| ID | Description | Categories | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1882 | SEYMOUR, William. British Special Forces. xxvi, 334p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1985. ISBN: 0586069216.
Covers all WWII forces from Commandos to COPP and the Special Boat Section. Also 50 pages on postwar special forces. |
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| 1883 | SIMPSON-JONES, Peter. Nine Lives, or the Felix Factor: the Story of a Naval Officer in SOE in World War II as Told to Peter Brutton. 176p., illus. London: Elliott & Thompson, 2005. ISBN: 1904027393.
His career began in the Royal Navy, surviving the Portsmouth Blitz and an attack by sharks off Reunion, both vividly described, before he joined the SOE. His role as off-shore navigational lead marker was crucial to the Anzio operation's success. |
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| 1884 | STRUTTON, Bill, & PEARSON, Michael. The Secret Invaders. 287p., illus. London: Hodder & Stoughton; New York: British Book Centre, 1958.
A popular account of the work of the Combined Operations Pilotage Parties, who operated in advance of the Allied invasions in Europe and the Southeast Asia Command area. |
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| 1885 | SUTHERLAND, David. He Who Dares: Recollections of Service in the SAS, SBS and MI5. xviii, 203p., illus., index. London: Cooper: Annapolis: NIP, 1999. ISBN: 155750346X.
The modest but engaging memoirs of a founding member of the WWII raiding forces. As a young subaltern in the Black Watch he took part in the retreat to Dunkirk. He swiftly joined the Commandos then the SAS and SBS and played an active and daring part in their Eastern Mediterranean Operations. |
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| 1886 | THOMPSON, Julian. The Imperial War Museum Book of War behind Enemy Lines. xxix, 476p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1998. ISBN: 157488381X.
Excellent original research on clandestine operations. Strong on SBS activities and the war in the Aegean and Adriatic. |
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| 1887 | TRENOWDEN, Ian. Operations Most Secret. SOE: The Malayan Theatre. 231p., bib-liog., illus., index. London: Kimber, 1978. ISBN: 071830036X. Force 136 (Group B)'s exploits are recorded. They mounted special operations from Ceylon between January 1943 and the end of the war. They were landed by air and submarine. Reprinted in a revised edition by Crecy Books in 1994 (ISBN: 0947554432). |
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| 1888 | TRENOWDEN, Ian. Stealthily by Night: The COPPists. Clandestine Beach Reconnaissance and Operations in World War II. xiv, 250p., bibliog., illus., index. [n.p.]: Crecy, 1995. ISBN: 0947554548.
Relying heavily on unpublished, oral and official material, this is an authoritative and readable account of all COPP operations. |
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| 1889 | VERNEY, John. Going to the Wars: A Journey in Various Directions. 255p. London: Collins; New York: Dodd Mead, 1955.
An army autobiography. For a time he served with an irregular unit which was involved in an abortive raid on an airbase in Sicily. This meant extensive cooperation with the Navy. |
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| 1890 | WINDMILL, Lorna Almonds. A British Achilles: The Story of George, 2nd Earl Jellicoe KBE DSO MC FRS 20th Century Soldier, Politician, Statesman. xxii, 256p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Leo Cooper, 2005. ISBN: 1844158810.
Jellicoe's war, mostly in the SAS and SBS, could hardly have been more out of the ordinary, exciting or, for the reader, stirring. His is an enviable record of behind-the-lines action against the King's enemies, epitomised by winning a DSO as a 24-year-old lieutenant — a rare distinction indeed for one so junior. |
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| 1891 | ASHDOWN, Paddy. A Brilliant Little Operation: The Cockleshell Heroes and the Most Courageous Raid of WW2. xxvii, 420p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Aurum, 2012. ISBN: 9781845137014.
The seventieth anniversary of the raid is marked with yet another definitive account. In this case Lord Ashdown is a former member of the SBS and writes fluently and using new sources. |
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| 1892 | DOWNTON, Roger & DOWNTON, Sandra. In War Heroes Wake. 144p., illus. Poole: Traveller's Joy Publishing, 2005. ISBN: 0955016606.
The story of the raid intermingled with the authors attempts to retrace the journey of the raiders by canoe. |
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| 1893 | LYMAN, Robert. Operation Suicide: The Remarkable Story of the Cockleshell Raid. xxii, 346 p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Quercus, 2012. ISBN: 9780857382405.
From a respected historian this claims to be the first full account of the raid for fifty years. |
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| 1894 | PHILLIPS, C. E. Lucas. Cockleshell Heroes. ix, 252p., illus. London: Heinemann, 1956.
The story of Operation Frankton, the raid on enemy shipping in Bordeaux Harbour by a small party of Royal Marines in 1942. |
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| 1895 | REES, Quentin. Cockleshell Heroes: The Final Witness. 320p., bibliog., illus., index. Stroud: Amberley, 2010. ISBN: 184868861X. Claims to be the definitive account of the mission. Republished in 2013 by Amberley to mark the 75th anniversary of the raid with the new sub-title, The Definitive History (ISBN: 9781445616898). |
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| 1896 | SPARKS, William. Cockleshell Commando. [x], 146p., illus., index. Barnsley: Cooper, 2003. ISBN: 0850522978.
There is a brief account of the famous raid on Bordeaux, including an appendix giving a contemporary German view of the raid. However the bulk of the book is made up of his memoirs of service with the SBS in the Aegean and his post-war career in the Malayan police and in retirement. A lively memoir. Reprinted by Seaforth in 2009. |
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| 1897 | SPARKS, William, with MUNN, Michael. The Last of the Cockleshell Heroes: A World War Two Memoir. 152p., illus. London: Cooper, 1992. ISBN: 0850522978.
Sparks joined the Marines in 1939 and spent two years on Renown. After a spell of illness and the death of his brother on Naiad he joined the Commandos. He was in the cockle with the leader of the raid on Bordeaux Harbour, Major Hasler. The raid and their escape to Spain are described. |
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| 1898 | BAKER, Richard. The Terror of Tobermory: An Informal Biography of Vice-Admiral Sir Gilbert Stephenson, KBE, CB, CMG. 196p., illus., index. London: W. H. Allen, 1972. ISBN: 0491004095. Admiral Gilbert “Monkey” Stephenson was an unorthodox, unpredictable and colourful personality who ran the training base HMS Western Isles at Tobermory with a unique style which earned him the eponymous title. Over 1000 escort vessels worked up there. Some seventy pages of this biography are devoted to his wartime career. |
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| 1899 | BARKER, Eric. Steady Barker! The Autobiography of Eric Barker. 240p., illus. London: Secker & Warburg, 1956.
Includes 30 pages on his war service, mainly in training establishments. |
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| 1900 | BEBBINGTON, Graham. Ship Without Water: The Story of HMS Daedalus II, Clayton Hall, Newcastle-Under-Lyme. 96p., illus. Leek: Churnet Valley, 1999. ISBN: 1897949634.
Daedalus II specialised in air engineering training for the Fleet Air Arm. |
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| 1901 | COLEMAN, E.C. The Royal Navy in Lincolnshire. ix, 82p., illus., index. Boston, Richard Kay, 1991. ISBN: 0902662996.
A slight general work with some useful material on the major Skegness training base, HMS Royal Arthur. A new edition was published in 1998. (ISBN: 0902662899). |
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