I recently put a post on LinkedIn about Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne. 2.6k likes and 110k impressions from the business community. As Churchill said “when shall their glory fade?” Clearly never in the case of Blair Mayne. LinkedIn connection in the bio. #linkedin #paddymayne #sas #ww2 #legend 📷 AP/Bonhams
‘We think of the Commandos…and of their gleaming deeds under every sky and clime. We think of the Airborne Forces…men who hurled themselves unflinching into the void. When we recall all this, we may feel sure that nothing of which we have any knowledge or record has ever been done by mortal men which surpasses the splendour and daring of their feats of arms. Truly we may say of them…When shall their glory fade?’
Winston Churchill at the unveiling of the Combined Services Memorial in Westminster Abbey, 21st May 1948
#commando #armycommando #royalmarinecommando #airborne #para #parachute #ww2
📷 @iwmlondon
Men of No. 3 Commando during street fighting training in the East End of London, 1944, in preparation for Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of North West Europe. Among the most active units in the Second World War they saw action in Norway, France, Sicily, Italy, and Germany. 📷 @nam_london
Ranger Frank Koons may be the first Ranger recognized for bravery. Here he is after being awarded the British Military Medal for actions at Dieppe while attached to the Commandos.
#ranger #ww2 #militaryhistory #hero #legend
Between 1941 and 1945, over 25,000 Allied Special Forces personnel trained in the Scottish Highlands.
British Commandos, SAS, SBS, SOE agents, Polish paratroopers, American Rangers, and the legendary Norwegian Kompani Linge all passed through this rugged landscape.
They learned Arctic warfare in the Cairngorms, amphibious raids along the Ayrshire coast, and clandestine tradecraft in the isolated SOE "finishing schools" of Arisaig so secret that locals required special passes to enter the area.
At Achnacarry Castle, the "Commando Castle," recruits faced a training regime so brutal that the drill square was paved with asphalt to prevent it turning to mud from constant use.
They practised the "death slide" into the River Arkaig, learned silent killing from Fairbairn and Sykes, and marched until they dropped.
The row of graves beside the training ground reminded every man that failure here meant death behind enemy lines.
In the remote lodges of Arisaig SOE agents received their final preparation. Here, Czech agents prepared for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. Here, men and women learned to parachute, to kill, to survive torture, and to return to occupied Europe as Churchill's "Ungentlemanly warriors."
This October, SOE Expeditions returns to these hallowed grounds. Over seven days, we journey from the Norwegian memorial at Drumintoul to the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge. From the SOE training lodges of Arisaig to the beaches where Polish paratroopers practised night landings.
Join us and walk in the footsteps of Special Forces legends. Spaces are limited, the legacy of the Elite Raiders awaits.
#ww2history #specialforces #SOE #Commandos #eliteraiders
Between 1941 and 1945, over 25,000 Allied Special Forces personnel trained in the Scottish Highlands.
British Commandos, SAS, SBS, SOE agents, Polish paratroopers, American Rangers, and the legendary Norwegian Kompani Linge all passed through this rugged landscape.
They learned Arctic warfare in the Cairngorms, amphibious raids along the Ayrshire coast, and clandestine tradecraft in the isolated SOE "finishing schools" of Arisaig so secret that locals required special passes to enter the area.
At Achnacarry Castle, the "Commando Castle," recruits faced a training regime so brutal that the drill square was paved with asphalt to prevent it turning to mud from constant use.
They practised the "death slide" into the River Arkaig, learned silent killing from Fairbairn and Sykes, and marched until they dropped.
The row of graves beside the training ground reminded every man that failure here meant death behind enemy lines.
In the remote lodges of Arisaig SOE agents received their final preparation. Here, Czech agents prepared for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. Here, men and women learned to parachute, to kill, to survive torture, and to return to occupied Europe as Churchill's "Ungentlemanly warriors."
This October, SOE Expeditions returns to these hallowed grounds. Over seven days, we journey from the Norwegian memorial at Drumintoul to the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge, from the SOE training lodges of Arisaig to the beaches where Polish paratroopers practised night landings.
Join us and walk in the footsteps of legends. Spaces are strictly limited. The legacy of the Elite Raiders awaits.
#ww2 #specialforces #soe #commandos #eliteraiders #scotland
In one of the classic images of the Second World War, Sergeant “Bunny” Austin of No. 4 Commando lights a cigarette for Sergeant Alex Szima of the 1st US Ranger Battalion at Newhaven after the Dieppe raid in August 1942.
Sergeant Szima was one of four US Rangers attached to No. 4 Commando for the raid on the 155 mm coastal defence guns of No. 813 Battery near Varangeville-sur-Mer. The three others were Sergeant Kenneth Stempson, Corporal Bill Brady, the tall man in the centre of the photograph, and Corporal Franklin “Zip” Koons.
For his ‘conspicuous gallantry and admirable leadership’ during the raid, Corporal Koons from Iowa, who is thought to have been the first ‘American soldier to kill a German on European soil’ in World War II, was awarded the British Military Medal on the recommendation of Lord Lovat, commanding officer of No. 4 Commando. #ww2 #commando #rangers #allies
A Royal Navy Westland Sea King HAS2 of 825 Naval Air Squadron takes off after transporting J Company, 42 Commando, Royal Marines from Port San Carlos to Darwin on the 28th May 1982. 📷 IWM #royalmarines #royalmarinescommando #royalnavy #falklands #helicopter #westland #seaking
📸 RN Phot Throwback | Alan Ferguson — Part 2
Operational tours put Royal Navy photographers right in the thick of it. Alan’s time with 42 Commando in Northern Ireland was exactly that, documenting real events as they unfolded.
“While on the Northern Ireland tour with 42 Cdo I was photographing a night scene of a bombing and had my camera on a tripod for a long exposure when an RUC policeman sauntered past me saying, ‘You can be seen from those flats over there.’ Needless to say, I quickly moved.”
#RNPhot #RoyalMarines #42Commando #MilitaryPhotography
📸 RN Phot Throwback | Alan Ferguson — Part 1: Life with the Royals “Looking back on the photographs I have taken in my 18 years as an RN Photographer has brought back some great memories. I joined the branch after 7 years as a Control Electrical Mechanic, during which time I also served as a ship's photographer, requiring to juggle both roles.
As a fully fledged professional RN Photographer, it meant I could concentrate on the role I loved. I undertook a variety of drafts, including being based with the Royal Marines at RM Poole and 42 Commando; the Fleet Photographic Unit and being attached to ships on deployments; the Photographic Section at Portland, and finally as an instructor at the Joint School of Photography at RAF Cosford.”
From Poole to 42 Commando, Alan’s early days with the Royal Marines gave him a front-row seat to the green side of operations — experiences that would shape his 18-year career behind the lens.
#RNPhot #RoyalNavy #RoyalMarines #42Commando #RM #Throwback #ThroughTheLens
Members of the Long Range Desert Group with a jeep armed with twin Vickers Class K-guns. Founded in July 1940, the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) specialised in raids and reconnaissance behind enemy lines. Masters of desert navigation, they relied on lightly-armed jeeps and lorries to traverse the desert and gather intelligence. The LRDG’s ‘Road Watch’ reports on Axis troop movements were vital to Allied successes.
#longrangedesertgroup #lrdg #ww2 #vickers #jeep 📷 @nam_london
