I've been meaning to write up the stories my grandfather told me of his WW2 experiences as a member of Royal Marines 41 Commando. Grandpa didn't like talking about the war, he was never proud of what he'd done. In fact, his daughter in law (my mother) had no idea he'd even fought until she'd known him for about 30 years. But he told me and some other family members a few incredible tales (one in particular I just did not believe until after he passed and I read the story almost word for word in a book).

As a young Englishman, he wanted to go fight. But he had several problems, he was too young and his family didn't want him to go. So he forged some signatures and headed off to the recruiting station. For some reason he was honest about his age, and the recruiter gave him the now classic line "Son, go outside and have a birthday". So he did.

Not long after this, he was at basic training. This was where he was selected as a commando. He was given a rifle and a pack, directed towards a (near-freezing) river and told to get across without getting the pack wet, or the gun. Now, my grandpa was a great swimmer, he credits that with keeping him alive. But being a young, headstrong lad he disobeyed orders. He threw the pack in the water, sat astride it and used the rifle butt as an oar. When he reached the opposite bank, 2 men appeared from the darkness. Grandpa thought he was in for it, but they extended a hand, pulled him out of the water and simply said "We've got a job for you".

He never mentioned much to me about what he experienced at Achnacarry (the Scottish estate where the commandoes were trained). So the next I know of, he was in a landing boat, headed for Sword. As they landed, 41 CDO took casualties, including a number of officers. There were men scattered across the beach, pinned down by enemy fire. At this point, Lord Lovat came ashore, with Bill Millin. I'm sure most of you know that story, but for those who don't I'll throw it in anyway.

Lord Lovat, seeing his men pinned down ordered Bill (his personal piper) to play his bagpipes for the men. Bill didn't want to do it, because the War Office had recently put out an order banning the playing of pipes in battle.

"Ah, but that's the English War Office. You and I are both Scottish, and that doesn't apply."

So off Bill went, marching back and forth between the men, playing Highland Laddie and a couple of other songs I can't remember off the top of my head. At this point, seeing Bill marching back and forth entirely unmolested by enemy fire, my grandpa thought to himself "If that idiot is still alive, I can make it through". And quite a few of his fellow marines had reached the same conclusion. They got off that beach. (Reportedly when they captured some German troops, and asked why they hadn't shot Bill, they said they'd thought he'd gone mad in the heat of battle).

Now for the story I didn't believe. For some reason (I think a surrendering German got within a few hundred metres of him), Monty was given a unit of commandos as bodyguards for one single night not long after D-day. The reason it only lasted one night was my grandpa. Grandpa was given watch duty for the first night, and they'd secretly dug a foxhole underneath Monty's caravan. Even Monty wasn't aware they were using commandos to guard him. So grandpa crawls into the foxhole that night with his Thompson, and prepares for a long night of boredom. About 11pm though, the door to the caravan opens, spilling light out into the darkness. Monty appears, he walks out into the night. But he's holding a torch, and it looks like he's trying to spot something in the distance. My grandpa just shouted "PUT THAT BLOODY LIGHT OUT". Monty scurried back into his caravan, saying absolutely nothing to grandpa. The next day, RM 41 was put back on combat duties, and grandpa was everyones favourite person for a little while.

He fought in a few more battles after that, before getting wounded at Walcheren. His Thompson had double fed and jammed, so he was trying to clear that jam as he and his squad went over a berm. He was a few steps behind, so further up the slope than the 4 men in front of him. Nobody saw the MG42 position until it fired, taking out the 4 men in front of him and shredding his leg. He was evacuated back to England, and that was the end of his war.

Though on his return to England, he found that the money he'd been sending back had been stolen by his family. He decided to join the Merchant Navy after the war, and ended up touring the world. He fell in love with NZ, and spent most of the rest of his life as a mental health nurse.