The Commando Charioteers

BRADLEY E. William (‘Bill’), Captain, 77384, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and 3 Commando: ML 307

BRADLEY Richard (‘Dick’), Lance Sergeant, 5344190, Royal Berkshire Regiment and 1/2 Commando: ML 457 (MM)

BRETT Gerrard, Lieutenant, 126498, Royal Ulster Rifles and 12 Commando: HMS Campbeltown (MC)

BRIGHT Gerald K (‘Tanky’), Lance Sergeant, 4974182, Royal Armoured Corps and 5 Commando: HMS Campbeltown

BROWN James, Private, 2988948, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and 5 Commando: HMS Campbeltown (MM)

BROWN Louis Walter (‘Ben’), Sergeant, 2929147, Cameron Highlanders (Liverpool Scottish) and 5/2 Commando: HMS Campbeltown

BROWN Robert F (‘Nosher’), Corporal, 3856668, Corps of Royal Engineers and 3 Commando: ML 262

BRUCE James, Sergeant, 5989540, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and 1/2 Commando: ML 446

BRYAN Edward Joseph, Lance Corporal, 3775300, King’s Regiment (Liverpool) and 4/2 Commando: ML 267 (age 25)

BURGESS Leslie, Lance Corporal, 1877628, Corps of Royal Engineers and 9 Commando: ML 268 (age 27)

BURN Michael Clive, Captain, 74087, King’s Royal Rifle Corps and 6/2 Commando: ML 192 (MC)

BURNS Ronald Edward David (‘Bobby’), Rifleman, 6895664, King’s Royal Rifle Corps and 6/2 Commando: ML 268 (age 22)

BURTINSHAW Robert James Glover, Lieutenant, 89395, Cheshire Regiment and 5 Commando: HMS Campbeltown (age 25) (MiD)

BUSHE ‘Paddy’, Rifleman, 7014446, Royal Ulster Rifles and 6/2 Commando: ML 177

BUTLER Eric, Lance Sergeant, 5048390, North Staffordshire Regiment and 3 Commando, ML 307

BUTLER Ronald Herbert (‘Ron’), Lance Sergeant, 5774300, Royal Norfolk Regiment and 1 Commando: HMS Campbeltown (MM)

CALLAWAY T. F (‘Cab’), Corporal, 5499065, Hampshire Regiment and 12 Commando: HMS Campbeltown

CARR Francis Arthur (‘Frank’), Sergeant, 1867740, Corps of Royal Engineers and 5 Commando: HMS Campbeltown (DCM)

CARROLL J. J, Fusilier, 6469540, Royal Fusiliers and 3/2 Commando: ML 177

CHALLINTON William Albert, Lance Sergeant, 3515161, Cameron Highlanders and 5/2 Commando: HMS Campbeltown (DCM)

CHAMBERLAIN William, Lance Sergeant, 5933153, Cambridgeshire Regiment and 1 Commando: HMS Campbeltown

CHANT Douglas, Private, 5110274, Royal Berkshire Regiment and 2/2 Commando: ML 307

CHANT Stuart Whitemore, Lieutenant, 105159, Gordon Highlanders and 5 Commando: HMS Campbeltown (MC)

CHAPPELL Ernest Lionel Desmond (‘Des’), Lance Sergeant, 4198350, Royal Welch Fusiliers and 1 Commando: ML 306

CHEETHAM Jack F, Corporal, 2930999, Cameron Highlanders (Liverpool Scottish) and 5/2 Commando: HMS Campbeltown

CHETWYND Samuel Ernest, Corporal, 4977274, Sherwood Foresters and 12 Commando: ML 457 (age 22)

L-Sgt. Dick Bradley MM

Born in London to a devout German Catholic family whose original surname was Goebbels, Dick was a fluent German speaker thanks to an early education in the Black Forest.

A member of Lieutenant Philip Walton's Demolition team he was landed at the Old Mole from ML 457, the only launch to succeed in coming alongside.

Badly wounded soon after, Dick faced a series of operations before fetching up at the notorious PoW Camp Stalag V111B from which he and two other Charioteers - Private Jimmy Brown and Lance-Sergeant Alf Searson- engineered a series of escapes the last of which took them all the way to Switzerland, where they were interned.

In Switzerland Dick met and married Beatrice, eventually returning with her to London.

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