A young man's war - 2
After basic training 18 year-old Royal Marine Ralph Collins is sent to Achnacarry "where hard men are bred" to learn the ways of the Commando
08 July 2020
training starts the moment the train stops at Achnacarry - disembark on the wrong side of the train, cross the rails and scale the platform. If you break your ankle, you get sent back down south on the same train.
On arrival at Achnacarry, mock gravestones welcome the newcomers with a sombre parade of salutary warnings;
The purpose of the training at Achnacarry was to produce "the self disciplined and reliant Commando soldier 'fit to fight' and 'fighting fit' with high morale, willing and capable of tackling any military task, under any circumstances, and against any odds."
To get them used to the realities of combat the trainee Commandos were confronted by an arsenal of weapons manned by an army of instructors skilled in the Achnacarry art of shooting to miss - "but not by very much".
There was no blank ammunition used.
The basic instruction consisted of a thorough revision of Rifle, Bren gun, Thompson sub machine gun, Boys anti tank rifle, Piat, Revolver, and Grenades. Followed by plenty of handling practices and lots of firing.
"Captains William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes taught all-in fighting and gruesome methods of silent killing with bare hands or impromptu weapons; they invented the double-edged, razor sharp 71/2-inch Fairbairn Sykes Fighting knife, designed to pierce a sentry’s coat or slash the toughest gizzard."
Now 19, Ralph Collins, Royal Marine Commando, is deemed suitable for further training as a Signaller and is packed off to Signalling school in Wales.
Here's footage of different Commando units going through the same training at Achnacarry.
