| ID | Description | Categories | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2482 | McDOUGALL, Murdoch C. Swiftly They Struck: The Story of No. 4 Commando. 208p., illus. London: Odhams, 1954.
Describes his troop of the Commando from creation to Dieppe, Normandy, and NW Europe. Reprinted by Arms & Armour in 1986 (ISBN: 0853687390). |
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| 2483 | MACKSEY, Kenneth. Godwin's Saga: A Commando Epic. x, 149p., illus., index. London: Brassey's, 1987. ISBN: 0080347428.
John Godwin joined the RN in 1941 and was soon serving as an Able Seaman on Ark Royal. After her sinking he was trained at King Alfred, commissioned, and volunteered for Combined Operations. In late 1942, 16 men from No. 14 (Arctic) Commando were selected for special training and Godwin soon had a group of six who raided Norway in May 1943. They sank a minesweeper with limpet mines, were captured, and taken to Sachsenhausen. Most of the group died in a desperate revolt in February 1945. |
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| 2484 | MASON, Herbert Molloy. The Commandos. 154p., illus. New York: Duell Sloane and Pearce, 1966.
A romanticised account of their raids, which shows everyone as blameless heroes. |
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| 2485 | MASTERS, Peter. Striking Back: A Jewish Commando's War against the Nazis. xiii, 340p., bibliog., illus., index. Novata, Calif.: Presidio, 1997. ISBN: 0891416293.
The author served in 3 Troop of 10 Commando, which largely consisted of Jews who had escaped from Europe and who fought under assumed names. They took part in various clandestine commando operations, notably in Northern Europe from 1944 onward. |
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| 2486 | MESSENGER, Charles. The Commandos 1940–1946. 447p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Kimber, 1985. ISBN: 0718305531. A comprehensive and authoritative account. |
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| 2487 | MESSENGER, Charles, YOUNG, George, & ROSE, Stephen. The Middle East Commandos. 176p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Kimber, 1988. ISBN: 0718306457.
Nos. 50, 51, and 52 Commando were raised in the Middle East in the late summer of 1940. They raided in North Africa, suffered a bad defeat at Castelorizzo, became part of Layforce, and fought in Crete. After much reorganisation, the units disappeared by the end of 1942. |
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| 2488 | MICHELLI, Alison. Commando to Captain-General: The Life of Brigadier Peter Young. xiv, 258 p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2007. ISBN: 1844156516. A good account of this inspirational leader and his active war from Norway to Burma. |
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| 2489 | MILLS–ROBERTS, Derek. Clash by Night: A Commando Chronicle. 204, [4]p., illus. London: Kimber, 1956.
He was second-in-command of No.4 Commando at Dieppe before taking command of No.6 Commando in North Africa, operating with First Army. In Normandy he took command of the 1st Commando Brigade and led them through the battles in NW Europe to VE Day. |
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| 2490 | NEILLANDS, Robin. The Raiders: The Army Commandos 1940–46. xii, 242p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Weidenfeld, 1989. ISBN: 0297794264.
Full of firsthand accounts of all their actions. Excellent |
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| 2491 | OWEN, James. Commando: Winning World War II Behind Enemy Lines. Xxxiii, 413p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Little Brown, 2012. ISBN: 9781408703021.
Uses official records as well as veterans' reminiscences to create a good popular account built around individual operations. |
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| 2492 | PURDON, Corran. List the Bugle: Reminiscences of an Irish Soldier. x, 377p., illus., index. Antrim: Greystone, 1993. ISBN: 1870157192.
From an Irish army family, he seemed destined for the Royal Ulster Rifles and went to Sandhurst in July 1939. After passing out he soon volunteered for special service and joined 12 Commando. They took part in the Lofotens raid then the St Nazaire raid, with Purdon actually on Campbeltown. He was wounded and captured and spent the rest of the war as a POW, latterly in Colditz. He went on to an active and successful military career. An engaging autobiography. |
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| 2493 | SAUNDERS, Hilary St. George. The Green Beret: The Story of the Commandos 1940–1945. 362p., illus., index. London: Joseph, 1949.
Partly based on the official government pamphlet Combined Operations. |
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| 2494 | STANLEY, Peter. Commando to Colditz: Micky Burn's Journey to the Far Side of Tears – the Raid on St Nazaire. 303p., bibliog., illus., index. Millers Point, NSW: Pier 9, 2009. ISBN: 1741963842
The story of 6 Troop, Number 2 Commando. While the focus is on Burn and the St Nazaire Raid, this is a sympathetic account of the families of POWs and of life in Colditz. |
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| 2495 | THOMPSON, Leroy. British Commandos in Action (Combat Troops in Action, No. 8). 50p., illus. Carrollton: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1987. ISBN: 089747192X.
A heavily illustrated guide to their training and operations. |
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| 2496 | VAN DER BIJL, Nick. Commandos in Exile: The Story of 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando 1942-1945. xvii, 226p., bibliog.., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2008. ISBN: 1844157903.
This unique unit composed of exiles was deployed widely from Norway to the Far East in a vast array of raiding operations. |
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| 2497 | WRIGHT, Derek Yardley. Something about St. Ives: Some History and Reminiscences about the CMWTC (Royal Marine Historical Society Special Publication, No. 17). 72p., illus., plus tipped in map. Portsmouth: Royal Marine Historical Society, 1995.
A nostalgic look at the Commando Mountain Warfare Training Centre and how it operated. |
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| 2498 | YOUNG, Peter. Storm from the Sea. 221, [3]p., illus. London: Kimber, 1958.
The autobiography of an immensely experienced officer who was in action with the Commandos at every major engagement from the first raid on Guernsey in 1940 through Lofoten, Vaagso, Dieppe, Sicily, D-Day and finally Arakan. Reprinted by Greenhill in 1989 (ISBN: 1853670316). |
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| 2499 | AVERY, K. R. A Dose of Salts. 270p., illus. Braunton: Merlin, 1988. ISBN: 0863033806.
The memoir of a 30-year career in which the author rose from Sick Bay Attendant to Lieutenant Commander. About 80 sometimes gruesome pages view the war from the sick bay. He was in Singapore in 1939, returned to Plymouth in 1940, went to the US and eventually joined Stalker on her commissioning. She saw action in the Mediterranean and after convoy work, he left in early 1944 to be based at Plymouth. He was there for a year before moving to Australia for the final months of the war. An interesting tale from an unusual viewpoint. |
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| 2500 | BAGSHAW, Robert. Toothy Goes to War: Memoirs of a Dental Officer 1939–46. 175p., illus. [Wymondham: author], 1987. ISBN: 0900616245.
The author began his training as a dentist in London in 1939 and joined up in 1943. He served in shore establishments on the south coast and at Lowestoft and was always on the fringe of great events. |
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| 2501 | BARKER, Ralph. Down in the Drink: True Stories of the Goldfish Club. 253p., illus., index. London: Chatto & Windus, 1955.
Eight lightly dramatised tales of the rescue of pilots who had to bale out over the sea. |
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