EX2376 x Mne William Clayton

I?m trying to find out more about my g uncle Bill who served in WWII. From a bible in his effects, I found the following addresses.

RM How (howitzer?) Battery - Norway
RM 8 B (Battalion?) El Tahaq, Egypt
RM 8B Force Overt - what was Force Overt?
47 Royal Marines Commando (Force Viper) Ceylon

I wondering if anyone could provide more information about what he would likely have been doing in these locations and what Force Overt and Viper were.

I have attached a photo which is believed to be taken in Ceylon.

Thanks
Rosslyn

Hi mate.

Google 47 commando they have an excellent website with nominal rolls for each troop.

Good luck.

Thanks Craig. I?ve done that but no success. I?ll have to wait for his service record.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03071846809420407?journalCode=rusi19

Kevin

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 21/11/2017 20:45:42

Extracts from Royal Marines Museum

UNIT HISTORY SUMMARIES [Reproduced by the kind permission of J D Ladd from ?The Royal Marines 1919-2000?]

Ocean Fortresses
In September 1941 Col (later Brigadier) C. T. Brown reconnoitred Addu Atoll, as a result MNBDO I provided 500 all ranks in force ?Overt?. This force was commanded by Brig C. T. Brown until he was killed in a flying accident, he was succeeded by Brig Lukis. The personnel of ?Overt? installed guns on; Addu Atoll; on other islands including those in the Seychelles; and on a tiny atoll in the Chagos Archipelago some 1,000 miles south?west of Ceylon.10 This small atoll of Diego Garcia would become familiar to Marines serving there in the 1990s with NP 1002. It is hot and humid with no land over six feet above sea level. During 1942 the landing points were blasted in the coral on these islands and roads were built linking the landing points to gun sites. Telephone cables were laid and a number of bridges were built for the Addu Atoll sites. In the autumn of 1942 the L & M Units of MNBDO I and RM Engineers returned to Addu Atoll to build Gan aerodrome.11 Although this airfield was abandoned after World War II, it was rebuilt in the 1950s as an RAF staging post, and is used by the USAF in the 1990s. (See also Naval Party 1002). A

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 24/11/2017 09:03:27

Aplogies for the late reply on this one but I have been away. Force Overt and Force Viper were before the existence of 47RM Commando.

A good account of these units can be found online as Kevin has stated i have added the image in case the link should be broken in time to come.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03071846809420407?journalCode=rusi19&#

Thank you all for these. I had found and read these but was wondering if I had missed any further information or websites.

Hi Rosslyn,
I see that Kevin & Pete have already pointed you in the direction of an article by A Cecil Hampshire, 'The Exploits of Force Viper', but there is also a book by the same author, 'On Hazardous Service', which may contain more detail.

But if you can get to the National Archives at Kew then it would be worth your while to read: WO 203/5708 - Operations on Force Viper (1942): a narrative account by Major D. Johnston, RM, Officer Commanding Force Viper.

There is also mention of Force Viper on this Website - http://www.rothwell.force9.co.uk/burmaweb/RangoonBattalionsBMP.htm

Hope this helps

Nick

Hi Rosslyn,

This is an excerpt from HMSO booklet, 'The Royal Marines, The Admiralty Account Of Their Achievement 1939-43", regarding Force Viper - hope it is useful to you...

Nick

Thank you for this information, particularly the last article. I found it very informative.

Good luck with your research Rosslyn.

Sarah

Dear Rosslyn,
I am the webmaster and historian of the 47 RM Commando Association.
First of all I would like to inform you 47 RM Commando never was in Ceylon, and as others already posted Force Viper dates back to before 47 RM Commando was formed.
If the service record of Bill Clayton shows he indeed served in 47 RM Commando we would very much like to hear about it so we can update our records accordingly.
Regards, Marc

Some time ago I sort some advice about entries in my g uncle Bill?s service in the Royal Marines. I finally got around to obtaining his service record. I?m hoping some one can explain the acronyms and units listed in the his service record eg Siege Regt.

I?m trying to match up this information with what he had written in his bible. I note that there is an 18 month gap from 1941-1943. I understand Force Viper was formed early 1942. Is it possible, he was part of it?

In his bible he refers to 47 Commandos but nothing is reflected in the service record. Could it be that one of the units he served in was amalgamated with others to form the 47.

Would love to hear any theories so I can sort out the facts from family fiction.

Thanks

Reading the attached sheet. Your relative was in 117th RM brigade. 33rd Battalion. They were in the line for a spell as infantry then used to take the ships and dockyards from the German navy upon surrender, not commandos but they had a great record in a short space of time. The RM historical association have a great book written by Lt Colonel George Gelder, I will see if I can find a link.

https://www.royalmarineshistory.com/post/116th-inf-bde-rm