The Unit’s motto was to ‘Attain by Surprise’, and their mission was to seize vital documents and technical equipment before the enemy could destroy them. 30 Assault Unit achieved some notable successes.
These included the discovery of the first launch sites of the V1 rockets, the seizure of the Nazi Naval HQ in Paris with a mountain of paperwork, the capture of Dr. Walter, the inventor of high-speed hydrogen peroxide engines for torpedoes and U-Boats, and the discovery in a remote Bavarian schloss of the archives of the German Navy dating back to 1870.
Ian Fleming
30 Commando as it was first known, was the brainchild of Royal Navy Commander Ian Fleming and founded in the autumn of 1942. Many of the Unit’s adventures featured in Fleming’s James Bond novels, starting with Casino Royale in 1953. it is widely believed that Lieutenant Commander Patrick Dalzel-Job of 30 Commando was one of the inspirations for 007.
An experienced sailor and diver, he saved the lives of thousands of Norwegians and was awarded the Knights Medal by the King of Norway. It was also said that he knew no fear and could ski backwards as fast as he could ski forwards!
Ian Fleming and his boss, the director of Naval Intelligence, Admiral John Godfrey (the inspiration for M) admired Germany’s intelligence commando unit, the Abwehrkommando. In March 1942 they put a proposal to the Joint Intelligence Board to form a similar specialist unit to move with or ahead of attacking troops. As ‘armed authorised looters’, they would use their linguistic skills to identify and seize vital intelligence to be transported to Britain.
At the time the Allies were behind the Germans in weapon development and the Unit was to steal or ‘pinch’ advanced technology.
The Unit was organised by the only civilian, Margaret Priestley, a history academic from Leeds University who transferred to the unit from the Department of Naval Research. She is believed to be the inspiration for Miss Moneypenny.
In practice operational teams consisted of two Jeeps which were manned by one RN officer in possession of a ‘Black Book’ of targets identified by Ian Fleming (usually thanks to the intelligence work of Bletchley Park and Latimer House), accompanied by at least one weapons expert or scientist who he relied on to evaluate what they encountered. There were also at least six marines and one RM officer whose main job was to do any fighting required and to keep the experts alive and out of trouble.
Linguist Troop Sgt Major John Brereton, trained in Amersham, photographed the launch sites of VI rockets and personally escorted Admiral Doenitz to his interrogation unit, courtesy BBC WWII. People’s War archive. (Image: Archive)
Coldmoreham Farm
30 Commando was provided with headquarters in Amersham in a rundown farm at the end of the High Street. Coldmoreham had been used by the Tyrwhitt-Drakes as the hunting kennels for the Old Berkley Hunt. Fleming probably chose the location himself as he knew the area well in his liaison role between Bletchley Park and Latimer House.
Marine Allen ‘Bon’ Royle remembered the farm as “a couple of brick buildings with three or four outbuildings” which stored weapons, supplies and vehicles. Apparently, there was enough high explosive at the farm to blow the whole town up!
A significant number of the initial recruits were former policemen. Although at least one ‘expert’, Johnny Ramensky, was recruited straight from prison, thought by the police to be the best safe cracker in England at the time. Training took place in the countryside around the town with exercises undertaken with the local Home Guard.
In addition to standard commando training in explosives and unarmed combat, Unit members were taught languages and trained in lock picking, forced entry and safebreaking! Parachute training, small boat handling, skiing and photography lessons were also provided as appropriate.
The Naval, Military and Technical Troops were led by Naval officers who were specialists in mines and torpedoes, submarines and radar. Lt ‘Red’ Huntington-Whitely was commander of the Royal Marines. He was a close friend of Fleming and the grandson of the former Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin. He died in action 12 September 1944 in Le Havre at the age of 24.
Capt Herbert Oliver ‘Red’ Huntington-Whiteley who died September 1944. (Image: Archive)
Amersham
The marines were billeted in the town. Some like Marine Royle and Marine Tom Boneham lived in Amersham-on-the-Hill and remembered buying sandwiches near the station on the walk down to HQ. The officers usually stayed in pubs in Old Amersham such as the Saracen’s Head (Lt Glanville) or the Griffin (Lt Belcher) before finding more permanent billets.
Nicholas Rankin recounts in his book Ian Fleming’s Commandos, the story of 30 Assault Unit in WWII that a young marine Frank ‘Paddy’ O’Callaghan returned to his new billet after enjoying the hospitality of the town’s many pubs. Needing the toilet in the night he groped his way to where he thought the bathroom was, only to be asked: “what are you doing in my wardrobe?” by his soon to be ex-landlady! 19-year-old Paddy O’Callaghan died in action 24 June 1944 near Cherbourg.
Fleming was a regular visitor to the Amersham HQ. On one occasion he watched a climbing demonstration at the Fire Station. In May 1943 a Unit party took place with a band from London and the American actor Clark Gable as one of the guests.
The commandos finally left Amersham in January 1944 when they moved to Littlehampton in preparation for D Day. Historian Dave Roberts runs a Facebook group and gives talks on the Unit. More information can also be found on X at 30 Commando (@IHistorical) and at amershammuseum.org