Pte James 'Jim' Hirst

James Richard Hirst, No1 Commando & Suffolk Regiment. Photo courtesy of Jim's nephew, Tony Birth, who adds the following "Jim and some of his comrades from the Suffolk Regiment volunteered for service as glider pilots and mustered at Dartmouth for that purpose. Once there, they were told that plans had changed, and the need now was for volunteers for Special Services. They were given the choice of returning to their parent regiment or staying to form an Independent Company, which they chose to do, eventually evolving to become No.1 Commando. He recounts much time spent in endurance training in Scotland (based at Irvine) and on Dartmoor (from a base at Stoke Fleming), punctuated by various sea voyages including to Norway, St. Nazaire, and Madagascar, from all of which his group returned to base without disembarking or landing. In the North African campaign he recalls landing in company with a US Ranger unit at Algiers from the USS Leedstown (subsequently sunk with some of his possessions still on board!) and being in charge of a number of donkeys which sadly didn't make it to shore. He says that for the landing he and his comrades were made to wear US helmets and carry US weapons because the British were not kindly regarded by the French at the time, following the destruction of the French fleet at Toulon. Thereafter he took part in the battle for Sedjenane and various other actions before moving by train to Bizerta. At some point after that he was travelling in a truck which ran over a landmine, the effect of which resulted in his RTU to the Suffolks."