Pte. Les Wheelan, No.2 Commando 5 troop. POW St Nazaire

Army Service no. 2930965. 2nd Battalion Liverpool Scots, Queens Own Cameron Highlanders TA. Volunteered for service of a hazardous nature and joined No.4 Independent Company. Attached to No.3 (Liverpool Scottish) Platoon of No.4 Independent Company. May 1940 Likely (but not confirmed) to have been part of the Expeditionary force codenamed Scissors Force that sailed from Gourock to Norway. 11th Oct 1940 attached to the 1st Special Service Battalion ‘B’ Company at Paignton. Feb 1941 Special Service Battalions restructured with No.2 Commando being formed from 1st Special Service Battalion ‘B’ Company. Attached to No.2 Commando 5 troop (known originally as the Liverpool Scottish troop, then simply the Scottish troop) on its formation at Paignton. 28th March 1942 took part in Operation Chariot, the raid on St Nazaire. Wounded and taken POW. Spent some of his time as a POW in Stalag V111b. There are photos on our site taken from that camp where Les is pictured. Released 1945. (details provided from Liverpool Scottish Museum Trust records. Also from details held by my father Joe Rogers who was in 5 troop with Les, and was best man to Les when he married Molly).

Information from the family " Les was born on 27/09/1915 and died of a heart attack on 15th May 1979 aged 63. He had a busy career working as a director of the Owen Owen retail business. After the war they lived in Southampton and in 1950 moved to Wallasey, Merseyside for the rest of their lives. They left a daughter Lesley and a son Paul."