Operations Frankton:

In December 1942, ten Royal Marines set out on Operation Frankton: one of the most daring and difficult raids in commando history. Under the leadership of Maj Herbert ‘Blondie' Hasler, the code named RM Boom Patrol Detachment deployed from HMS Tuna in specialist canoes before paddling over 100km up the Gironde estuary and into the heart of the heavily defended port city of Bordeaux. Their mission: to destroy German supply ships destined for North Africa, would require many of the raiding party to pay the ultimate sacrifice. Against all odds, two commandos managed to execute their mission and escaped undetected. Mne Bill Sparks and ‘Blondie' Hasler himself spent several months evading the German and French authorities before successfully extracting to Spain and ultimately home to the UK.

What we are doing:

In July and August 2019, ten Royal Marines from 43 Commando will be setting off to commemorate the efforts of the men that took part in Operation Frankton. We will be following the same route taken by the Cockleshell Heroes, paddling over 100km into the heart of Bordeaux. From there we will extract by foot some 270km to the Spanish border, paying tribute to the efforts of Hasler and Sparks, and commemorating the sacrifice of those who never made it back to safety.

Ex Boom Patrol would not have been possible without support from the Royal Marines Charity and we humbly ask that you help us give something back to an organisation that provides so much to Bootnecks both past and present!