Who’s going commando?
QUESTION Were there special forces similar to the SAS in World War I?
Commando operations — selfsufficient forces operating within enemy territory — are as old as warfare.
Before World War II, the types of missions that later would be designated commando operations — assault raids, intelligence collection, reconnaissance, sabotage, pre-emptive seizure and covert diversionary action — were regarded as partisan or guerrilla activity.
They were distrusted by military theorists such as Carl von Clausewitz.
nevertheless, specialist outfits started to appear at the end of the 19th century. a good example are the Lovat Scouts, formed in January 1900 for service in the Second Boer War by Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat.
This Scottish Highland regiment was made up of exceptional woodsmen in camouflage called ghillie suits. They were well-practised in marksmanship, field craft and military tactics. These sharpshooters became the first sniper unit in the British army and played a prominent role in World War I.
The idea of a commando force drew on the arab Bureau created during World War I and the T.E. Lawrence-inspired
arab uprising against the ottoman Empire. Lawrence convinced King Faisal of Iraq that the arab forces could win against a numerically greater enemy.
He persuaded them to conduct hit-andrun attacks and raids using small, independent, mobile groups of fighters. This style of warfare was compatible with the Bedouin way of fighting, with an emphasis on the individual fighter over the unit and loyalty to tribe before army.
modern special forces emerged during World War II. after the fall of France in June 1940, Winston Churchill called for ‘specially trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast’.
Using volunteers from other regiments, a small, but well-trained and highly mobile raiding and reconnaissance force known as the commandos was set up.
on June 24, 1940, the first commando raid, operation Collar, took place at Le Touquet in northern France.
The Special Boat Section (SBS) was established by Roger Courtney in 1940 and subsequently became the Special Boat Service.
In 1941, david Stirling founded the Special air Service (SAS) in Egypt to undertake small-scale raids behind enemy lines. In 1942, the Royal navy’s Royal marine battalions were reorganised as commandos.
John Dorans, Lincoln.
QUESTION What was the deepest mine in Britain?
OUR deepest mine is still operating. Boulby, between Saltburn and Whitby on the north-East coast of England and on the edge of the north Yorkshire moors, is a potash, polyhalite and rock salt mine operated by ICL-UK.
Reaching 4,600 ft at its deepest point, it takes seven minutes to reach the bottom of the mine by shaft elevator. at that depth the temperature is more than 40c.
There is a huge network of underground roadways and caverns with more than 600 miles of tunnel having been excavated since mining began in 1968.
The mine is home to the Boulby Underground Laboratory. The rock acts as a barrier to cosmic and solar rays by a factor of one million compared to conditions at the surface. It’s an ideal site for ultralow background and deep underground science projects, in particular the study of dark matter.
The deepest mine in Europe is the 4,738 ft Pyhasalmi zinc and copper mine in Finland. It is owned by First Quantum minerals, a Canadian mining corporation. many of the deepest mines in the world are in South africa.
mponeng gold mine is 2.5 miles below the surface. The temperature of the rock reaches 66c and slurry ice is pumped to cool the tunnel air to below 30c.
The deepest coal shaft in Britain is contested. The rich milyard coal seam was reached at Kent’s Tilmanstone colliery in 1930 at a depth of 3,035ft. a shaft at Snowdown colliery may have reached as deep as 3,083 ft.
a shaft at the Parsonage Colliery in Westleigh in Lancashire was sunk to 3,024ft below the surface, but the seam continued down at a 20 per cent decline, so the deepest workings were probably 4,200 ft below the surface.
Mark Ross, Devizes, Wilts.
QUESTION Do other countries have names for Mr & Mrs Average, such as John and Jane Doe in the U.S.?
MOST nations have a Joe or Jane Public. our Joe or Fred Bloggs is believed to be derived from bloc, meaning bloke, which is an ancient East anglian term.
Switzerland has otto normalverbraucher, meaning otto the normal consumer. Germany has max or Erika mustermann (Example Person), who became famous when used on the template when European passports were issued in 1985.
In Italy there’s Signora Buongiorno (mrs Good morning), mario Rossi or the alliterative Pinco Pallino. The danish version is anders andersen, or anders son of anders. Likewise, the netherlands uses Jan Jansen and Iceland has Jon Jonsson and Jona Jonsdottir.
France has monsieur and madame Untel and in Spain it’s Fulano and Fulanita de Tal, which both mean mr & mrs So-and-So.
In norway, there is ola and Kari nordmann (which means norwegian), denmark has morten menigmand (Everyman) and Sweden has medelsvensson (average Svensson).
China has Zhang San, Li Si, which translates as Three Zhang, Four Li — a reference to popular Chinese surnames — and australia has adopted the wonderful Fred nurk, a Harry Secombe character in The Goon Show.
Andy Clarke, Yeovil, Somerset.
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