Intelligence

Enduring tribute to the Commando

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1985442005
EBEN HARRELL

SCOTLAND's role in Commando training during the Second World War is to be marked by an extraordinary feat of endurance by a serving Royal Marine.

Sixty years after the last recruits marched up the hills around Achnacarry Commando training station near Fort William, Sergeant Billy Rodgers will recreate their feats in authentic 1940s dress.
route

Sgt Rodgers, 34, will don a 36-pound pack, and make the legendary seven-mile speed march from nearby Spean Bridge station to Achnacarry, the route unsuspecting Commando recruits were ordered to take during the Second World War.

Then he will run up Ben Nevis and spend the next two weeks cycling to the present-day Commando Training Centre at Lympstone in Devon, stopping to run to the highest peaks in England and Wales along the way. The expedition is being undertaken to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the closing of the Achnacarry training station.

"Before I joined the Marines, I worked as a slater on roofs. But I was always into my hill running, that's why I joined. I wanted to test myself. This is the hardest task I've set myself," he said.

In military lore, the Achnacarry training centre was the spiritual centre of Commandos. Allied recruits from across Europe were dropped off seven miles from the centre and given 70 minutes to lug their packs across uneven terrain to the base. Those who did not make it in time were turned away. The training site closed in 1945 when Commando operations moved to the centre in Devon.

Sgt Rodgers' expedition will raise money for the Royal Marines Benevolent Trust - the organisation that cares for ageing Marines, some of whom were trained at Achnacarry. It will also raise money for the Meningitis Trust.

Major Jonathan Dowd said: "Even by Royal Marine standards this is a challenging event."

September 24, 2005 at 11:10 AM in SAS | Permalink | Top of page | Blog Home