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Hello guys,

Firstly, apologies if this is posted in the wrong place of if it has been discussed before but its something I feel quite strongly about. I recently watched a documentary on the St Nazaire raid only to learn the memorial for the encounter was a small stone on the edge of a carpark in Cornwall. Before watching the documentary I had such a little understanding of the types of sacrifices that were made by the Commandos during WWII. The men who took part in the raid knew there was a very good chance they would never return home to their families, and would either be killed or captured by the Nazi regime. Out of 600 men who sailed out of Falmouth on 26th March 1942 only 225 returned. I just feel this memorial is not enough, and I am somewhat astounded that the British government would not do more to raise awareness of the sacrifices these good men made. I would appreciate it if you could take the time to watch the documentary and pass the information on.

Regards,
Amphibian

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgF0R4dhUqk - The Documentary, apologies for the Clarkson
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/content/a ... ture.shtml - An article on the memorial.

On many of these raids your expected life span not very good, and there are many other groups that get over looked. Just try and find a memorial for the 1956 Suez invasion and that was huge with the first wave ashore being around 50.000 men. The RN had five through deck aircraft carriers there and that is not counting the French Fleet which even had Battleships giving us covering fire.

As you know,Tab,the Yanks put the kybosh on the Suez operation,which was a stupid thing to do.Whilst British forces were stationed in that area,things were reasonably quiet in the surrounding countries.Once they were pulled out the niggles started,and in various places delusions of grandeur infected the heads of state,and turmoil was upon the land,many lives needlessly lost.Mind you,I wouldn't wish that pox hole on anyone as a place to serve in,unless it was a penal battalion.

owdun............I always wonder what would have happened ii this part of the world had this operation had been completed. After we pulled out then there was birth of Muslim fundamentalism and the Arabs learnt that if you push then the west will give way to most of your demands. To think that all this came about as Ike wanted a second term in the White House and he didn't want to see any conflicts breaking out that could threaten it, mind you on the Hungry uprising he did nothing either.

There is plenty of literature on the subject. but this sums it up for me.

After the raid only 228 men returned to Britain; 169 were killed and 215 became prisoners of war. German casualties were over 360 dead, mostly killed after the raid when Campbeltown exploded. To recognise their bravery, 89 decorations were awarded to members of the raiding party, including five Victoria Crosses. After the war St Nazaire was one of 38 battle honours awarded to the Commandos; the operation has since become known as The Greatest Raid of All.