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"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them."
No 12 Army Commando - The ‘Irish’ Commando.
In 1946 the Army Council decided that the Army Commandos were to be disbanded and no provision was allowed or made for any depository or office which would have at least contained a complete Roster of Names of the men who served in the various units.
These are some of the operations that No 12 Commando took part in, either on their own, or as part of a Combined Operations assault. In many cases only a handful of Commandos from No 12 took part rather than the Commando as a whole. They are in date order and form part of our overall history of No 12 Commando.
Click on the links for more detail about each.
Operation Chess - France, July 1941
Operation Kitbag - Norway, November 1941(aborted)
Operation Anklet - Norway, November 1941
Sheet indicating Troop locations 1st-30th June 1942 12 Commando
National Archives Document Ref WO218/41
A letter to Captain Oswald B (Mickey) Rooney of 4 (Para) Troop, No12 Commando from Lord Lovat, HQ Special Service Brigade, on the reallocation of No12 Cdo.Lovat has added a footnote to Mickey Rooney
OC No 9 'is short of a good subaltern who can be added to the 27 other ranks. Please contact him.
Document courtesy of Capt Rooney's son, Chris Rooney
Letter sent from Lord Mountbatten to Lt Col Harrison after a visit to No 12 Commando .....troop mentioned is E Troop commanded by Lt Pinckney.
Cpl. Blount was killed during the raid at St Nazaire. He was one of the commando contingent on HMS Campbeltown and part of a Demolition Team.
Cpl. Chetwynd was killed during the raid a St Nazaire. He was one of the commando contingent on ML 457 as part of Capt. Pritchard's Demolition Control Party.
The exact circumstances of the death of Pte Croft are not known.
nb. The CWGC database and the Westminster Abbey Commando ROH file show the surname as Crofts, whereas the private family headstone on his grave shows Croft.
Private Kenneth Darlington enlisted into the 8th Bn, Border Regt, at Carlisle in 1940. He volunteered for, and was attached to, No.12 Commando serving in 'D' troop as part of North Force, Shetland Islands & Norway in 1942-43. He was attached to 2 SBS for a 3 month period, then attached to No.4 Commando in 1944/45. He was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry during Operation Cartoon, a successful raid on Stord Island. The target was the demolition of an Iron Pyrite mine. Demobbed Germany 1946.
The circumstances of the death of Gnr. Dexter are not known to this archive.
Sgt John Huntington was in E Troop No 12 Commando and 3 Troop No 1 Commando.
This document is Johns memories as detailed in letter form over the course of 5 years to John Mewett. Unfortunately before the project was complete JH died but what was related makes for a very interesting first hand account of life in a commando unit.
LCpl James was killed during operations in Normandy.
The cause of death of Pte Jenkins is not known to this archive.
Cpl Jones was killed during the raid at St Nazaire. He was one of the commando contingent on ML 268 and part of a Demolition Team.
Northforce section of No 12 Commando in operations in the Norwegian Fjords.
Night of 31st May/1st June. This was a planned operation by 100 men from No 12 Commando at St Valery en Caux which was aborted after the raiding party were spotted by German naval forces.
Capt. Pinckney was executed whilst a prsioner of war. At the time he was serving with 2 SAS and had been captured on Operation Speedwell after parachuting with 6 others into Bologna, Italy. The aim of the operation was to disrupt enemy railway movements.
Lieutenant Randall Price died following an operation Wrexham hospital. [1] and [2]
Captain Robert Waldie was awarded the MC was awarded the MC in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Italy.
A combined operations raid on Axis shipping in the harbour at Kopervik, Norway. This raid was a No 14 Commando operation. The raiders managed to sink several ships using limpet mines, but were eventually captured and initially taken to Haugesund for interrogation before being transported to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.
Joe Rogers MM
No 2 Commando
Bob Mewett
No 12 & No 1 Commando
Mick Collins
No 5 Commando
