Gus March-Phillipps

Gustavus Henry March-Phillipps
Born1908
England
Died12 September 1942 (aged 34)
Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes, France
Buried
Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
RankMajor
Service number39184
Battles / warsSecond World War
AwardsDistinguished Service Order
Member of the Order of the British Empire
Mentioned in Despatches
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1942)​

Gustavus Henry March-Phillipps, DSO, MBE (1908 – 12 September 1942; sometimes spelled "March-Phillips"[1]) was the founder of the British Army's No. 62 Commando, also known as Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF), one of the forerunners of the Special Air Service (SAS).[a] He was also noteworthy as being one of Ian Fleming's main inspirations for the character of James Bond.

Military career

March-Phillipps was a special operations veteran who proved remarkably successful in his missions.[1]

In The Daily Telegraph, Max Hastings noted: "In January 1942 he launched Operation Postmaster, a picaresque 'cutting-out expedition', which seized two Italian merchantmen from the neutral Spanish colonial port of Santa Isabel in West Africa, and towed them triumphantly to Lagos."[2] After the raid March-Phillipps was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

He was killed in action during Operation Aquatint, which took place on the German-occupied French coastline in September 1942. Intending to harass the enemy and boost the Allied morale, March-Phillipps led a raiding team of 11 men onto a beach in Goatley canoes. The landing was on an incorrect area of the beach, and they came under heavy fire from a German patrol. Four of the raiders were injured and taken prisoner, four men went on the run but were eventually captured; the rest of the team were killed, including March-Phillipps who was shot when trying to swim ashore after his canoe got damaged.[3]

On the Commando Veterans website, the following note accompanies the text on his gravestone:[4] "In Memory of Major 39184 Gustavus Henry March-Phillipps DSO MBE Royal Artillery and Commando, Small Scale Raiding Force who died age 34 on 12 September 1942. Remembered with honour at ST. LAURENT-SUR-MER CHURCHYARD"

Grave of Gus March-Phillipps, Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, France

Personal life

March-Phillipps married fellow SOE agent Marjorie Stewart (an actress before and after the war, later Lady Marling) on 18 April 1942.[5][6][7]

He was the nephew of Gustavus Hamilton Blenkinsopp Coulson.

March-Phillipps is portrayed by Henry Cavill in the 2024 film The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare which depicts a heavily fictionalised version of the events of Operation Postmaster.[8]

Notes

  1. ^ SAS was founded in 1941 by David Stirling (under the original name "L Detachment, SAS Brigade"); in 1942, it was renamed into "1st SAS"; in 1943, "2nd SAS" was formed in North Africa from the renamed SSRF.

References

  1. ^ a b Combined Ops website
  2. ^ Max Hastings (27 March 2005). "Shall we have a bash, chaps?". Telegraph.co.uk.
  3. ^ Langley, Mike (1988). Anders Lassen, V.C., M.C., of the S.A.S. ISBN 978-0450424922.
  4. ^ "Commando Veterans Archive - Commando Photo Gallery (Keyword Album: grave) - Major Gustavus March-Phillipps DSO MBE". Commando Veterans Archive. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  5. ^ Lewis, Damien (2015). "Chapter Eight". The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. London: Quercus. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-68144-392-8. Retrieved 2 August 2024 – via Internet Archive Text collection.
  6. ^ Ayton, Ellie (3 April 2024). "The incredible true story behind The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". FindMyPast.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  7. ^ Lett, Brian (September 2012). Ian Fleming and SOE's Operation Postmaster: The Top Secret Story Behind 007. London: Grub Street Publishers. ISBN 9781526760685.
  8. ^ Pitman, Robert (2 February 2024). "This 2024 Henry Cavill Movie Can Be The Spy Franchise That Almost Happened 9 Years Ago". ScreenRant. Retrieved 5 February 2024.