The Last of the Cockleshell Heroes: A World War Two Memoir

The film Cockleshell Heroes made famous one of the most daring British commando operations of World War II. This mission was the work of Royal Marine Commandos, who placed greater emphasis on boating and diving skills than Army Commandos who specialized in amphibious landings.Commando training involved mental ingenuity as well as physical toughness, with trainees occasionally turned loose in the English countryside to make their way back to camp as best they could, dodging British troops and police along the way. In December, 1942, the Commandos attempted to row up the Gironde River at night in canoes (Cockleshells to the Royal Marines) and attach explosives to German ships at dock in Bordeaux. Inflicting some damage, only William Sparks and a Marine officer, Blondie Hasler, managed to escape. The other commandos were missing, and are now thought to have been shot. Sparks and Hasler's ordeal had just begun, however, for there followed a lengthy chase across southern France before the two men eventually made their way to neutral Spain.