The thirty-eight Battle Honours awarded to the Commando Association by Her Majesty the Queen in 1958 serve as an apt prologue to this short history of the five years of active service by the Commandos in World War II.  

Look at this formidable list and one notes it is not limited to any one theatre of war, but on the contrary the actions fought were world-wide, in-as-much as the Commandos fought with great distinction in Norway, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Sicily, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, the Adriatic Islands in North Africa, Crete, Syria, Eritrea, Abyssinia, Madagascar and even further afield in Burma. 

Furthermore, it should be emphasised that the operations and campaigns mentioned as Battle Honours recognise only those deemed to be really outstanding feats of arms. As such they represent only a fraction of the raids and battles fought by Commandos in those five years.  

For example, many of the daring raids carried out by the specialist Commando units and groups on the enemy-held coastline of North-West Europe prior to D Day are covered by the single Battle Honour of "North-West Europe 1942-44"; by the same token many of the operations carried out in the Middle East by the Commandos formed out there and also those sent out there from Britain ('Layforce') are covered by the single Honour, "North Africa 1941-43".

In addition, the many decorations, British and foreign, awarded to the officers and men of  the Commandos also provide an impressive record of individual bravery and courage in  action. In his early 'Short History of the Commandos', Brigadier Peter Young, himself an outstanding Commando leader and prominent post-war military historian, provided the following totals: eight Victoria Crosses, thirty seven Distinguished Service Orders (DSO), with nine bars, one hundred and sixty two Military Crosses (MC) with thirteen bars, thirty two Distinguished Conduct Medals (DCM) and no fewer than two hundred and eighteen Military Medals (MM).

There were, as mentioned earlier, additional foreign decorations including the Legion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre. But one should also remember - and acknowledge - that there were many acts of bravery that went unrewarded too.

So much for the historic legacies that bear testimony to the deeds of those who served in the Commandos, but when, why and how was this unique force raised (for no such  specialised military forces existed in the British Army before World War II) and what type of men volunteered to serve in them?

It was in the dark days of 1940 when Britain's fortunes, following the fall of France and the evacuation from Dunkirk, were at their lowest ebb that the formation of the Commandos began.

At the time the Nazis occupied practically all of North West Europe and with their Fascist ally, Italy, threatened the Balkans and the Middle East. With command of the coastline from the Arctic to almost the Pyrenees, the enemy stood poised and prepared to invade these Islands.

The threat of invasion was real and completely dominated the thoughts and daily lives of all. They were grim days.

Yet in spite of the urgent need to concentrate on defence the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was not content to rely on just passive defensive measures. He boldly advocated some form of limited offensive action against the enemy's extended and vulnerable coastline of Europe.

So, with this in mind, he advocated the raising of a special service force. He suggested that, in the short term, and raised immediately, they would be available to "spring at the throat" of any enemy seaborne or parachute landings.

These Special Service troops (or 'Commandos' as they ultimately became known) would carry out a campaign of 'hit-and-run' raids on the enemy-held coastlines and thereby create 'a reign of terror' on the enemy prior to the eventual invasion and liberation - for even in those dark days Churchill was confident of ultimate victory.

It must be said here that there were already in existence some other volunteer forces raised for special service, namely the 'Independent Companies' and some of them had been engaged on the ill-fated campaign in Norway. Nevertheless when these Independent Companies were subsequently disbanded many of the officers and men volunteered for the Commandos, including such distinguished leaders as Brigadier Tod and Colonels Newman, VC, and Trevor.

In the event Commandos were formed from late June onwards and a party from one of the newly formed Commandos, No. 3, together with another party from No. 11 Independent Company , carried out a raid on the Channel Island of Guernsey on 5th July 1940. Unfortunately, for several reasons, it was a dismal failure, but it did provide important lessons, which were acted upon.

Going back a step, it is generally accepted that Lieut. Colonel Dudley Clarke was the staff officer responsible for organising the formation of the Commandos on the lines of Churchill's original directive, which among other things recommended that the personnel of this new force should be drawn from all branches of the Army and, importantly, that they would all be volunteers picked by the officers who were to be their leaders into action.

This element of picked volunteers remained a fundamental principle of the Commandos throughout the War.

Another basic characteristic of the Army Commandos was the regime known as 'RTU', standing for 'Return to Unit'. Briefly it meant that anyone - officer or other rank - who for any reason whatsoever failed to measure up to the standards of discipline, training or conduct expected, or laid down by the Commanding Officer, would be sent back to his parent unit. In the course of the next five years not a few were . . .

Subsequently, during the summer of 1940, whilst Britain was increasingly under the threat of invasion and air attacks, recruiting for the Commandos went ahead with the aim to raise a total of twelve Commandos, one of which, the original No. 2 Parachute Commando, was earmarked to carry out airborne operations. However the full number was not initially raised; for example the raising of No. 10 did not materialise until 1942 when it was decided to raise an Inter-Allied commando, consisting of volunteers from our Allies, including French, Dutch, Belgian, Norwegian, Polish, Yugo-Slav and - oddly enough - Germans, and as the title of No. 10 was still vacant it became the obvious choice.

One must also add that by the end of 1940 No. 2 (Para) Commando had become known as No. 11 Special Air Service Battalion and in the next year after a daring airborne raid on a target in Italy it became the 1st Bn The Parachute Regiment. In the meanwhile, a new No. 2 Commando had been formed with volunteers from the Independent Companies.

A further unique feature of the Commando organisation was the fact that they were not stationed in barracks. Instead they were supplied with a ration card and a subsistence allowance and made responsible for their own accommodation and feeding, with 'Civvy Billets' providing the ideal and successful outcome.

Such is a brief background of why, when and how the first Army Commandos were formed. Later eight Royal Marine Commandos were raised, as were other specialised units including training centres and a holding unit, and mention of these is to follow.