RM Commando unit's compliment

Hi

Does anybody know the make up of a rm cdo unit ie 40 rm cdo in ww2 around the time they were embroiled in the Italian theatre.

Ie How many marines made up the unit altogether & how they were broken up ie how many marines made up a 'troop' & how many 'troop' there were in the whole unit ie 'A' troop 'X' troop

Thanks

Hi Beerie,

The RM Cdos followed the same composition as Army Commandos.
Here is the Battle Order for a Commando Unit and the War Establishment for a Commando Unit both for 1943

nick

Cheers Nick

Is there any way of knowing what the 'troops' were in 40 cdo for the Albanian operation without looking at the war diary for that time. I really want to know what troop grandad was in & if he was a machine gunner, rifleman etc.

Bit confused to the names of the troops too, on your document theyre listed as 1 troop, 2 troop etc, ive read a diary of a marine on the bbc peoples war site he mentions he was in Q troop of 40 for that op, did they just call the troop whatever they liked ie q, s , a , x etc?

Cheers

hi Beerie,

One of the most frequent questions we are asked is: What troop was my father/grandfather in?

Unfortunately, the is no real way of telling - unless you can spot him in a troop photo, or you know someone who was in the same troop etc.
One of the reasons for this is that marines/commandos (even serving soldiers & airmen today) move from troop to troop on promotion etc, - this was to prevent awkwardness when a newly promoted NCO suddenly found himself having to give, possibly unsavoury, orders to one of his best mates...

Unit & Troop numbering is, I believe, fairly basic -
When the Army Commandos were originally formed they were numbered 1 - 14
Their troops were numbered 1 - 10
After re-org some of the the Army Cdos were disbanded, most units were reduced to 6 troops numbered 1 - 6.

When the RM Cdos were formed in 1942 they were converted from RM Battalions (1 - 9). To keep those battalion numbers would have been confusing, so they were given letters (presumably the troops within the Commando were also identified by letters.
After Dieppe it was decided that the RM Cdos should also have unit numbers rather than letters so 'A' Cdo became 40 RM Cdo and so on.
Presumably they kept the letters for the troops.

To be honest, even the War Diaries won't tell you about you grandfather - very few War Diaries mention ORs - unless sometimes when they've been KIA, or WIA or awarded an honour etc.

I would certainly recommend reading as much about 40 RM Cdo and 2 Cdo Brigade (2 Special Service Brigade) as possible and try and build up a fuller picture.
Sorry I can't give you specific answers but, believe me, we're all in the same boat and are continually learning...

Nick

Grandad was WIA on that op in Sarande so he could possibly be named in the war diary-who knows.

The blokes account of the battle can be found here http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/88/a5823588.shtml

I suppose aswell the whole unit may not have been deployed on that op just certain troops ie 'Q' troop, I might try & contact the bloke if hes still alive for anymore info, he may have known my grandad. He mentions several wounded on 9th & 10th of October but no names (arrghhhhh) and some being killed like mne. St Ange.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 02/01/2014 12:38:37

Hi Beerie69,
Here's how 46 (RM) Cdo was structured on formation in 1943. Obviously once in theatre the structure of the commando could change due to casualty numbers and availability of necessary equipment. Hope it helps.
Steve

Hi Steve,

I'm upset now! )
Don't you read the files that I post?
That's the same document as I posted earlier in the Thread: Commando August 1943.pdf

Feeling redundant! :-(

Nick

Hi
The book THE ROYAL MARINES 1919-1980, by James D Ladd, page 352 have the org charts for the RM -MIDDLE EAST 1943,and RM - NW EUROPE 1944.
The big difference between ARMY and RM seems to be that the Army retain the signal platoon within the HQ set up, while the RM,have the signals as an independent platoon in its own right

Regards
Graham

NIC wrote:Hi Steve,

I'm upset now! )
Don't you read the files that I post?
That's the same document as I posted earlier in the Thread: Commando August 1943.pdf

Feeling redundant! :-(

Nick

Ooops! Apols Nick, usually I embrace your posts with the utmost vigour.
As a punishemnt I'm running 10 circuits of the parade ground with rifle aloft - as I type!;0)

For info, my grandfather was the Headquarters Troop Transport Sarjeant listed in the table.

Steve George wrote:

Ooops! Apols Nick, usually I embrace your posts with the utmost vigour.
As a punishemnt I'm running 10 circuits of the parade ground with rifle aloft - as I type!;0)

For info, my grandfather was the Headquarters Troop Transport Sarjeant listed in the table.

Steve,
Good to see that you've identified your father's post.

Now get those knees up...
HIGHER!

Happy New Year,
Nick