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In 1942 the British launched a 12 man raid and reconnaissance mission to the Channel Island of Sark. On the night of the 3 October, a cast of characters who gave their colleague Ian Fleming ideas for a secret agent character, James Bond, crept ashore. They escaped hours later with one German prisoner, a further…

My article, Operation Basalt — Inside the Controversial 1942 British Raid That Led to Hitler’s Infamous ‘Commando Order,’ has just been published in Military History Now .

My article on Operation Basalt, the British commando raid on Sark, appears today in the March issue of Military History Monthly.

Major Geoffrey Appleyard was the commander of Operation Basalt. John Appleyard is his half-brother. Here are his remarks, delivered on 3 October 2017, at the unveiling of the memorial on Sark. — Seigneur, Islanders and children of Sark, Ladies and Gentlemen – If I may presume to speak on behalf of the families of those…

It has been three quarters of a century since a dozen or so British commandos landed on this island in the raid known as “Operation Basalt”. Tonight we honour their memory. But this is also a good opportunity to reflect upon not only what happened here on the night of 3-4 October 1942, but also…

Next month (3-4 October) marks the 75th anniversary of Operation Basalt, the British commando raid on Sark. A memorial stone will be unveiled, there’ll be a dinner and talk (which I’ll deliver), and a guided walk of the commando route. This is a wonderful initiative by the people of Sark, and I’m very pleased that…