Dedication of memorial to Combined Operations Pilotage Parties

27th September 2012 at Hayling Island.

Photos courtesy of Rob Crane, son of Major Jack Crane RE, who served with COPP 1. Rob adds the following information :

"The event started with a speech by General Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff, before Countess Mountbatten of Burma spoke about her own time with Combined Operations and the importance of the work that COPP did. She then unveiled the memorial plaque, before the memorial was dedicated and wreaths were laid. Major General Davis then stressed the importance of the COPP legacy to the modern-day SBS, and the event rounded off with COPP veteran Jim Booth adding his thanks and some recollections. The veterans, their families, and current service personnel then went for a meal at Hayling Island Sailing Club, where COPP was based during the war."

Major-General Ed Davis, Commandant General Royal Marines, paid tribute to the pioneering work of the COPP units and explained their importance as ancestors of the Special Boat Service “It was a very memorable occasion allowing us to look back on the accomplishments and achievements of some very brave men. It is right to mark the contribution they made and make sure that is perpetuated in the Royal Marines of today, that spirit and ethos.” [source: MOD]

Rob further added "It was a wonderful day, and I was particularly pleased to speak with veteran John Ashford who remembered flying out to join COPP in the Far East (he was a replacement for another Royal Engineer who had been killed in action) and being met at the airport by my Grandfather (then senior Engineer COPP officer in the Far East) who promptly said: 'Let's go for a drink.' (One thing that Major General Davis stressed in his speech was that the drinking element carries on in the modern-day SBS!)

The COPP veterans in attendance were:
- John Ashford (Royal Engineers)
- John Ainsworth-Davis (COPP HQ intelligence staff)
- Jim Booth (Royal Navy)
- John Bowden (Royal Navy)
- Roger Gilbert (Royal Engineers)
- David Owen (SBS)
- Peter Palmer (Royal Navy).

Unable to attend were:
- Logan Scott-Bowden (Royal Engineers)
- Nick Goodyear (Royal Navy).

There's a BBC TV report here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-19749291