Forward Abseil 'Death dive' - Was it used during WWII?

I'm completely new to the forum and I expect I'll be reading through a lot of the material this year. I've ended up here because I've been trying to verify a half-remembered piece of information that I'm reasonably sure I saw on a documentary about the Royal Marines. I'm an author and I wanted to reference something known as the 'death dive' which is a forward abseiling manouevre used to test the nerve during selection or training.

If my recollection is correct, this technique was apparently used during WWII, possibly as a method of retreating rapidly at some point. However, the documentary would have been in the 90's and my memory of it is fuzzy at best. I'm writing science fiction set in the far future but I really don't want to reference something that's pure fiction. There's quite enough of that sort of thing in Hollywood films about well documented history anyway.

I asked in a writing forum and an acquaintance whose ex-military and spent some time serving on bases near Brecon, posed the question to some Royal Marines she knows. They've confirmed the death dive is a part of the Tarzan assault course but suggested I should come here for the more historical information.

If anyone can suggest a source I can refer to or can even confirm when or if the technique might have been used during a war, that would be incredibly helpful.

It was also suggested I visit the Royal Marines Museum but sadly that's closed at the moment. Shamefully, I was born in Portsmouth and never actually visited it. I'm planning to visit as soon as it re-opens in the historic dockyard, along with my co-author and family. :)

Hi Jon

The answer to your question is here http://www.commandoveterans.org/CommandoDarkMile

Scroll down until you see the bit about the Tarzan Course and in there you will see some uses of the Toggle Rope carried by WW2 Commandos. The Death Ride as it was called was devised by Lt. Alick Cowieson, an Army Commando, who at the time was an instructor at the Commando Depot, later known as the Commando Basic Training Centre (CBTC) at Achnacarry, Scotland.

One important point on historical accuracy here is that the Commandos at that time were predominantly Army Commandos who were raised in July 1940, not Royal Marines. In fact the first two Royal Marine Commando units were not formed until 1942. The others were raised in August 1943, with the final one in 1944. That all changed after the war however when the Army Commandos were disbanded.

The sources can be shown as Captain Donald Gilchrist, CBTC Instructor and author of Castle Commando, and Major James Dunning, CBTC Instructor and author of It Had To Be Tough. Both men were Army Commandos, and both books are highly recommended.

Pete

Great, thanks for the info Pete, much appreciated. :)