Hi I am trying to find any info on Fredrick Covell, 41 Commando, Fred is my wife Natasha's grandad and died quite a few years ago now. Our boys have been doing what there family did during the second world war. Nat's knows Fred was in 41 Commando and believes he fought in Italy and Normandy. Fred never talked about the war so any details would be gratefully received. Thanks
Can only help post VE Day 8 May 45 41st Commando Battalion Royal Marines under command 4th Commando Brigade Royal Marines Battalion Headquarters: unknown in Holland 30 May 45 – Borken east of Bocholt Germany for train guard duties 6 Jul 45 – Recklinghausen north-west of Dortmund now under command 9th Infantry Brigade of 3rd Infantry Division employed as Internment Camp guards 8 Jul 45 – Warburg south-east of Paderborn 8 Sep 45 – Recklinghausen north-west of Dortmund 26 Nov 45 – to United Kingdom Hope this helps
As family you should be able to apply for Frederick's service record from the M.O.D. There is a fee but it will tell you every detail you want to know (and more) about his wartime service. Definitely worth obtaining and it would stop any guessing about where he was and what he might have done.
No.41 (Royal Marine) Commando (June/July/Aug 1944) 41 Commando RM | Commando Veterans Archive TD Link for MOD records - Request records of deceased service personnel
41 Cdo RM were part of Layforce during the Salerno landings of 9 Sep 43. The other unit was 2 Army Cdo. Their task at Salerno was to secure the La Molina Pass and prevent the Germans from bringing soldiers down from Naples to interfere with the landings. It was supposed to be a 24 hour job but it lasted nearly a week. They were led by an extraordinary chap called Churchill. He and his men did some brilliant things at Piegolelle and have a hill named after them. Read the book by Hugh Pond. Regards Frank
Mark, Also look for ‘They did what was asked of them’ which covers the whole of 41 RM Commando’s war. It’s by Raymond Mitchell who served with them during WW2 and has also written a memoir called ‘Royal Marine Commando’ which is good for Sicily and Salerno. They took part in invasions of Sicily in July 43, Italy in September 43 before returning to UK to take part in invasion of Normandy. Then up through France and Belgium before amphibious attack on Walcheren to open up Antwerp before ending the war in Germany. One difficulty with research is that the unit’s war diary for 1943 has disappeared. Good news, however, is that the war diary for 1944 is at Kew. Regards Tom
Frank, I think Churchill commanded 2 Commando, rather than 41 RM Commando. You are right though they certainly all ‘did some brilliant things’! Regards Tom
If you get really stuck, I know the family of an old 41 RM. I can always get in touch and see if they'd be interested in responding to an inquiry, though I don't know how much their father told them or left behind at his death.
Hi Mark I went for a few pints every week for 25 years with Fred. I often asked questions about his service and operations, but he never talked about them There was only one occasion when he said that they were making a landing at Salerno at night and had to dig in overnight for a dawn raid. He said that the orders were for total silence and during the night the trenches they had dug were overrun by rats. Normally rats were not an issue as they would have killed them but if they are not killed on the first strike they squeal. They had to endure these creatures crawling over them all night. Let me know how you get on. We are applying for Fred's service medals as Doris did not.
A book with info on 41 commando is called they did what was asked of them author Raymond Mitchell. I know this because husbands uncle was 41 commando in www2 sadly lost his life March 1945 in the Netherlands. The only way to purchase is second hand on ebay and/or amazon and anywhere else that sells second hand books.
