Operation Huckaback

Last updated July 22, 2019

Operation Huckaback was a British Commando raid during the Second World War. The raid was carried out by No. 62 Commando also known as the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF) over the night of 27/28 February 1943.

No. 62 Commando or the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF) was a British Commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The unit was formed around a small group of commandos under the command of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). They carried out a number of raids before being disbanded in 1943.

The raid was originally planned for the night of 9/10 February 1943, as simultaneous raids on Herm, Jethou and Brecqhou. The objective was to take prisoners and gain information about the situation in the occupied Channel Islands. It was to be carried out by 42 men from the SSRF and No. 4 Commando, but was cancelled because of bad weather.

Herm is one of the Channel Islands and part of the Parish of St Peter Port in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It is located in the English Channel, north-west of France and south of England. It is 2.183 kilometres (1.4 mi) long and under .873 kilometres (0.5 mi) wide; orientated north-south, with several stretches of sand along its northern coast. The much larger island of Guernsey lies to the west and Jersey to the south-east, and the smaller island of Jethou is just off the south-west coast.

Jethou is a small island that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is privately leased, and not open to the public. Jethou is immediately south of Herm and has an area of approximately 44 acres (18 ha).

Brecqhou islet in the Channel Islands, a dependency of the UK Crown

Brecqhou is one of the Channel Islands, located just west of Sark. Brecqhou is politically part of both Sark and the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It has been established in the courts that Brecqhou is a tenement of Sark. The Ministry of Justice, the department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for the Channel Islands, considers Brecqhou part of Sark.

Huckaback was reinvented as a raid on Herm alone on the night of 27/28 February 1943. Ten men of the SSRF under Captain Patrick Anthony Porteous VC landed 200 yards (180 m) to the north-west of Selle Rocque on a shingle beach from MTB 344. After three unsuccessful attempts to scale the cliff, Porteous finally managed to climb up the bed of a stream and pulled the others up using toggle ropes.

Patrick Anthony Porteous Recipient of the Victoria Cross

Colonel Patrick Anthony Porteous VC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for gallantry "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces. It may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command although no civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two-thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the British monarch. These investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.

On reaching Belvoir House, they found it had been broken into and abandoned. Further reconnaissance found that the Old Tower of Herm and the Château were also deserted. The raid did not find any signs of the German occupation troop or the island's population.^[1]^[2] The caretaker of Belvoir house was aware of people on the island, but locked the door. Leaflets were left for the Germans to find. The commandos departed and returned to England.^[3]^:114

The few civilians on the island were living near the harbour and were not aware of the raid taking place at the time.

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References

↑ "Codewords". Naval History. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
↑ Messenger, p.15
↑ Fowler, Will. The Last Raid: The Commandos, Channel Islands and Final Nazi Raid. The History Press. ISBN 978-0750966375.

Messenger, Charles (1985). The Commandos: 1940–1946. London: Kimber. ISBN 0718305531.

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[1] "Codewords". Naval History. Retrieved 15 June 2010.

[2] Messenger, p.15

[WFTLR-3] Fowler, Will. The Last Raid: The Commandos, Channel Islands and Final Nazi Raid. The History Press. ISBN 978-0750966375.