{"id":478,"date":"2012-05-14T20:29:21","date_gmt":"2012-05-14T19:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/?p=478"},"modified":"2012-05-14T20:29:21","modified_gmt":"2012-05-14T19:29:21","slug":"43-commando-resurrected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/?p=478","title":{"rendered":"43 Commando Resurrected"},"content":{"rendered":"

43 Commando Resurrected<\/strong><\/h1>\n

as historic Royal Marines unit returns<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\n
\n

One of the most famous names in Royal Marines history has returned with the re-formation of 43 Commando at Faslane.<\/p>\n

The new unit \u2013 officially 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines \u2013 is the largest in the Corps and is responsible for protecting the nation\u2019s nuclear deterrent as well as taking the fight to modern-day pirates in specialist boarding teams.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"\"Pictures: LA(Phot)s Will Haigh and ‘Geri’ Halliwell, FRPU North<\/em><\/p>\n

WITH the wind and snow lashing them, 300 Royal Marines Commandos braved the return of the Scottish winter to mark the official formation of their new unit \u2013 and the return of one of the Corps\u2019 most famous names.<\/strong><\/p>\n

From today Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines \u2013 who safeguard Britain\u2019s nuclear deterrent and are the Navy\u2019s experts in board and search\/counter-piracy operations \u2013 are 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines, resurrecting the title of a legendary wartime formation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

43 Commando served with distinction in the Mediterranean, Italy and the Adriatic and, after being disbanded shortly after the end of WW2, rematerialised for much of the 1960s before passing into history \u2013 until now.<\/p>\n

Its modern-day successor \u2013 to be abbreviated as 43 Cdo FP Gp RM and now under the direct authority of 3 Commando Brigade \u2013 is the largest unit in the Corps at 790 men strong. It was officially re-formed on the 67th anniversary of 43 Commando\u2019s most famous actions, the battle for Lake Comacchio.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

43 Commando’s Colours are battered by the elements<\/em><\/p>\n

During the fighting around the lagoon, some 50 miles south of Venice in northeast Italy, Cpl Thomas Peck Hunter seized a Bren gun and stormed German machine-gun positions, shooting from the hip and single-handedly capturing or driving the enemy away until he was cut down \u2013 but not before his troop reached safety.<\/p>\n

The action saw Hunter posthumously given the nation\u2019s highest military honour, the last (to date) of ten Victoria Crosses awarded to Royal Marines.<\/p>\n

The battle is marked by today\u2019s Corps as Comacchio Day on April 3, while Cpl Hunter is honoured with a memorial at the Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh, his hometown, and the accommodation block at Clyde, Hunter Block.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rear Admiral Corder takes the salute in a snow shower<\/em><\/p>\n

Cpl Hunter\u2019s 81-year-old sister Agnes Swinney travelled from Edinburgh to attend the parade, which featured a short religious service followed by an address by the Royal Navy\u2019s Commander Operations, Rear Admiral Ian Corder.<\/p>\n

Medals were also presented to 15 commandos and sailors, some of whom had taken part in counter-piracy operations.<\/p>\n

Afterwards the Royal Marines held a families\u2019 day at Clyde Naval Base where visitors were given a chance to see some of the equipment which the commandos have used in operations around the globe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

43 Commando Resurrected as historic Royal Marines unit returns One of the most famous names in Royal Marines history has returned with the re-formation of 43 Commando at Faslane. The new unit \u2013 officially 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-royal-marines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=478"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":480,"href":"https:\/\/foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478\/revisions\/480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foxnwolf.com\/locknload\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}