At the outbreak of war in 1940, Simon Frazer, the 15th Lord Lovat
and a former Guards officer, was mobilized from the reserve list to
join the Lovat Scouts, the British Army's first sniper unit that
had been formed by his father during the Boer War. The following
year he volunteered for one of the new Commando units then being
created. Lovat was personally involved in the training of the
Commando troops on the West coast of Scotland. He was eventually
attached to, and led, No.4 Commando. On 3 March 1941, Nos. 3 and 4
Commando launched a raid on the German-occupied Lofoten Islands. In
this successful attack, Operation Claymore, the commandos destroyed
fish-oil factories, petrol dumps, and even eleven ships. They also
seized encryption equipment and codebooks, as well as captured 216
German troops. Promoted to temporary major, Lovat led 100 men of
No.4 Commando and a 50-man detachment from the Canadian Carleton
and York Regiment in a raid on the French coastal village of
Hardelot in April 1942. For this action he was awarded the Military
Cross on 7 July that year. Lord Lovat was involved in further raids
against the German-held French coast, most notably Dieppe, during
which No.4 Commando destroyed the coastal battery at
Varengeville-sur-Mer in a text-book commando attack. This resulted
in Lovat being awarded the DSO. Such was the effect the Commando
raids had on German morale, Lovat had 100,000 Reichmarks placed on
his head, dead or alive. Promoted to brigadier, Lovat formed the
1st Special Service Brigade (later the 1st Commando Brigade) which
stormed ashore on D-Day to secure the eastern flank of the
attacking forces. In this, he famously instructed his personal
piper, Bill Millin, to pipe the commandos and himself ashore, in
defiance of specific orders not to allow such an action in battle.
In the subsequent fighting Lovat was seriously wounded, effectively
ending his active career. These are the memoirs of one of the most
remarkable fighting figures of the Second World War, who was
involved in some its more exciting and dangerous operations.
Despite his aristocratic ancestry, he led from the front and,
without doubt, Simon Frazer, Lord Lovat was a soldiers' soldier.
General
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