Jodie Kidd among team recreating daring war-time raid to raise funds for today's heroes

The event will honour the “Cockleshell Heroes” who took part in Operation Frankton, a Royal Marine attack on the Nazi-occupied port of Bordeaux in 1942

The path of one the Second World War’s most daring raids is being retraced to raise money for injured Special Forces heroes.

The event will honour the “Cockleshell Heroes” who took part in Operation Frankton, a Royal Marine attack on the Nazi-occupied port of Bordeaux in 1942 which helped lead to the formation of the Special Boat Service.

Ten commandos set out in canoes to destroy German ships but only two survived. Winston Churchill is said to have credited the attack with shortening the war by six months.

In September, a team will travel to France for a sponsored 70-mile paddle, retracing the route the commandos took 75 years ago.

Mission: the team training to retrace the steps of Operation Frankton
Lucy Young

Today, the team took part in a training exercise on the Thames, where they were joined by Lord Ashdown, patron of the SBS Association.

He said: “As a former Royal Marine who served in the SBS I am very well aware of the bravery of those who took part in this remarkable operation. The character of these men remains a guiding star for our members today.”

Five military canoes filled with SBSA members paddled from Lambeth Pier past HMS Belfast and the Tower of London, under Tower Bridge, ending at Butler’s Wharf Pier.

Model Jodie Kidd, who also took part, said: “I can speak at first hand about the amazing work the SBSA does supporting soldiers, veterans and their families too. I urge everyone to get behind these special people who give so much to defend our country.”

Today’s paddle kicks off a series of events organised by the SBSA building up to the 75th anniversary of Operation Frankton.

It took place in December 1942, when 10 commandos set out in canoes, or “cockles” from HMS Tuna, 12 miles off the mouth of the Gironde estuary.

Their objective was to blow up German cargo ships laden with supplies intended for the Nazi war effort 70 miles upriver in Bordeaux.

Only four men reached the port —commander Major Herbert “Blondie” Hasler and Marine Bill Sparks in one canoe, and Corporal Albert Laver and Marine Bill Mills in another. They managed to plant their explosives before fleeing but only Hasler and Sparks survived, making it into Spain and down to Gibraltar. Lord Mountbatten called it “the most courageous and imaginative of all the raids ever carried out by the men of Combined Operations”.

The commandos were immortalised as the Cockleshell Heroes in the 1955 film of the same name, starring Trevor Howard.

To donate, visit http://ch75.org/

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