1 Special Service / Commando Brigade
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Displaying 1 - 51 of 51'Special Service Roll of Honour'
The Fallen from Independent Coys. and Special Service Group.
No. 1 Independent Company
1 Brigade War Diaries
Transcripts of some War Diary entries.
1 Cdo Bde HQ War Diary 1st - 9th April 1945
This section contains a transcript taken from the War Diary covering specific periods. It is a basic transcript for private research and educational use only. Whilst we always endeavour to achieve accuracy, we acknowledge that there may be dates and/or entries missing, and other possible errors, The actual War Diaries can be found at the National Archives in Kew.
1 Cdo Bde HQ War Diary Jan-Mar 1945
This section contains a transcript taken from the War Diary covering specific periods. It is a basic transcript for private research and educational use only. Whilst we always endeavour to achieve accuracy, we acknowledge that there may be dates and/or entries missing, and other possible errors, The actual War Diaries can be found at the National Archives in Kew.
1 Special Service Bde Signals Troop War Diary June-Sept 1944
This section contains a transcript taken from the War Diary covering specific periods. It is a basic transcript for private research and educational use only. Whilst we always endeavour to achieve accuracy, we acknowledge that there may be dates and/or entries missing, and other possible errors, The actual War Diaries can be found at the National Archives in Kew.
ADAMS, F.
Special Service Brigade
Post war member of the original Commando Association with w
ADEY, James Jeffrey
Brigade Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
Commissioned from the ranks 29 December 1943 [1].
1 Brigade Signal Troop [2].
Promoted Captain 29 December 1949 [3].
Sources
ARMITAGE, James
RM Engineer Commando
Royal Marines
Killed in action or died of wounds
Sergeant James Armitage died during operations at Normandy.
Sources
CWGC
Registers of Reports of Deaths - Naval Ratings / National Archives file ADM 104/127.
BAILEY, Arthur Charles
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
Royal Artillery
Died in the UK
Gunner Arthur Bailey was found dead on Westhampnett Lane Chichester, a road leading to Goodwood. Ambulance men at the scene found that he had fractured his skull and it was later ascertained that he had fallen from a lorry in which he was a passenger.
BAILEY, Norman
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
-
Private Norman Bailey served in 1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade HQ. Post war member of the Commando Association residing Cheshire.
Sources
Obituaries in Commando Association newsletter 118 issued February 2004.
BARNES, Reginald William Carlile
Special Service Brigade
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
Royal Army Service Corps
British Empire Medal (BEM)
Staff Sergeant Reginald Barnes was awarded the British Empire Medal (Military Division) in January 1946.
Obituary written by Henry Brown OBE
Reginald William Carlile Barnes, B.E.M.
BLISSETT, Harry Harold
No 4 Independent Company
No 2 Commando
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
The King's Regiment (Liverpool)
Mentioned in Despatches
Major Harry Harold Blissett served as a Captain in No 4 Independent Company and No 2 Commando. He was appointed Brigade Major in the 1st Special Service Bde in preparation for DDay. In 1945 he received a MiD for gallant and distinguished services in NW Europe[1].
Source
BUGG, Alfred John
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
Royal Berkshire Regiment
Private Alfred Bugg served in HQ, 1 Commando Brigade.
Sources
Picture in gallery No.1 SS Brigade HQ - o/s the Quartermaster Store.
Comment posted to picture by his son Phillip Bugg.
Obituaries in Commando Association newsletter 64 issued March 1977.
CASSEY, Norman Walter
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
Royal Corps of Signals
Killed in action or died of wounds
Lance Corporal Norman Cassey, 1 Special Service Bde. Signals, died during operations at Le Plein Normandy when the HQ was heavily shelled and mortared.
Sources
CWGC.
War Diary 1 Special Service Brigade Signals [more...].
CHRISTIE, Thomas John
Brigade Signals
Royal Signals
Military Cross (MC)
Commissioned as 2/Lieut. with the Royal Signals on the 29th November 1944 Thomas John Christie was awarded the MC for gallant and distinguished services in NW Europe.
Citation
CHRISTIE, Thomas John
Brigade Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
Military Cross (MC)
Lieutenant Thomas Christie, Lines Officer 1st Commando Brigade Signal Troop, was awarded the M.C. [1] in recognition of gallant and distinguished service during operations in NW Europe, specifically whilst laying out a communications line over a demolished railway bridge across the River Rhine at Wesel [2].
CHRISTOPHER, Robert William
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
3 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
Hertfordshire Regiment
Military Medal (MM)
Corporal Robert Christopher, HQ 1 Commando Brigade, was awarded the Military Medal (Periodic) [1] in recognition of gallant and distinguished services over a prolonged period during operations at Agnone in Sicily, Bova Marina and Termoli in Italy, and at Amfreville, Normandy [2].
CLUBE, Gordon Murray
Brigade Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
Territorial Efficiency Medal
Lieutenant Gordon Clube served in 1 Special Service Brigade Signals [1].
- 11 November 1939 (Private) (Artists Rifles) commissioned Second Lieutenant [2].
- 3 February 1944 relinquishes his commission on account of ill-health, and is granted the hon. rank of Lt [3].
CONNOR, H.
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
[Source: Commando Association Lost Legions List 3].
COX, Graham
Brigade Signals
38v (Welsh) Divisional Signals T.A.
Corporal Graham Cox served in 1 Bde Sigs Troop Jan ’43 – Feb ’44; and 2 Bde Sigs Troop Feb ’44 - Nov ‘45.
DAVIES, Norman
Brigade Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
Killed in action or died of wounds
Signalman Norman Davies died during operations in Germany.
Notes
At the time of his death his Bde. were engaged in operations near Wesel.
DE JONGHE, Arthur Jules Charles Baudoin
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
No 10 Commando
General List
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Bronze Star (USA)
Temporary Captain Vicomte Arthur de Jonghe, a French speaking Belgian national, took part in Operation Chariot, the raid at St Nazaire on 28 March 1942. He was a Liaison Officer embarked on board motor launch ML446 and was evacuated back to the UK after the operation [1].
- Captain De Jonghe is listed in the Personnel Files of the S.O.E [2].
DONNELLY, Terence Alfred
No 3 Commando
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
Royal Norfolk Regiment
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Captain Terence Donnelly, General Staff Officer (GSO 111) 1st Special Service/Commando Brigade HQ [1], was appointed M.B.E. (Military Division) [2] in recognition of gallant and distinguished service during the allied crossing of the River Rhine to capture Wesel.
DUNNING-WHITE, John Michael
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
No 9 Commando
8th Hussars
Mentioned in Despatches
Lieuetenant Colonel John Michael Dunning-White served in 1 Special Service Brigade, No.9 Commando and No.4 Commando. He received a Mention in Despatches in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in Italy.
DYMER, John, C.
Brigade Signals
Corporal John 'Jack' Dymer served in 1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade Signals. Post war member of the Commando Association residing USA.
Sources
Obituaries in Commando Association newsletter 118 issued February 2004.
FUSSELL, Peter Lincoln
No 4 Commando
Royal Army Service Corps
British Empire Medal (BEM)
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Private Peter Fussell served in No 4 Commando, 'F' troop, and took part in operations at Dieppe on 19 August 1942. Later that year he moved to 1 Special Service Brigade HQ (Clerks) [1] and [2].
Post war he was commissioned and retired as a Major in the R.A.O.C.
GLASER, Kurt Joachim
No 10 Commando
Queen's Own Royal West Kent
Killed in action or died of wounds
Kurt Joachim Glaser served in 3 troop, also known as 'X' troop, under the name of Keith James Griffith. He was shot and killed by a sniper during operations with 1 Special Service Bde. to cross a railway bridge over the River Aller near the town of Essel.
GOUGH, Frederick Colin
Special Service Brigade
-
Corporal Frederick Gough served in 1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade. Post war member of the Commando Association residing Douglas, Isle of Man
Sources
Obituaries in Commando Association newsletter 112 issued March 2001.
GOW, Sidney
Brigade Signals
Syd served in 1 Cdo Bde Sigs.
(Image source: CVA Gallery Bde Sigs reunion 16th July 1988.)
HAAS, Francis
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
17 US Airborne Division
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Lieutenant Haas, United States 17 Airborne Division attached to HQ 1st Commando Brigade, was appointed M.B.E. (Military Division) for gallantry during the Rhine crossing at Wesel.
Citation
HOPSON, Donald Charles
No 3 Commando
Lancashire Fusilers, Royal Armoured Corps
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG)
Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
Military Cross (MC)
Mentioned in Despatches
Territorial Decoration (TD)
Second Lieutenant Donald Hopson was commissioned into the Lancashire Fusiliers which later converted to an armoured unit of the Royal Armoured Corps. He served in No 3 Commando and 1 Commando Brigade in both Italy and NW Europe . His last rank whilst in the Commando was Temporary Major.
LOVAT, Lord
No 4 Commando
Lovat Scouts
Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
Military Cross (MC)
Deputy Lieutenant (DL)
Justice of the Peace (JP)
Lord Lovat first enlisted in the Scots Guards in 1932, leaving the army in 1937. Two years later at the outbreak of war he rejoined the Army in the Lovat Scouts. Lord Lovat was part of a small but elite group of men who formed the idea of a Special Training Centre, agreed on the location, and devised and implemented a course of training once it was approved.
MILLS-ROBERTS, Derek
No 6 Commando
Irish Guards
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
Bar to the Distinguished Service Order
Military Cross (MC)
Mentioned in Despatches
Born in 1908; educated at Liverpool College and Oxford University; worked for his father's firm of solicitors, 1935; joined Supplementary Reserve of Officers, Irish Guards, 1936; joined 1 Bn, Irish Guards, 1939-1942, and served in Norway; transferred to special services No 4 Commando, 1942; took part in Dieppe Raid, Aug 1942; Lt Col, 1943; Commanding Officer, No 6 Commando, North Africa, 1943;
MUIR BEDDALL, Hugh Richard
45RM Commando
Royal Marines
Also served in 1st Special Service/Commando Brigade HQ.
NAYLOR, Frederick Thomas
RM Engineer Commando
Royal Marines
Enlisted 17 April 1941. Served in 1 Engineer Company RM and 1 Troop of the RM Engineer Commando with attachments to HQ Special Service (Commando) Group and HQ 1 Commando Brigade. Commando service from August 1943 to January 1946.
NEALE, Peter Walter James
RM Engineer Commando
Royal Marines
Military Cross (MC)
Captain (Acting Lieutenant Colonel) Peter Neale RM, 1st RM Engineer Commando attached to 1 Commando Brigade [1+3], was awarded the Military Cross for bravery and great devotion to duty whilst operating with the allied army in North West Europe [2].
NORTON, E.J.
Brigade Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
1 Brigade Signal Troop.
NORTON, James Albert
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
Royal Corps of Signals
Signalman James Norton, 1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade, was wounded during the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944. He received a 21st Army Group Certificate for Gallantry. Post war resided Hunstanton Norfolk and was a well respected member of the community as seen in the newspaper obituary below.
PHILLOTT, Albert William Kenneth
No 4 Commando
Gloucestershire Regiment
Albert William Kenneth Phillott, then a Private and known as Ken, was one of the early volunteers to join No 4 Commando in 1940 aged 20. He was amongst a group of eight from the Glosters who served in 'G' (later 'B') troop of No 4.
POLLOCK, John, S.
Brigade Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
1 Special Service Brigade Signals. Wounded 16 August 1944 Bois de Bavant Normandy. Post war member of the Commando Association from Appleton, Oxfordshire.
Sources
Commando Association newsletters 98 and 102.
War Diary (see Linked Content below).
RAMSEY, J.
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
Royal Army Medical Corps
Attached to HQ 1 Special Service Brigade 1944.
Source
Army Casualty Lists / National Archives file WO417/77.
SMITH, Anthony, D.C.
No 4 Commando
Intelligence Corps
Lieutenant Anthony Smith was the Intelligence Officer for No. 4 Commando at Dieppe, and later Brigade Intelligence Officer, rank Acting Captain, 1st Special Service Brigade HQ at Normandy.
SPILLER, Reginald Stanley
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
-
Private Reginald Spiller served in 1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade HQ. Post war member of the Commando Association residing Dorset.
Sources
Obituaries in Commando Association newsletter 118 issued February 2004.
SUMMERHAYES, Arthur James
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
Royal Marines
Killed in action or died of wounds
Sergeant Arthur Summerhayes, 1 Commando Brigade HQ, died at the 22nd British Field Dressing Station, Germany. At the time of his death 1 Commando Brigade were engaged in operations at the River Aller near Issel.
WALKER, J.E.
Brigade Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
1 Special Service Brigade Signals. Wounded 16 August 1944 Bois de Bavant Normandy.
Sources
War Diary (see Linked Content below).
Casualty Lists / National Archives file WO417/80.
WHALEBELLY, L.
Brigade Signals
1 Brigade Signal Troop.
Sources
Commando Association Lost Legion 11.
CVA Gallery image.
WHEELER, George Russell
No 2 Commando
Royal Sussex Regiment
Military Medal (MM)
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
George Wheeler, a pupil of Godolphin School, Wiltshire, graduated as a BSc from Exeter University. He married in 1941. After enlistment he volunteered for the Commandos and was attached to No 2 Commando
WHITE, R.M.
Brigade Signals
Brigade Signal Troop.
Post war 1946, residing in Buenos Aires Argentina.
[Source: Commando Association newsletter 3].
Notes
WHITE, W.H.
Brigade Signals
1 Brigade Signal Troop.
[Source: Commando Association Lost Legion 11].
WHITLEY, A.M.R.
1 Special Service (Commando) Brigade
Served in 1 Bde. Signal Troop.
[Source: Commando Association newsletter 74.]
WILD, D.W,
Brigade Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
1 Brigade Signal Troop.
[Source: Commando Association Lost Legion 11].
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