Farewell, 3 Commando Brigade

The news yesterday that 3 Commando Brigade has been renamed the UK Commando Force brings to an end eighty years of meritorious service.

Originating from the 3rd Special Service Brigade, created on 31 August 1943, 3 Commando Brigade was officially formed in October 1946.

It thereafter lived up to the Corps’ motto, ‘Per Mare, Per Terram’, serving in Palestine, Malaya, Korea, Cyprus, Suez, Borneo, Aden, Northern Ireland, the Falklands, the Gulf, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and a host of other global trouble spots. It also took the Defence lead in defending NATO’s ‘Northern Flank’ in Norway and Denmark.

The brigade was unquestionably a ‘war winning’ formation, operating across the full-spectrum of conflict with determination and quiet professionalism. It is sincerely hoped, therefore, that the new UK Commando Force lives up to the very highest standards of integrity, excellence, self-discipline, and above all humility set by its illustrious forebear. It has very big boots to fill...

R.I.P. 3 Commando Brigade. Dead, but never forgotten.