and feature writer on the Yorkshire Post before joining the BBC in the early 1990s. The bulk of his career at the corporation was devoted to the Today programme, BBC Radio 4, where he was Assistant Editor from 1999-2010.

On 14 May 1940, the Evening Standard published a cartoon with the caption "All Behind You, Winston". It showed Churchill, the freshly installed prime minister, rolling up his sleeves to confront the oncoming menace of . In his wake, leading the endless ranks of the British people, marched the most prominent figures of his new coalition government.

It was a potent expression of a moment when Britons of every class were truly all in it together. It also contained a truth that Churchill's titanic historical reputation has since eclipsed: that neither he nor the country would have prevailed but for the joint effort of this remarkable "ministry of all the talents". Indeed, without the vital support of the Labour Party, and its leader Clement Attlee, Churchill might never have become prime minister at all.

Now Roger Hermiston tells the story of the men — and women — who steered Britain through its darkest hour, showing how they helped to win the Second World War, and how they laid the foundations of the "New " that followed. Along

11 the way, he explores the roles played by characters as diverse as the mercurial newspaper magnate Lord Beaverbrook, who supplied the planes that won the ; the pugnacious trade union baron Ernest Bevin, who kept the nation working; Lord Woolton, the minister for food — a man so widely loved he was dubbed "Uncle Fred"; and Sir John Anderson, one of the first people to contemplate the awful power of the atom bomb. Hermiston also considers the achievements of more junior ministers, including the only two women in Churchill's government: the left-wing firebrand Ellen Wilkinson, and the Conservative Florence Horsbrugh, who played a pivotal role alleviating the suffering inflicted by the Blitz.

Five years after that cartoon, Churchill predicted that history would shine a light on "every helmet" of his"great coalition". As it was, many were forgotten. This book seeks to recover their memory, and to celebrate a generation of politicians who rose above party to put their country first.

A gripping study of Churchill's Cabinet – review: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/all-behind-you-winston-is-a- gripping-study-of-churchills-cabinet/

" does not love coalitions," declared in 1852. Yet with the exception of the notoriously opportunistic Fox-North coalition, of which the future prime minister was probably thinking, England has actually shown a remarkable affection for coalitions. The 1916-22 Liberal-Conservative coalition won both the war and a landslide election in 1918; the national government was returned with thumping majorities in both 1931 and 1935; and, against the majority of opinion, the 2010 Conservative-Liberal coalition provided a full term of stable government. But the pièce de résistance was Churchill's 1940-45 administration. Not only did this Conservative-Labour-Liberal coalition steer Britain through its most perilous years and win the war, it also initiated social reforms that were to shape post-war Britain. These staggering achievements are brilliantly described in Robert Hermiston's All Behind You, Winston.

Strange as it may seem now, the Conservative Party was not all behind Churchill in the spring of 1940. "The good clean tradition of English politics, that of Pitt as opposed to Fox, had been sold off to the greatest adventurer of modern political history," wrote the staunch appeaser "Rab" Butler on Churchill's accession to the premiership. Fortunately, the Labour Party, or certainly the Labour leadership, were behind him. Despite having been pacifist for most of the Thirties, by 1937 Labour had been converted to the need for rearmament and a firm stand against fascist aggression. This made them natural allies of Churchill, who now needed to bring his former opponents into a grand "Ministry of All the Talents", which could rally the nation and defeat Nazi Germany.

12 The new coalition government was an eclectic mix: the loquacious Churchill contrasted with the diffident Attlee, and the bruiser trade-union boss Ernest Bevin was juxtaposed with the embodiment of capitalism, Lord Beaverbrook. The government was talented, however, and moved swiftly to avert disaster. Beaverbrook, known to his friends as the "Beaver", lived up to his name as he worked himself and his staff around the clock to achieve a remarkable increase in fighter aircraft production.

The former department store manager Lord Woolton introduced a fair system of food rationing, and Herbert Morrison overhauled the government's air-raid shelter policy. When the Home Secretary, along with his scientific adviser, presented Churchill with designs for a new flat-topped "table shelter", with a steel roof and wire mesh sides, the Prime Minister delighted: "That's the one, make 500,000 in the next three months and give them to the people. Show them that it is safe, blow a house up on one, put a pig in it, put the inventor in it!" As Hermiston recounts, it was not all plain sailing. For much of 1940, Beaverbrook (Minister of Aircraft Production) was engaged in a bitter turf war with the Secretary of State for Air, Sir Archibald Sinclair.

Winston Churchill and Home Secretary Sir John Anderson leave 10 Downing Street

He also infuriated Bevin (Minister for Labour), who went as far as threatening to prosecute him for breaking the Factory Acts. Reading these pages, one can't help feeling for the overworked war leader, who was called on to diffuse Cabinet spats while negotiating with Stalin or cementing the American alliance. The most ridiculous row was over whether the fascist leader, Sir Oswald Mosley, should be released early from Wormwood Scrubs on health grounds. The irascible Bevin declared that he would have to vote against the government and possibly resign. He was talked off the ledge, but Churchill, who was in the midst of the Tehran conference, was incandescent.

13 Hermiston has written a gripping account, full of drama, personality and humour. Churchill's response to the suggestion that Sir Stafford Cripps should be recalled from Moscow to join the Cabinet is particularly good: "A lunatic in a country of lunatics - it would be a pity to move him." Hermiston is also good on analysis, arguing that, despite the rivalries and the rows, Britain has never had a coalition government that has "worked in such harmony…[or] affected the lives of its citizens so directly".

Indeed, one can go further and claim, without controversy, that Churchill's wartime coalition saved Britain. When one adds to this the early implementation of the Beveridge report, the 1944 Butler Education Act and the revolutionary commitment to jobs for all, then we realise that we are dealing with a governmental record the like of which we are unlikely to see again.

Tim Bouverie is a political journalist for Channel 4 News

To order this book from the Telegraph for £16.99 plus £1.99 p&p call 0844 871 1515 or visit books.telegraph.co.uk

The SAS and LRDG Roll of Honour

14 This is a remarkable work undertaken by a member of the SAS who does not wish his identity to be revealed. He will therefore be called appropriately given the area of operation for both Regiments, “Sandy Dune”!

“Sandy Dune’s” work is published with a limited print run of only 2000 box sets. There are 17 maps and 752 photos, with 786 pages printed on highest quality 130gsm Magno Satin with full colour throughout.

Sympathetically designed and bound in foil embossed Wibalin to the standard one expects with a project of this importance. Volumes and User Guide contained in a handmade and beautifully designed Wibalin covered slipcase. Crown Quarto 246x189mm

Date and place of birth, pre-service employment details, full service history including units served in and theatres and operations deployed on, as well as the citations of any honours awarded, are all included

There are newly discovered casualties recognised as SAS for the first time

In addition to revealing individual stories the three hardback volumes are geographically collated so that the information can be used more easily, both as an 'off-the-shelf' reference and also as a field guide

Clear indexing and explanatory appendices (much of the material being published for the first time) form a separate User Guide for use in conjunction with any of the volumes

Richly illustrated with photographs of the casualties and scenes of where their achievements were accomplished

The Foreword is by Jim Patch a wartime navigator to Y Patrol, LRDG, and former Secretary of the LRDG Association

15

Jim Patch

Proudly produced in the UK

“I am proud to have been asked to write a foreword to this astonishing document. I have not been party to its creation. That has been entirely due to the enterprise and determination of its author who has lived and worked with it for thirteen years and travelled extensively, at his own expense, to produce facts and photographs to support the remarkably detailed accounts of the lives and deaths of those for whom this work was undertaken. The result is here for all to see, a reference and history unique in its

16 nature and purpose put together to unite as one in remembrance of the Second World War casualties of the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Squadron [later Service] and the …

It is right and proper that a special Roll of Honour should be created for those units addressed here. Each followed its own path and has its tale to tell. Many of the casualties died heroic and lonely deaths and those of us who are left remember them with pride. The research of this document was completed in the 75th year of the creation of the LRDG and its publication in the year marking the same anniversary of that of the SAS.”

Jim Patch, Former Navigator of Y Patrol, LRDG – Kent, 2016

“Sandy Dune”: 13 years ago I answered a call to lay wreaths on a small group of wartime graves at one of the more inaccessible locations covered by this Roll of Honour. The headstones of the casualties concerned revealed that they had lost their lives after the fighting had moved on, although it was soon apparent that no one

17 seemed to know why – their stories had simply been lost over the intervening years, initial research revealing that this was true of the majority of Second World War SAS casualties.

Although no historian, my interest had been piqued and I set about verifying or establishing facts by interviewing as many veterans as I could, every subsequent leave being spent recording material at various archives. Back abroad I sifted hundreds of thousands of photographs that I had taken of official reports. In spite of the scale of the task, conflicting accounts, inaccuracies and the minutiae of war crimes investigations were all meticulously cross-referenced late into the night, early in the mornings, or whenever my off-duty hours allowed.

One lead followed another, the flow of unique material from diaries, photos and letters increasing after tracking down relatives: for every casualty there had been a next of kin and for every next of kin the devastation of an unwanted telegram. The pain was still evident as was the fact that sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, grandchildren, nieces and nephews were also passionate that the story of each casualty, regardless of rank or class, be told as factually and respectfully as possible, not as yet another Boy's Own myth that morphs into history.

The project led me to visit every grave bar two where current instability prevents travel. Such visits also meant I had the honour of meeting next of kin of all backgrounds in locations worldwide, the farthest being in . Many years of continuous effort, full of unexpected ups and downs, reversals and leaps forward, have now resulted in this private publication. It is with pride in the subjects of it that I thank you for supporting what I can only hope is a fitting and everlasting tribute to them.

To order please study the details below and then chose the appropriate option. 100% of profits from the first run donated to the erection of memorials and service charities. Thanks to generous backing this box set is available at the price of just £59.50 plus

18 delivery

Delivery rates anywhere in mainland UK: 1 Box set £9.00, 2 Box sets £11.50, 3 Box sets £17.00, 4 Box sets £19.50, 5 Box sets £26.00

Packaging is bespoke to ensure safe transit and mainland UK Delivery is within 21 days

For delivery outside of the UK please complete the form below and we will email you the relevant postage rate for your country

For UK Mainland orders please use the Paypal option directly below after going to http://www.sas-lrdg-roh.com/order.html

When Shall Their Glory Fade? The Stories of the Thirty- Eight Battle Honours of the Army Commandos

Hardcover: 322 pages Publisher: Frontline Books (20 Jan. 2011) Language: English

19 ISBN-10: 1848325975 ISBN-13: 978-1848325975

Author Jim Dunning was a veteran of the Commandos and a post-war President of the Commando Association. Major James Dunning died in 1915 aged 95, served in the Second World War as an Army commando; he went on to become a school teacher and writer, publishing several books on the history of the Commandos.

James (Jimmy) Dunning was born in Southampton on March 5 1920 and was educated at Taunton’s School in Southampton, where he became a strong swimmer and water- polo player. After working as a butcher in the family business and playing the drums in a dance band, the Embassy Swingers, Dunning joined the Army at the age of 19, shortly before the outbreak of war. In 1940, Churchill decided upon the formation of the Army Commandos, drawing on his experiences in the Boer War, and Dunning volunteered to transfer to the new service as a member of No 4 Commando, which was later famously commanded by Lord Lovat (Simon Fraser). The self-reliance and specialist training and tactics of these wartime Army Commandos served as a prototype for elite military units around the world.

In March 1941, as a member of No 4 Commando, Dunning took part in the highly successful raid on the Lofoten Islands, in which 215 German soldiers were captured and 11 ships and a significant number of fish-oil factories and petrol dumps were destroyed. Encryption equipment and codebooks were captured and brought back, with no loss of life or serious injuries for the attackers.

In 1942 he was involved in the raids on Boulogne and Dieppe, No 4 Commando executing the only successful part of the second, otherwise ill-fated, operation, by scaling the cliffs to the west of the town and destroying the six large guns positioned inland forming Hess battery.

Dunning commanded a 2-in mortar unit, which greatly assisted the attack by landing its third shot in an area where bagged cordite charges were laid out. This resulted in what the war correspondent A. A. Austen described as “the mother of all explosions”, the smoke and flames from which could be seen for miles out at sea. The large guns of Hess battery did not fire again, and the attack was brought to a successful conclusion after some hard close quarter fighting. A friend, Captain Pat Porteous, won a VC for his part in the same operation, which is still considered a textbook example of Special Forces intervention.

In 1943 Dunning was commissioned and appointed an instructor at the Commando Basic Training Centre at Castle, near Fort William. The training was tough,

20 varied and unorthodox and Dunning was well known for his “speed marches”, in which the recruits ran to and ascended Ben Nevis carrying full kit. The training culminated in a dangerous exercise in which the recruits attacked a beach on the edge of the loch under live fire.

In its four years of existence, some 25,000 trainee commandos passed through the Achnacarry centre and went on to play a key role in many theatres of war. Having fractured his spine in a trial night parachute descent in the later stages of the war, Dunning was unable to participate in active operations for some time. In 1945, however, he was appointed Adjutant at the Commando Cliff Climbing Centre at St Ives, Cornwall, where training was taking place for the planned invasion of Japan.

Major James Dunning beside the commando statue in the cloisters of The Army Commandos were disbanded in 1946, and Dunning transferred to the Hampshire Regiment with which he served in in the Jerusalem area, on one occasion disarming a bomb placed at the Hampshire’s base. He next saw active service as a staff officer in Brigade, which landed in Pusan, Korea, on November 3 1950, and successfully pushed northwards, but was forced to return home when his first wife, Clara, was diagnosed with leukaemia. After her death, he was left to look after his daughter, Morag, singlehandedly, and served on the staff of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

In 1956, seeking a more active role again, Dunning transferred to the Parachute Regiment, commanding a in 2 Para. He took part in anti-terrorist operations in and wooed his second wife, Jane, at friendly Turkish restaurants on the

21 island with his pistol placed on the table. From there he led his company during the short-lived Suez invasion. In 1958 Dunning remarried and left the Army.

After spending a few years running the family meat business in Southampton, Dunning became a schoolteacher at state middle schools in Southampton, where his quiet authority, enlivened by a sense of fun, won the respect of children and staff alike. Running against the more laissez-faire educational trends of the 1960s and 1970s, he insisted on a calm classroom and emphasised the “3Rs”. He found it amusing later on when this traditional approach was rediscovered and hyped up as innovative, with trainee teachers being sent out to schools where the old ways still prevailed, to find out how it should be done.

After his second retirement, Dunning and his wife moved to Romsey, where they played a full part in the local community for more than 30 years. He served as president of the Commando Association in 1992-1993 and for many years as trustee of the Commando Benevolent Fund.

After writing several books and articles on travel and history, Dunning was encouraged by Lord Lovat to write a book about the Commando training centre at Achnacarry Castle. The first of his three books on the Commandos, It Had to be Tough, was published in 2000 and was highly successful. He followed this up with his history of No 4 Commando, The Fighting Fourth (2003) and finally When Shall Their Glory Fade? (2011). This was published after his 90th birthday, and the book consisted of chapters giving the stories behind each of the 38 Battle Honours of the Commandos that were awarded by the Queen in 1957 and laid up in St George’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey during a special service on May 1 1971.

Major James Dunning, born March 5 1920, died August 15 20151

Summary: Written by a Commando veteran of World War II, this is a remarkable, vivid and honest account of the battles and actions behind the award of the thirty eight Battle Honours that were awarded to the Army Commandos by Her Majesty the Queen in 1958. These Battle Honours are emblazoned on the Commando Flag that hangs in Westminster Abbey in , almost opposite the tomb of the Unknown Warrior. The story of each honour is presented in the most direct way, using the stories and experiences of the commandos, officers and men who actually took part in the fighting. It should be emphasised that the operations mentioned as Battle Honours recognised only those deemed to be thoroughly outstanding feats of arms and represent only a fraction of the raids and battles fought by the Commandos in their five years of active service. The formation of the Commandos was due to Winston Churchill, who

1 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/11810760/Major-James-Dunning- obituary.html

22 proposed their formation in a directive dated 18 June 1940, which advocated limited offensive action against the enemy s extended and vulnerable coastline. This compilation includes photographs of training and combat in Norway, Dieppe, Normandy, Flushing and many more locations.

Review: This book was published in 2011. Written by James Dunning a former member of the Army Commandos the book is written around some of the major actions undertaken by the Commandos for which they were awarded a battle honour. Dunning was a part of the Commandos from their inception and took part in several operations until injured during a parachute drop. Not only did he serve in the War but participated in operations in Palestine, Korea and Suez. All that operational experience adds to the authenticity of the book. What cannot be doubted is Dunning’s admiration for the men of the Commandos, their bravery and effectiveness.

Major James Dunning

The author acknowledges that the more famous raids and battles of the Commandos have been the subject of many books. His intention was not to provide an official record but rather to tell the stories with as many personal accounts from those who were there. This works well. Some of the contributors speak for the first time in the book but time has meant so many have died and so other contributions have come from publications, some long out of print. The anecdotes have skilfully been woven into the narrative.

Dunning emphasises that Commandoes were not super men but were highly trained, self-disciplined and resolute with high morale led by officers who had the respect of their men. It was a combination of these factors that created the indomitable spirit with which the name Commando became synonymous and enabled the winning of 38 battle honours in so brief a period. Many would argue that a successful commando like the yet to be formed Special Forces, had an extraordinary something in his character. The will to win, not to be beaten, competitive, proud, self determined, inner strength and courage. The men were volunteers and attracted an adventurous type and the rigorous selection and training ensured only the fittest, bravest, independent souls became a Commando. Maybe not supermen but not your ordinary man!

23 For the police officers reading this review they will be interested to learn that following the Dieppe raid, losses in Lovett’s 4 Commando were replaced by a fine entry of former police officers who were to win many Commandos’ respect for the high quality of men enlisted. The year 1942 was when policing ceased to be a reserved occupation and large numbers of police officers joined the armed forces, many became aircrew and are heavily represented on memorials, or commandos, as the independent nature of the policeman was very suited for these roles. Post war former commandos joined the police in some numbers again the self-discipline and individualism suited these men for their peacetime role.

24

The book is written in and effective and interesting way; it is a page turner that goes at a pace from battle to battle covering a huge subject clearly and concisely given this was five years of war across the world. The book does not exclude the Royal Marine and Middle East Commandos totalling with the army 25 Units therefore in parts the more specialist reader will find the level of information sketchy. But the book is not for the enthusiast as what is described in the main will be know. For the casual or

25 interested reader this will be an eye-opener of a book detailing what courage actually means.

By the same author published in 2012

Summary: This book tells the fascinating story of the origins of the Commandos (Britain's first Special Service troops and the forerunners of today's Parachute Regiment, the SAS and the SBS) and the development of their special training in World War II. The commandos were raised on the specific and personal orders of the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, in the dark days of the summer of 1940 when these islands faced the real threat of a Nazi invasion. It was a bold, but typically Churchillian, decision. The book traces the formation of the Commandos and the development of the extreme and often unorthodox training methods and techniques used to prepare the volunteers from all branches of the British Army for subsequent world-wide-operations from 'bolt and butcher' raids to the 'great raids' on Norway and France and finally their employment in the full scale invasions of North Africa. Sicily, , Normandy, the Crossing of the Rhine and finally in Burma, whilst at all times fostering that indomitable fighting spirit with which the name 'Commando' became synonymous. So great was the Commandos' contribution in that war that the Army Commandos were awarded thirty eight Battle Honours and these are emblazoned on the Commando Flag which hangs in Westminster Abbey. Arguably the Army Commandos were disbanded too hastily after the War but their legacy, traditions and fighting spirit lives with those artillery, engineer and corps troops who today win their

26 coveted 'Green Berets' and serve alongside their comrades of the Royal Marines on active service today.

27