18th September 1955 Rockall was annexed by the British Crown when Lieutenant-Commander Desmond Scott RN, Sergeant Brian Peel RM, Corporal AA Fraser RM, and James Fisher (a civilian naturalist and former Royal Marine), were winched by a helicopter onto the island by a Royal Navy helicopter from HMS Vidal (The annexation of Rockall was announced by the Admiralty on 21 September 1955. Queen Elizabeth authorised the annexation on 14 September. Her orders stated: "On arrival at Ro

Unit/ Formation: 45 Cdo RM Location: The Falkland Islands Period/ Conflict: The Falklands War Year: 1982 Date/s: 11/ 12 June 1982 45 Cdo's yomp from San Carlos Water via Teal Inlet ended to the west of Mount Kent on Friday 4th, and the next week was spent patrolling towards Two Sisters, leading to a number of bloody clashes with the Argentines. On their second patrol, Lt Fox's Recce Troop reached the end of Two Sisters, and when discovered, fought their way out killing up to

On Friday 28th May 1982, the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment was engaged in fierce fighting to take enemy positions in the area of Darwin and Goose Green. Two Gazelles and two Scout helicopters from 3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron Royal Marines were tasked to support the attack. From dawn, heedless of enemy ground fire, the two Scouts from B Flight, led by the Flight Commander, Captain Jeff Niblett RM with his air gunner Sergeant John Glaze RM in ‘Delta Tango’ with

The British Task Force started to land at San Carlos Bay on May 21st 1982 after receiving approval from London, under command of Brigadier J H Thompson, Royal Marines of 3 Commando Brigade. Men from 40, 42 and 45 Commando were landed in San Carlos Bay along with men from 2nd & 3rd Parachute Battalions. The main priorities were to secure the beachhead from attack and land as many men and supplies as was possible. To prevent nearby Argentine forces attacking the beachhead and

The Duke of Edinburgh (1921 - 2021) was laid to rest on 17th April 2021 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. Prince Philip held the appointment of Captain General Royal Marines from 1 June 1953 - 19 December 2017, 64 years, 201 days in post. His funeral which was planned by the Duke himself involved a stong Royal Marine presence. A Royal Marine Bearer Party carried the Prince from the Land Rover hearse to St Georges Chapel pausing on the West Steps for the one minute sil

The Deal barracks bombing was an attack by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on the Royal Marine Depot, Deal, England. It took place at 8:22 am on 22 September 1989, when the IRA exploded a time bomb at the Royal Marines School of Music building. The building collapsed, killing 11 marines from the Royal Marines Band Service and wounding another 21. BALL Michael Francis Patrick Musician : CLEATHEROE John Andrew Musician Band Corporal: DAVIS Trevor James Edward Band C

The Battle for Hong Kong Unit/ Formation: Royal Marines Location: Hong Kong Period/ Conflict: World War II Year: 1941 Date/s: 8–25 December 1941 During the battle of Hong Kong, there were 40 Royal Marines attached to HMS Tamar. When the battle began, the Royal Marines fought against Japanese force in Wan Chai Gap and Magazine Gap, alongside with HKVDC (Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps) and Royal Engineers. Royal Marines fought at Queen’s Road East where they tried to stop th

On July 24, the allied fleet arrived outside Gibraltar. In all, Rooke commanded 16 English ships under Byng and six Dutch ships under Rear Admiral Paulus van der Dussen. The ships positioned themselves inside the harbor, carefully out of range of the bastion’s guns. Rooke directed matters from his flagship, Royal Katherine, at the entrance to the bay. Beginning with a brief covering barrage laid down by the guns of his fleet, Rooke launched an amphibious assault by 1,900 Engl

The Skirmish at Top Malo House was fought on 31 May 1982 during the Falklands War, between 1st Assault Section Argentine Special Forces from 602 Commando Company and a patrol formed from staff and trainees of the Royal Marines Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre. Captain Rod Boswell of the Royal Marines Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre and 18 of his men conducted the operation following a report on the 27 May by a four-man patrol sited in an observation post (OP) on Bull Hill.

The British Task Force started to land at San Carlos Bay on May 21st 1982 after receiving approval from London, under command of Brigadier J H Thompson, Royal Marines of 3 Commando Brigade. Men from 40, 42 and 45 Commando were landed in San Carlos Bay along with men from 2nd & 3rd Parachute Battalions. The main priorities were to secure the beachhead from attack and land as many men and supplies as was possible. To prevent nearby Argentine forces attacking the beachhead and

Unit/ Formation: Victoria Cross Location: Gallipoli Period/ Conflict: World War I Year: 1915 Date/s: 30 April 1915 In April 1915, the surviving troops of the 1st and 3rd Australian Brigades entrenched at Gaba Tepe on the Galliopli peninsula were desperate for relief. Three days of fighting had been intense and chaotic with heavy casualties. If the news of the arrival of battalions from the Royal Marine Light Infantry brought with it the expectation of support from seasoned f

18th September 1955 Rockall was annexed by the British Crown when Lieutenant-Commander Desmond Scott RN, Sergeant Brian Peel RM, Corporal AA Fraser RM, and James Fisher (a civilian naturalist and former Royal Marine), were winched by a helicopter onto the island by a Royal Navy helicopter from HMS Vidal (The annexation of Rockall was announced by the Admiralty on 21 September 1955. Queen Elizabeth authorised the annexation on 14 September. Her orders stated: "On arrival at Ro

Murder of the Colonel Commandant of the Royal Marines, Admiral of the Fleet, The Earl Mountbatten of Burma KG GCB OM GCSI GCIE GCVO DSO PC by the IRA. Mountbatten usually holidayed at his summer home, Classiebawn Castle, in Mullaghmore, a small seaside village in County Sligo, Ireland. The village was only 12 miles (19 km) from the border with Northern Ireland and near an area known to be used as a cross-border refuge by IRA members. In 1978, the IRA had allegedly attempted

Lieutenant Colonel Mark “Foggy” Phillips MBE, soldier, security consultant. Born: 24 May 1961, Gloucestershire. Died: 12 August 2017, aged 56. Lt Col Mark Phillips was a Special Forces hero who carried out hundreds of covert operations behind enemy lines, including an audacious mission to blow up Saddam Hussein’s telecommunications cables network buried deep in the earth under a sports arena in southern Baghdad during the first Gulf War, following the tyrant’s capture of Kuwa

Following K Coy's helicopter flight forward on to Mount Kent over the night of Sunday 30th May to join D Sqn SAS, the rest of 42 Cdo moved to Mount Challenger during that week, and were eventually joined by K Coy. From there, they pushed out a troop strength observation post to Wall Mountain, and planned for an attack on the heavily defended Mount Harriet. An advance direct from Wall Mountain across minefields and into Argentine machine guns, was out of the question, and a le

45 Cdo's yomp from San Carlos Water via Teal Inlet ended to the west of Mount Kent on Friday 4th, and the next week was spent patrolling towards Two Sisters, leading to a number of bloody clashes with the Argentines. On their second patrol, Lt Fox's Recon Troop reached the end of Two Sisters, and when discovered, fought their way out killing up to thirteen of the enemy without loss. Later, Lt Stewart of X Coy broke out in a similar action, and by around Tuesday 8th, 45 Cdo ha

Image F4 conducting a work up excercise in English Bay Ascension Island With the British Army’s 5 Brigade separated from their vital communications vehicles back at Goose Green, F4 under the command of C/Sgt Brian Johnston was been dispatched in poorly charted waters and under significant threat of air attack. In a remarkable feat of pilotage, in darkness and without modern navigational aids, Brian Johnston reached Goose Green in good order and loaded the vehicles At approxim

The Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and req

On Friday 28th May 1982, the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment was engaged in fierce fighting to take enemy positions in the area of Darwin and Goose Green. Two Gazelles and two Scout helicopters from 3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron Royal Marines were tasked to support the attack. From dawn, heedless of enemy ground fire, the two Scouts from B Flight, led by the Flight Commander, Captain Jeff Niblett RM with his air gunner Sergeant John Glaze RM in ‘Delta Tango’ with

The Skirmish at Top Malo House was fought on 31 May 1982 during the Falklands War, between 1st Assault Section Argentine Special Forces from 602 Commando Company and a patrol formed from staff and trainees of the Royal Marines Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre. Captain Rod Boswell of the Royal Marines Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre and 18 of his men conducted the operation following a report on the 27 May by a four-man patrol sited in an observation post (OP) on Bull Hill.