WWII Commando Training Ground, Burrows Gap, Holkham.
The exact purpose of these small buildings is unknown, but after contacting the Senior Warden at Holkham National Nature Reserve he told me......
''Those structures were Bunkers used as part of a World War Two Training Ground for Commandos. I actually knew an 'old boy' who lived in Burnham Market up until he died as an old man in the early 2000's. He did a lot of his Commando Training there in the war''.
(Thank you Andy Bloomfield, Senior Warden Holkham NNR)
Around fifty Military Structures were built in the area of TF-8497 4564 to TF-8595 4563, these Structures vary in size from approximately 16ft to 49ft in length. These Buildings would appear to be some kind of World War Two Complex, probably for Practice or Training purposes. They were located at the northern edge of the saltmarsh close to 'Gun Hill' they also included Nissen Huts, Flat Roofed Concrete Structures and possibly a Pillbox, The Structures were removed post-war, I believe these small remaining Structures were probably part of that Complex.
The beginnings of a ''Raiding Force''......
In 1940 Prime Minister Winston Churchill, called for the creation of a small 'Raiding Force' in order to disrupt the Wehrmacht and boost British Morale. Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke proposed a Force loosely based on the tactics of the Boer Commandos. Initially these new 'Commandos Units' were made up of soldiers from British Army Regiments, however in 1942 many Royal Marines Battalions were reorganised into Commandos, they were also supplemented by members of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
In 1940 Achnacarry Castle, the ancestral seat of Sir Donald Walter Cameron of Lochiel, was brought into use as part of the new Training and Holding Wing for the Special Training Centre Lochailort. Due to the imminent closing of STC Lochailort and the realisation that a Centralised Training Establishment was needed to train the potential Commandos, Brigadier Charles Haydon established the Commando Depot in December of 1941. Prior to this each individual Commando Unit was responsible for the training of Commando Personnel. In early 1942 this was redesigned as the Commando Basic Training Centre, and, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Vaughan, the first prospective Commandos arrived to complete the centralised course. It then came under the authority of the Special Service Brigade. By this time a Drill Square had been laid down and pasture within the vicinity of the house had been replaced by asphalt. Nissen Huts now stood within the grounds around the Drill Square. These Huts contained accommodation for Men, housing between 25 and 40, dining halls, and washing rooms. Due to the secret nature of this training, the British Government prevented people from visiting much of Lochaber by preventing the crossing of non-residents over the Caledonian Canal.
The Commando Basic Training Centre trained both British Commandos and Foreign Nationals from occupied countries such as France, Greece, Norway and Poland as well as some Germans, part of No.10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, who were designated 'free Germans'. Contingents from the newly formed United States Army Rangers were also trained there. In 1946 after the War had come to the end it was decided a significant Commando capability was not needed in peacetime and the Commando Basic Training Centre at Achnacarry was disbanded. Between 1942 and 1946 over 25,000 Personnel were trained at Achnacarry and it is widely believed that it was the birthplace of modern 'Special Forces'. The 'Commando Memorial' a memorial to all Commandos of World War Two, now stands overlooking the Training Grounds at Achnacarry on a point that all potential Commandos would have passed on the way to Commando Basic Training Centre from the Spean Bridge railway station.
The prospective Commando arrived at the Spean Bridge railway station and marched 7 miles to Achnacarry where they began their Training, Officers, and their Men training side by side. Training for a prospective Commando consisted of an intensive regime of physical fitness and instruction in Survival, Orienteering and Vehicle Operation. This was alongside instruction on different Weapons Systems, Demolition Skills, Close-Quarter Combat as well as Amphibious and Cliff Assault. Any prospective Commando who failed to meet the standard was returned to their parent unit. The training was conducted with 'Live Rounds' in order to simulate battle as effectively as possible. This realistic training led to the deaths of a number of trainees. In 1943 the focus of the Commando Training shifted to more conventional methods of Warfare.
WWII Commando Training Ground, Burrows Gap, Holkham.
The exact purpose of these small buildings is unknown, but after contacting the Senior Warden at Holkham National Nature Reserve he told me......
''Those structures were Bunkers used as part of a World War Two Training Ground for Commandos. I actually knew an 'old boy' who lived in Burnham Market up until he died as an old man in the early 2000's. He did a lot of his Commando Training there in the war''.
(Thank you Andy Bloomfield, Senior Warden Holkham NNR)
Around fifty Military Structures were built in the area of TF-8497 4564 to TF-8595 4563, these Structures vary in size from approximately 16ft to 49ft in length. These Buildings would appear to be some kind of World War Two Complex, probably for Practice or Training purposes. They were located at the northern edge of the saltmarsh close to 'Gun Hill' they also included Nissen Huts, Flat Roofed Concrete Structures and possibly a Pillbox, The Structures were removed post-war, I believe these small remaining Structures were probably part of that Complex.
The beginnings of a ''Raiding Force''......
In 1940 Prime Minister Winston Churchill, called for the creation of a small 'Raiding Force' in order to disrupt the Wehrmacht and boost British Morale. Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke proposed a Force loosely based on the tactics of the Boer Commandos. Initially these new 'Commandos Units' were made up of soldiers from British Army Regiments, however in 1942 many Royal Marines Battalions were reorganised into Commandos, they were also supplemented by members of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
In 1940 Achnacarry Castle, the ancestral seat of Sir Donald Walter Cameron of Lochiel, was brought into use as part of the new Training and Holding Wing for the Special Training Centre Lochailort. Due to the imminent closing of STC Lochailort and the realisation that a Centralised Training Establishment was needed to train the potential Commandos, Brigadier Charles Haydon established the Commando Depot in December of 1941. Prior to this each individual Commando Unit was responsible for the training of Commando Personnel. In early 1942 this was redesigned as the Commando Basic Training Centre, and, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Vaughan, the first prospective Commandos arrived to complete the centralised course. It then came under the authority of the Special Service Brigade. By this time a Drill Square had been laid down and pasture within the vicinity of the house had been replaced by asphalt. Nissen Huts now stood within the grounds around the Drill Square. These Huts contained accommodation for Men, housing between 25 and 40, dining halls, and washing rooms. Due to the secret nature of this training, the British Government prevented people from visiting much of Lochaber by preventing the crossing of non-residents over the Caledonian Canal.
The Commando Basic Training Centre trained both British Commandos and Foreign Nationals from occupied countries such as France, Greece, Norway and Poland as well as some Germans, part of No.10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, who were designated 'free Germans'. Contingents from the newly formed United States Army Rangers were also trained there. In 1946 after the War had come to the end it was decided a significant Commando capability was not needed in peacetime and the Commando Basic Training Centre at Achnacarry was disbanded. Between 1942 and 1946 over 25,000 Personnel were trained at Achnacarry and it is widely believed that it was the birthplace of modern 'Special Forces'. The 'Commando Memorial' a memorial to all Commandos of World War Two, now stands overlooking the Training Grounds at Achnacarry on a point that all potential Commandos would have passed on the way to Commando Basic Training Centre from the Spean Bridge railway station.
The prospective Commando arrived at the Spean Bridge railway station and marched 7 miles to Achnacarry where they began their Training, Officers, and their Men training side by side. Training for a prospective Commando consisted of an intensive regime of physical fitness and instruction in Survival, Orienteering and Vehicle Operation. This was alongside instruction on different Weapons Systems, Demolition Skills, Close-Quarter Combat as well as Amphibious and Cliff Assault. Any prospective Commando who failed to meet the standard was returned to their parent unit. The training was conducted with 'Live Rounds' in order to simulate battle as effectively as possible. This realistic training led to the deaths of a number of trainees. In 1943 the focus of the Commando Training shifted to more conventional methods of Warfare.