12 Commando - Bruneval

One of my friends has been to the PRO in London and extracted the following from the 12 Commando war diary and some other documents. Hope it is of use. It seems that the Fusiliers were not part of 12 Commando, but still not clear why they were used?

Regards,

Richard

12 Commando Diary (WO 218/41)
"CO Harrison
Feb 1st Strength 25 offciers and 356 OR's
6th Lieut RO Livingstone Royal Ulster Rifles attached wef 4th Feb 1942
10th Lieut BA Parnwell Royal Fusiliers attached wef 7th Feb 1942
13th 09.15 Rear Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten KCVO etc. etc. etc. etc. Commodore Combined operations instpected the Commando on board HMS Osprey and made a short address.
17th Letter received by OC No 12 Commando from (Mountbatten) "

(nothing after 17th)

(Letter attached, ... standard of drill very high, realism of battle enacted, sorry they got frozen up in doing it - he thought of the troops when he was drinking the hot coffee they gave him.)

Before that - Jan .... 1st, 12.30 hrs Prins Albert anchored at Scapa Flow, 7th Personnel from PA go on leave, retuning 20th , 26th No 12 Commando embarked Ayr, disembarked Dunoon 12.30 hrs

then March ... in Dunoon, most small exercises, church parade and visits from senior ranks

Other months had simiar ... details of moves to places around Scotland, football matches as well as comings and goings of senior personnel. Only at the bottom of the May page was there anything of note:

Note: On the night of 27/28 March 1942 3 Officers, (Lieut Brett RUR, Lieut CWB Purdon (RUR) Lieut P Bassett-Wilson (Royal Inniskillin Fusilliers) and 13 OR took part in the operation at St Nazaire.
Casualties 2 Officers - Brett and Purdon and 8 OR P of W
5 ORs missing

DEFE 2/45, DEFE 2/103 WO 106/4133

DEFE 2/103 ... About 40 photos - of which 1- 18 Boat Training for Bruneval, 19 to 25 Parachutist training 26-33 return from Bruneval and the remainder an operation at Boulogne. There are troop pictures, lots of landing craft at shore and at sea, some where you can make out the troops on board.

WO 106/4133 The Browning report - " Operation Biting Report by Mj Gen FAM Browning DSO Commander, the Airborne Division"

Chiefs of Staff agreed on 21st Jan to operation, and to make available "1 op Whitley Squadron from Bomber Command RAF, I company Parachute troops, sufficient light naval craft to evacuate the force by sea, and later decided to include personnel of 5 corps to act as escort to ALCs - not to operate on land"

Section headed "Other troops taking part"
"5 ORs per ALC to act soley as escort to the ALCs
Each of the parties were armed with four Bren LMGs (with 500 rpg) and 4 anti tank rifles (with 40 rpg) .
To provide the required numbers and reserves, one officer and 25 ORs from each of 8th Monmouth and 11th Bn Royal Fusiliers joined HMS Prince Albert at Inverary on 10th Feb and remained on board her on in the ALCs until 1st March 1942. 20 ORs from each regiment actually accompanied the ALCs but did not land or attack the beach defences."

Browning talked a lot about the need for maximum security (hence, presumably the lack of any mention in the War Diaries) - although they carried 3 members of the press who went in the ALCs. Reports were allowed in full, except couldn't say that they captured the Radio equipment. Talked also about difficulties keeping it secret, having to use 'outside' troops one of the problems here.
Mission accomplished night 27th - 28th Feb no casualties among Corps, RN or RAF, amongst C company 2 Para Bn : I killed, 7 wounded, 7 left in France.

Medical report said that 'a fairly large proportion of troops taking part were sick incl Ships crews, Bren Gunners, Para Troops and 3 of the RAMC. Some of the Gunners couldn't operate guns. (Seas elsewhere reported as being extremely rough and very cold.

Since my last post above in December 2011, several new prices of information have come to my attention.

The photograph in the Brighton changing room uploaded in an earlier post shows my father and Cyril Tooze, in Royal Fusiliers uniforms with the 'Bow Bells' flash of the 2nd (London) Infantry Division, which was redesignated as the 47th (London) Infantry Division in November 1941.

Secondly, I have received a copy of the book by Alain Millet and Nicolas Bucourt, 'Raid de Bruneval Mysteres et Verite'. Page 251 has a partial list of the men form the 11th Battalion Royal Fusiliers who took part, (and a list of those from the 4th Battalion Monouthshire Regiment and the South Wales Borderers).

The Fusiliers recorded are:-

Sgt. Powell
Sgt. Bassingswaite
Sgt.Mills
Sgt.Delaney
Cpl. Harrison
Cpl.Webber
Cpl. Bure
Cpl. Morgan [My father Alfred Stanley Morgan]
L/Cpl. Brooker [I have identified as John Leonard Brooker]
Cpl. (?) Mattheus

Pte. Hall
Pte. Jenkins
Pte. James
Pte. Anderson
Pte. Truster
Pte. Pitt
Pte.Hubbard
Pte. Williams
Pte. Norton
Pte. Tooze [My father?s colleague Cyril Ernest Tooze]
Pte. Gardner
Pte. Evans
Pte. Knight

The information in the book also allowed me to decipher a line in my father's service record which records that he was posted to '5 Corps School' ? which should be V Corps School of Raiding at Warsash - from 2.2.1942 to 4.2.1942. I?m assuming that this would be for familiarization with landing craft.

From the list above I have identified (by searching the internet) that John Leonard Brooker later became an officer in the Durham Light Infantry. In the 1990s he recorded several hours interviews with the Imperial War Museum. (IWM 16727/8), which I have obtained.

Brooker's tapes cover several matters which appear on my father's record and some new ground. Brooker was called up in January 1940 and did basic training at Totteridge. He soon joined the 11th Battalion Royal Fusiliers which was based at Harpenden. The Battalion was undergoing training in the area. [There is no suggestion that it was associated in any way with the SOE establishment there.] The Battalion was mobilized to go to France, before Dunkirk, but was turned back (at Braintree) when it was on the way to Tilbury.

Following Dunkirk, the Battalion moved to New Milton in Hampshire. It became part of V Corps commanded by Montgomery (Responsible for Hampshire and Dorset). [Montgomery commanded V Corps from 22 July 1940 until 27 April 1941.] Montgomery introduced the pincer movement battle plan and other training schemes. There were forced marches and extended exercises on Salisbury Plains.

Brooker eventually became a member of the Pioneer Platoon. It was this Platoon which was selected for the operation. They travelled to Inveraray via Glasgow. They spent three weeks with Royal Navy on 'Royal Albert', sleeping in hammocks. The paratroopers joined them at Inveraray for rehearsals. The Fusiliers and South Wales Borderers had a compliment of five men in each landing craft, with one Bren gun and one Boys gun. They practiced at Inveraray. They sailed back on HMS Prins Albert through Irish Sea to Portland.

They were not told of the true nature of the operation until immediately before it commenced. They were not volunteers. They had no idea what they were going to do. They had a big welcome back in Portsmouth with flags, etc. They were given two weeks leave after returning in recognition of their service.

The description given by Brooker regarding to manning of the landing craft, matches that relating to the reported role performed by 12 Commando. The photographs both on this site and those available of the rehearsals and the return from the operation elsewhere, seem to corroborate this. On the other hand, Brooker himself makes no claim to have been a Commando, or to have had Commando training. He could type and served for a lengthy period as the Quartermaster's clerk. He is clear that he took part as a member of the Pioneer Platoon of the 11th Royal Fusiliers.

I would be grateful for any feedback on the above.