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DATELINES: 21 MAY 1948The Commando Memorial“NOTHING OF WHICH we have any knowledge or record has ever been done bymortal men which surpasses the splendour and daring of their feats of arms.”Nearly six decades ago in thecloisters of Westminster, theLeader of the Opposition, WinstonS. Churchill, unveiled amemorial to those who haddied in the then-recent World War on servicein submarines and with commandoand airborne forces: three groups who hadknowingly faced even more dangers thanthose which confronted fighting men as amatter of course. His speech was fully reportedin the following day’s Times, butthe early biographers seem to have missedit. It bears reprinting for the light it throwsboth on the men Churchill commemoratedand on his own beliefs.Over forty years ago, when preparingthe official history of the Special OperationsExecutive in France (reissued in 2004), Iconjectured that, as he spoke, Churchillhad in mind—as well as the feats hepraised—the then still inadmissible deedsof special agents for sabotage, subversionand escape who had set out on their missionsby parachute or by submarine.A distinguished audience was assembledto hear the wartime Prime Ministerthat day. Among those present were A.V.Alexander, Minister of Defence andwartime First Lord of the Admiralty; Admiralof the Fleet the Viscount Cunninghamof Hyndhope, wartime First SeaLord; Field Marshal the Earl Wavell, formerCommander-in-Chief Middle Eastand later Viceroy of India; Major GeneralSir Robert Laycock, who had been Chief ofCombined Operations; Lieutenant GeneralSir Frederick Browning, who hadbeen commander of Airborne Forces; LieutenantColonel A.C. Newman, who hadwon his Victoria Cross at St. Nazaire; andseveral other VC holders. The Dean ofWestminster, the Very Reverend A.C. Don,held a brief service. Churchill concludedwith the last two verses of an old Masonicpoem, familiar in those days to many ofthe dignitaries present.—PROFESSOR M.R.D. FOOTToday we unveil a memorialto the brave who gave theirlives for what we believe futuregenerations of theworld will pronounce arighteous and noble cause. In this ancientAbbey, so deeply wrought into therecord, the life and the message of theBritish race and nation—here whereevery inch of space is devoted to themonuments of the past and to the inspirationof the future—there will remainthis cloister now consecrated to thosewho gave their lives in what they hopedwould be a final war against the grosserforms of tyranny. These symbolic imagesof heroes, set up by their fellowcountrymenin honour and remembrance,will proclaim, as long as faithfultestimony endures, the sacrifices ofyouth resolutely made at the call of dutyand for the love of our Island home andall it stands for among men.Published by kind permission of the copyrightholder, Curtis Brown Ltd., on behalf ofthe Estate of Sir Winston Churchill, copyright© Winston S. Churchill.BY WINSTON S. CHURCHILLPHOTOGRAPH BY TERRY MOORE BY KIND PERMISSION OF WESTMINSTER ABBEYThis memorial, with all its graceand distinction, does not claim any monopolyof prowess or devotion for thoseto whom it is dedicated. We all knowthe innumerable varieties of dauntlessservice which were performed by HisMajesty’s soldiers and servants at homeand abroad, in the prolonged ordeals ofthe Second World War for right andfreedom. Those whose memory is heresaluted would have been the first to repulseany exclusive priority in the Rollof Honour.It is in all humility which matchestheir grandeur that we here today testifyto the valour and devotion of the SubmarineService of the Royal Navy inboth wars, to the Commandos, the AirborneForces and the Special Air Service.All were volunteers. Most were highlyskilledand intensely-trained. Losseswere heavy and constant. But greatnumbers pressed forward to fill the gaps.Selection could be most strict wherethe task was forlorn. No units were soeasy to recruit as those over whichDeath ruled with daily attention. Wethink of the forty British submarines—FINEST HOUR 135 / 14