Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A fine Second War ‘Commando’ campaign group of five awarded to ‘demolition specialist’ Warrant Officer Class 2 J. R. ‘Jack’ Jellico, Royal Engineers, attached No. 4 Commando, who took part in the first Commando raid of all - Operation Claymore, the raid on the Lofoten Islands, 1 March 1941, and was then present for Operation Jubilee - the Dieppe Raid, 19 August 1942

1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Efficiency Medal, G.VI.R., 2nd issue, Territorial (2073383 W.O. Cl. 2. J. R. Lillico. R.E.) unit partially officially corrected, nearly extremely fine (5) £800-£1,200

J.R. ‘Jack’ Lillico was a native of Choppington in Northumberland, and initially served during the Second World War as a Lance Corporal with the Royal Engineers (T.A.). He was one of a small number of men who volunteered for Commando training towards the end of 1940, and subsequently joined the Special Service Brigade. Having carried out further training, Lillico took part in the first ever Commando Raid - Operation Claymore, the raid on the Lofoten Islands, 1 March 1941.

The forces engaged for the raid were No. 3 Commando, No. 4 Commando and a Royal Engineers Section from No. 55 Field Company, and it is most likely that Lillico was initially a member of this latter unit, it being a Commando Engineer unit, before going on to join No. 4 Commando.

By the autumn of 1940 more than 2,000 men had volunteered for commando training, and the Special Service Brigade now consisted of 12 units which were called Commandos. After an inauspicious start the first large scale commando raid was to be on the Lofoten Islands, just off the Norwegian coast inside the Arctic Circle and about 900 miles from Britain. Once at the islands the raiders would be landed at four small ports, to destroy fish oil producing factories. All the oil produced was being shipped to Germany where the glycerine was extracted for use in the manufacture of high explosives.

The commandos would be transported to the islands aboard two new infantry landing ships, escorted by four Tribal class and one L class destroyer of the 6th Destroyer Flotilla. The overall commander of the raid was Rear Admiral L. H. K. Hamilton. The objectives of Operation Claymore were threefold. The Royal Navy were tasked to safely escort the transports carrying the landing force to the islands and back. While there they were to destroy or capture any German shipping or Norwegian shipping working for the Germans and provide naval gunfire support for the landing forces. The naval forces taking part were the escorts from the 6th Destroyer Flotilla: HMS Somali, HMS Bedouin, HMS Tartar, HMS Eskimo, and HMS Legion under the command of Captain C. Caslon, R.N. There were two newly converted landing ships the HMS Queen Emma and the HMS Princess Beatrix which were to transport the landing force. The landing force was provided by the Special Service Brigade under command of Brigadier J. C. Haydon. The commandos taking part were 250 all ranks from No. 3 Commando under command Major J. F. Durnford-Slater, and 250 all ranks of No. 4 Commando, under command of Lieutenant Colonel D.S. Lister. They were supported by a Section of Royal Engineers of No 55 Field Company, under command of Second Lieutenant H. M. Turner, and 4 officers and 48 other ranks of the Royal Norwegian Navy, under the command of Captain Martin Linge.

The landing force were to destroy the oil producing facilities in the ports of Stamsund, Henningsvaer, Solver, and Brettesnes, engage the German garrison and attempt to make prisoners of war of the personnel found in the area. They were also to detain any supporters of the Norwegian Quisling party and persuade the local population to leave with them and join the Free Norwegian Forces. The force started gathering at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands on 21 February 1941 and remained there for almost a week before leaving for Norway just after midnight on 1 March 1941. The landing force was distributed amongst the ships, headquarters Special Service Brigade were transported on HMS Somali. No. 4 Commando which had been assigned landings at Svolvær and Brettesnes were on board HMS Queen Emma. No 3 Commando which had been assigned landings at Stamsund and Henningsvær were on board HMS Princess Beatrix. The Royal Engineers and Norwegian forces were divided between both the landing ships. The time they had spent at Scapa Flow was used getting acquainted with the transport ships and the Assault Landing Craft they would be using to reach the shore. The problems the navy perceived providing gunfire support were also discussed, as the destroyers would not be able to approach closer than 1 mile to shore owing to the shallows. Because of this the commandos were trained to rely on their own weapons to provide covering fire and support each other from their landing craft. Plans were also made for them to look after themselves in case the destroyers were called away to deal with a naval threat, which included every man being ordered to take enough rations to last 48 hours ashore.

The naval task force known by the codename Rebel left Scapa Flow and headed towards the Faroes. They berthed in the Skalafjordur at 19:00 hours 1 March 1941 to take on fuel. Refuelling took five hours and the naval task force set out again heading northwards towards the Arctic to avoid detection by German air and sea patrols. They then turned east and headed towards Norway, arriving at the Lofoten Islands during the early morning of 4th March 1941, just before 04:00 hours. Entering the Vestfjorden they were surprised to see all the harbour navigational lights illuminated, which they believed to be a sign that they were not expected and had achieved complete surprise.

During the planning for the operation, plans were drawn up that called for simultaneous landings at all their targets at 06:30 hours but on arrival they decided to postpone the landings by 15 minutes so they would not be landing in total darkness. When they did commence to disembark the landing force, they were all ashore by 06:50 hours. On shore the landing force commenced their operations, unopposed. The only shots fired were by the armed trawler Krebs, which managed to fire four rounds at HMS Somali before being sunk. Other ships sunk by the landing forces were the merchant ships Hamburg, Pasajes, Felix, Mira, Eilenau, Rissen, Andø, Grotto and Bernhard Schulte, which amounted to 18,000 tons of shipping. Additionally the force that landed at Stamsund destroyed the Lofotens Cod Boiling Plant. Two factories were destroyed at Henningsvær and 13 at Svolvær. In total about 800,000 imperial gallons of fish oil, paraffin were set on fire, and 228 prisoners of war were captured, seven from the Kriegsmarine, three from the Heer, 15 from the Luftwaffe, two from the Schutzstaffel (SS), 147 from the Merchant Navy and 14 civilians.

Perhaps the most significant outcome of the raid, however, was the capture of a set of rotor wheels for an Enigma cypher machine and its code books. These were rescued from the sinking German armed trawler Krebs. Their capture enabled Bletchley Park to read all the German naval codes for some time, which provided the intelligence needed to allow allied convoys to avoid U-Boat concentrations.

By 13:00 hours both the infantry landing ships HMS Princess Beatrix and HMS Queen Emma had embarked all their troops and were ready to sail. With them came 300 volunteers for the Free Norwegian Forces in Britain. Operation Claymore was the first of 12 commando raids directed against Norway during the Second World War. Lillico, who signed himself off ‘Jack’ sent a telegram on his return from the Lofoten Islands to his wife ‘Mrs R.J. Lillico, of 36 Welbeck Road, Sheepwash, Choppington’ dated Troon 8th March 1941 which reads: ‘Home safe from Lofoten Islands letter following’.

Operation Jubilee - the Dieppe Raid

Lillico was then next a part of Operation Jubilee - the Dieppe Raid, 19 August 1942. At this period, though he is known to have been a Commando who had taken part in the Lofoten Islands raid back on 1st March 1941, the exact unit he was with still remains a mystery, there being no documentation giving his exact unit, but the photograph of him wearing the early shoulder title for No. 4 Commando would certainly suggest this unit, in which he would have served in a demolitions role, having quite possibly been a member of the original men from No. 55 Field Company, Royal Engineers who had taken part in the Lofoten Islands raid. A process of deduction from his further known service with 1st Special Services Brigade later retitled as the 1st Commando Brigade would also indicate No. 4 Army Commando, as men of No. 3 Commando were later sent to the Mediterranean from 1943-1944 to take part in the Sicily Landings, and the Italy Star is not present in his group. Another factor in helping to ascertain that Lillico was a member of No. 4 Commando is the fact that his telegram on his return from the Lofoten Raid was sent from Troon, which was the base for No. 4 Commando, as such he would have served as a specialist within the unit, almost certainly demolitions or else for assisting in crossing obstacles.

No. 4 Army Commando after returning from Norway, started training for Operation Puma, the occupation of the Canary Islands. The operation was planned following intelligence that Spain was going to join the war on the side of the Axis forces. The intention was to prevent Germany using the islands as a U-Boat base. The force assembled included five commando units, an army brigade, two Royal Marine brigades and supporting arms. Training for Operation Puma culminated in landing exercises in the Hebrides. The operation was renamed Operation Pilgrim and after a number of delays was put on hold by the Chiefs-of-Staff.

On 13 September 1941 a token force including a troop from No. 4 Commando was dispatched to West Africa. The troop was based in Sierra Leone and Nigeria until returning to Britain in February 1942, after the cancellation of the operation. While this was happening a new second in command was appointed, Major Charles Vaughan, and a Captain Lord Lovat joined the unit as the training officer. Lovat had been attached to the Lofoten raid as an observer and had applied for a posting to the commandos.

For the Dieppe Raid No. 3, No. 4 and the newly formed ‘A’ (Royal Marine) Commando were to land by sea and attack the artillery batteries and the harbour. The Dieppe Raid was a major operation planned by Admiral Lord Mountbatten and Combined Operations Headquarters. The attacking force consisted of around 6,000 troops. The Royal Navy supplied 237 ships and landing craft, and the Royal Air Force 74 squadrons of aircraft, of which 66 were fighter squadrons. Landing on the eastern flank No. 3 Commando would assault the Goebbels artillery battery, while No. 4 Commando would be responsible for the Hess battery on the western flank. The Hess battery consisted of six 150 millimetres (5.9in) guns in a concrete emplacement 1,100 yards (1,000m) inland from the coastal cliffs. The emplacement was surrounded by two rows of barbed wire, and protected by several machine gun posts. A nearby anti-aircraft tower could also defend against a ground attack on the guns. The commandos were responsible for their own planning and selected two landing beaches codenamed Orange one and two.

Orange One at Varengeville was overlooked by a chalk cliff but had two gullies leading to the top of the cliff. Before the war there were steps down to the beach. But these had been removed and the gullies filled with barbed wire and other obstacles. The second beach Orange Two was at Quiberville 1.5 miles further west at the mouth of the River Saane. This offered access to the top of the cliffs but was covered by two machine gun pillboxes and barbed wire and it was further away from their target. Intelligence had estimated that the strength of the battery was between 120–175 men, supported by two infantry companies stationed nearby. The plan was for four troops (A, B, C and F), headquarters and attached specialists, to be divided into two groups. Group one under the command of Major Mills-Roberts would land at Orange One and consisted of C Troop, a section from A Troop, the mortar detachment and some of the specialists. They would scale the cliffs and form a fire base in the woods in front of the battery to support the assault. Group two commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Lovat would land at Orange Two and take out the beach defences. B and F Troops would then advance move along the river and assault the battery from the rear. The rest of A Troop would be the reserve, positioned between the two beaches. After the attack Group two would withdraw through Group one and be picked up by the waiting LCAs on Orange One beach.

Lillico’s No. 4 Commando made the crossing to Dieppe on board HMS Prins Albert. The crossing was uneventful and at 04:50 just before daybreak Group one landed unopposed. Using two Bangalore torpedoes to blow a hole in the barbed wire, they managed to scale the cliffs. As they approached the battery at 05:45 it opened fire on the main landing force coming ashore at Dieppe. This was 30 minutes before Group one was expected to be in a position but Mills-Roberts responded by speeding up the advance to get their guns into action sooner. Once in position they opened fire on the battery with their mortars, Bren machine guns and sniper rifles. One of the mortar bombs landed inside the battery and exploded the stored charges, putting the guns out of action. Group two had an opposed landing being greeted by machine gun fire from the two pillboxes guarding the beach. Leaving a section from A Troop to deal with them the rest of the Group ran the 1.5 miles (2.4km) to the rear of the battery, bypassing German infantry positions on the way. The A Troop section having finished off the pillboxes, set out for Orange one beach, ambushing a German patrol on route. While this was happening Lovat and the other two troops, were preparing to assault the battery from different directions. The men from B Troop approached from behind the anti-aircraft tower, as they could still see some Germans moving about on it, they detached three men to deal with them. At the same time they stumbled across and captured a machine gun post.

At 06:15 the assault started, F Troop discovered a group of Germans forming up to put in their own assault on the fire base. Charging into them they were dispersed without loss to the commandos. The troop continued their advance, moving between some buildings and an orchard, when they were themselves caught in the open by heavy gun fire. Two men in the lead the troop commander Captain Pettiward and Lieutenant McDonald were killed while Troop Sergeant Major Stockdale was wounded. It was for this action that the already wounded Captain Porteous, acting as the liaison officer between the two groups was awarded the Victoria Cross.

The two Groups were in position, when a pre arranged strafing attack by the Royal Air Force commenced, this signalled an increasing in the rate of fire from Group one. At 06:30 a very flare fired by Lovat signalled the start of the assault. Group one ceased firing and B and F Troops charged the battery with bayonets fixed. The objective for B Troop was the battery buildings, while F Troop targeted the guns. Captain Porteous now commanding F Troop was wounded again, this time in the thigh but urged his men on. He was shot for the third time and passed out just as the guns were captured. Demolition experts from F Troop destroyed the guns with pre-formed charges while B Troop searched the battery buildings for intelligence materials. Carrying their wounded with them and escorting prisoners both troops withdrew through the fire base. Still in contact with the Germans both groups of commandos made it to Orange One beach and at 08:15 were taken off by the LCAs. They crossed the channel without incident arriving at Newhaven docks at 17:45 the same day.

For their part in the raid Lovat was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Mills-Roberts the Military Cross. The cost to the Commando was at first thought to be 23 dead but six were only severely wounded and were eventually reported to be prisoners of war. No. 4 Commandos assault on the battery was the only successful part of the whole operation. The War Office claimed it as a classic example of the use of well trained infantry...and a thoroughness in planning, training and execution, and in February 1943 issued an infantry training pamphlet in order that all may benefit from the story of a stimulating achievement . Once again, Lillico’s involvement in the Dieppe Raid is confirmed from a telegram sent from King’s Cross and dated Newcastle-on-Tyne 21st August 1942, once again sent to his wife, it reads ‘Back Ok Grand Scrap’. This was sent two days after his return from the Dieppe Raid.

After Dieppe the headquarters staff changed again. Lovat was promoted to Brigadier and given command of the 1st Special Service Brigade. Mills-Roberts was promoted and sent to North Africa to take over command of No. 6 Commando. They were replaced by Robert Dawson as the CO and Ronald Menday as 2IC. Other changes included moving to a new base in Falmouth and the formation of a heavy weapons troop in each commando. The new troop with mortar and Vickers machine gun sections provided the heavy weapons needed for their new role as assault infantry. By now the Commandos had started to move away from smaller raiding operations. They were formed into units intended to spearhead future Allied landing operations. To assist in this they were given the organic fire support weapons, that had been absent when they were a raiding force. In June 1943, 10 months after the Dieppe raid, No. 4 Commando started a new round of training. The program included mountain warfare training at the Commando Snow and Mountain Warfare Training Centre in Scotland. The emphasis here was on fighting and living in the mountains and instruction in how to train a partisan force. Afterwards they moved to another new base in Sussex.

Instead of occupying one town, the troops spread out. A and B Troops were billeted at Seaford, C and D Troops at Newhaven and E and F Troops at Lewes. Training was now almost non stop and a number of large scale landing exercises, using the new Landing Craft Infantry took place. In February 1944, while the rest of No. 4 continued to practice day and night assault landings and live firing exercises C Troop was sent to qualify as parachutists at the parachute training centre RAF Ringway. The ranks of No. 4 Commando swelled in April 1944 with the arrival of two French troops from No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando.

Lillico, who had by October 1944 been promoted to Quartermaster Sergeant serving with the Staff Officer Royal Engineers of 1st Commando Brigade, is shown as an electrician by trade within the Royal Engineers, once again highlighting his probable involvement in demolition work. It is highly probable that Lillico had landed in Normandy on D-Day, 6th June 1944, when 4 Commando were detailed to take out the Cassino Strongpoint overlooking Sword Beach. As such he may well have remained in Normandy through to 6th September 1944, when after the successful operations to capture the Orne Bridgehead, they were withdrawn. 4 Commando now began training for the Walcheren Landings which occurred in November 1944, however in October 1944, Lillico had joined the team of engineer specialists headed up by Captain Peter Speak, Royal Marines, who was the Staff Officer Royal Engineers for 1st Special Service Brigade and later the No. 1 Commando Brigade as it was retitled, Lillico being shown as a Quartermaster Sergeant and Electrician by trade. Lillico would remain under Speak’s direction until 19th June 1945, when he served as an Instructor in Engineering subjects, however he is confirmed as having seen further active service in North West Europe with First Commando Brigade.

In December 1944 the 1st Special Service Brigade had been re-designated the 1st Commando Brigade, which consisted of British Army and Royal Marine Commando’s, with the following unit’s being under it’s wing: No. 3, No. 4, No. 6 and No. 45 RM Commando. During January 1945 the 1st Commando Brigade was involved in the desperate fighting to hold the German Ardennes Offensive, whilst holding a stretch of the River Maas, and Lance Corporal H. Harden, a medical orderly of the RAMC attached to 45 RM Commando, won the Victoria Cross. Brigade's next large-scale operation was the crossing of the river Rhine at Wesel. Intensive training and detailed planning were the keys to the remarkable success of Operation Plunder on 23 March, which incurred less than 100 casualties. Operation Plunder started at 1800 hours on 23 March with a barrage of 5,500 guns along the 35km front and a bomber raid on the city of Wesel. The 51st Highland Division led the river crossing at 2300 hours with the Canadians crossing later 6.5km south of Rees, then the 1st Commando Brigade, 1.5km north of Wesel. The assault craft– Buffalo amphibious vehicles, assault boats and DUKWs carried the infantry; LCMs carried the armour, including Sherman DD tanks– were guided across the river by CDL searchlights and tracer fire from machine guns. General Patton had earlier put the US 5th Infantry Division across the Ludendorff railway bridge at Remagen —a day earlier than planned —thus drawing off German reinforcements and reducing the opposition to the main landings. The next obstacle to be tackled was the river Weser, where the brigade was to reinforce and exploit the bridgehead that had already been established. This operation was followed by the crossing of the river Aller, which resulted in some heavy fighting in the woods beyond. A serious situation was averted by a spirited counter-attack by No. 6 Commando. When the hunting horns sounded and led by Lieut. Colonel A. C. Lewis, the Commando charged forward through the trees at a fast double and with bayonets fixed.

By 19th April, 1st Commando Brigade had reached Lunenberg and prepared for its final operation, the crossing of the river Elbe and the advance beyond to Neustadt. Reaching there on 3 May, No. 6 Commando was the first to arrive and began sorting out the dead and the survivors of the prison ship Cap Arcona that had been attacked by the RAF by mistake whilst moored in the Bay of Lübeck. The following day, 4th May 1945, Brigadier Mills-Roberts took the surrender of Field Marshal Milch and all of the German troops under his command. In June 1945 Lillico is noted as having returned to work directly under Staff Officer Royal Engineers for No. 1 Commando Brigade, being based at East Grinstead in Sussex, and then left this employment on 19 July 1945, and was most probably demobilised when the Army Commando’s were disbanded in late October 1945.

Lillico was a Life Member of the Special Service Brigade Old Comrades Association from 19 August 1943 onwards, he being then a Sergeant at the time of his appointment.

Sold with the following related original documentation: Old Comrades Association of the Special Service Brigade Life Membership Card, dated 19th August 1943; original pair of woven Commando dagger shoulder titles; original single woven ‘Commando’ shoulder title; Royal Engineers cap badge, King’s crown; photograph of recipient wearing Sergeant’s stripes together with wife, tunic shows him wearing the ’Special IV Service’ shoulder title, indicating service with 4th Commando; another photo of recipient in the rank of Lance Corporal; telegram dated 8th March 1941 and sent to his wife / mother in which he states ‘Home safe from Lofoten Islands letter following’; telegram dated 21st August 1942 and sent to his wife / mother in which he states ‘Back ok Grand Scrap’, with the date of this indicating that Lillico took part in the Dieppe Raid which occurred on 19th August 1942; photograph taken when on active service, recipient identified by a ‘x’ and the reverse annotated ‘we built this bridge over a river’; newspaper cutting titled ‘Norway Hits back’ which details the Commando raid on the Lofted Islands;newspaper cutting titled ‘1st Commandos Great Record - Stormed 4 rivers in 5 weeks’, and detailing 1st Commando Brigade’s storming and crossing of the four main German rivers in five weeks - Rhine, Weser, Aller and Elbe; a German Eine Rentenmark bank note; 1st Commando Brigade Headquarters Part 1 Orders as issued by Captain H.R. Muir Beddall, dated 31st March 1945, and containing Dempsey’s message to the brigade congratulating them on their part in the crossing of the Rhine; aerial photograph of one of the German rivers which was crossed, dated 5th September 1944 - indicating the River Rhine; two aerial photograph of one of the German rivers which was crossed, both dated 25th April 1945 - indicating the River Elbe; Letter on 1st Commando Brigade headed paper, detailing the service of Lillico, dated 19th July 1945; newspaper cutting dated 26th October 1945, titled: ‘Last of the Green Beret Commando men to disband’; Army Council Campaign Medal Award Slip confirming entitlement to ‘4’ awards.