Hoyle, Bob (Oral history)

British NCO served with No.12 Commando during raid on St Nazaire, France, 28-29/Mar/1942.

REEL 1: Aspects of training with No. 12 Commando in GB, 1941-1942: story of joining commandos from the Lancashire Fusiliers; reason for volunteering for independent companies; posted to Ayr, Scotland; opinion of billet in private house; reason for keeping weapons and ammunition at billet; attitude to discipline in commandos and threat of being Returned to Unit; rank and relations with officers; camaraderie due to all being volunteers; description of training in Scotland including physical training, rock climbing, explosives, training with submarine boat crews, endurance exercises and mountain climbing; role of commandos. REEL 2 Continues: opinion of training; varied backgrounds of commandos; question of aggressive nature; opinion of Bob Wright and ‘Jumbo’ Reeves; description of briefing on Lofoten Islands raid; attitude to cancellation of raids at short notice; relations between regular army and commandos; question of commandos being an elite unit; description of unarmed combat training including use of commando knife; reason for St Nazaire raid and objectives; description of demolition training on dry docks in Cardiff; method of laying charges; training with various types of high explosives and fuses; use of scaffold tube as pipe bomb. Aspects of operations with No.12 Commando during raid on St Nazaire, France, 28-29/Mar/1942: description of officers’ wardroom on HMS Campbeltown; attitude to HMS Campbeltown being rigged to explode and camouflaged as German destroyer; attitude to surviving raid; reason for not writing letter home before raid. REEL 3 Continues: description of hearing HMS Campbeltown coming under fire from below deck; story of shell going through wardroom wall; description of HMS Campbeltown crashing into dock gates; story of Maj. Copeland walking along deck; reason for German anti-aircraft guns firing over ship; description of disembarking from HMS Campbeltown; story of having to remove trousers after catching fire; description of demolishing winding house; rendezvoused on old mole; opinion of German resistance; problem of not being sufficiently well armed; reaction to seeing motor launches on fire; role of protection party. REEL 4 Continues: description of fighting retreat through town to bridge; story of hiding under bridge and capture by Germans; amusing story about wearing long scarf; reflections on success of raid and casualties; attitude to using motor launches instead of second destroyer; problem of lack of air cover; question of raid being scaled down from original plan.