Shimi, the Lord Lovat

• Memorial Text
• Shimi, the Lord Lovat
• Lt. Col. Simon Fraser DSO MC – Commanding Officer No. 4 Commando. The Dieppe Raid 18/19th August 1942.
• At the outset of World War 2 Lord Lovat was enlisted as a Captain with the Lovat Scouts. The following year he volunteered to join one of the new commando units being formed by the British Army and was eventually attached to No.4 Commando.
• In March 1941, No.3 and 4 Commando launched a raid on the German occupied Lofoten Islands in Norway. This successful raid successfully destroyed fish oil factories, petrol dumps, and 11 ships as well as seizing encryption equipment and code books. More than 200 German Troops were captured and over 300 Norwegians chose to escape to Britain.
• In April 1942 he was in command 100 men of No.4 Commando in a raid on the French coastal village of Hardelot. For this action he was awarded the Military Cross (MC).
• As commanding officer of No.4 Commando during the Dieppe Raid he led the successful attack against the German “Hess” Battery and put the coastal guns out of action before withdrawing with most of his force. For this action he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).
• Whilst the Dieppe Raid was an overall failure, the lessons learnt led to the successful D-Day landings in Normandy two years later where the commander of the 1st. Special Service Brigade landed on Sword Beach and advanced to the now famous Pegasus Bridge to reinforce the soldiers of the 2nd. Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry who successfully stormed the bridge after landing by Horsa Glider at just after midnight on the 6th. June 1944.