23 October 2012

WildFox team re-enacts WW2 ‘Cockleshell Heroes’ raid

They slipped into Bordeaux harbour in sea kayaks on a moonless night in the summer of 1942. The men of Operation Frankton (now known as the Cockleshell Heroes after the 1950’s film) had navigated fearsome tides and more than a 160km of open water to penetrate a key stronghold on the Nazi front line. The Gironde, France’s biggest estuary on the Atlantic Coast gave refuge to armed merchant ships that kept the Axis powers supplied.

Sneaking up to the hulls of the moored ships, the marines attached limpet mines that blew holes in their sides. Undoubtedly one of the most audacious attacks of WW2, Admiral Lord Mountbatten called it ‘the most courageous and imaginative of all the raids ever carried out by the men of Combined Operations.’

In truth, the operation could be said to have failed because the damaged German ships were easily repaired and the team suffered great losses with only two of the original ten Marines surviving. However it did fundamentally unsettle the Germans, forcing them to commit even greater forces to the coastal defenses of western France, at great cost to the Axis war effort. Hitler was furious and questioned his generals how the British had managed to get these ‘toy boats’ up the Gironde.

To mark the 70th anniversary of the raid WildFox David Fox-Pitt, Andy Hastings and adventurer Mark Beaumont decided to join a British team determined to recreate the historic military journey. Paddy Ashdown, the military historian and politician agreed to give his full backing to the recreation by becoming the expedition patron.

The six strong team headed to the exact location where the submarine HMS Tuna surfaced in 1942, some 5km off shore. From here they travelled, mostly at night, using the original Kleppers canoes. They paddled up the Gironde, covering a distance of 50km per day.

Having made it to Bordeaux, the team walked the 160km from Blaye to Ruffec to the Hotel La Toque Blanche. This is where the two ‘Cockleshell Heroes’ who survived, Major ‘Blondie’ Hasler and Marine Sparks, were picked up by the Resistance and spirited to Spain. Only three of the 2012 team of Neil Laughton, David Fox Pitt, Adam Rattray, Jimmy Wallace, Andy Hastings and Mark Beaumont made it to the end.

Talk on the 6th of December

Hear more about their incredible adventure at a talk given by the team on ‘the Operation Frankton Memorial Expedition 2012’ in London at 7pm on the 6th of December at the Handel Street Cadet Centre, Yeomanry House, Handel Street, London WX1N 1NP.

To book - £10 (all profits going to the charities) Please send a cheque for £10 made payable either to the Stroke Association or to the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund c/o Adam Rattray, Jenna Burlingham Fine Art, 2 George Street Kingsclere, Newbury RG20 5N

The expedition has so far raised over £7,000 for the Stroke Association and The Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund. To help with fundraising for this project please visit their Just Giving page.