Drive one-mile north-west of the Highland village of Spean Bridge. Here you will find the remarkable bronze memorial commemorating the commandos (soldiers) in a dramatic setting overlooking Ben Nevis.
In 1949, Scott Sutherland won a competition to design a memorial to remember war veterans. This included those who were injured and lost their lives in World War 2. As well as soldiers who died during training in the area. Scott won £200! And in 1952 the Queen Mother unveiled this inspirational memorial.
Winston Churchill was a prisoner in South Africa during the Boer War (1899-1902) where he saw the Boer Commandos in action. They were very impressive.
These small units of Boers successfully used an unconventional method of blitz attack in their warfare against the British. The word ‘commando’ came from an Afrikaans word from the late 1800s.
And so, when Churchill was prime minister, he put in a request to create a British Commando.
Post Dunkirk, Churchill needed the British Army to be “prepared with specially trained troops of the hunter class who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast”. Initially, these soldiers, Commandos, were drawn from the main British Army, and later from the volunteering special service.
The ashes of many Commandos were scattered in this area near Spean Bridge. As well as World War 2 soldiers and those involved in the Falklands War, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Although this memorial was named after Churchill’s enemies, these soldiers are all remembered at the Commando Memorial.
