Memorial Operation Frankton Cessac

Cessac

France Nouvelle-Aquitaine Cessac

This memorial commemorates Operation Frankton. The text on the plaque reads:

"Operation Frankton - December 1942. About fifty yards from here, overlooking the old railway line linking Bordeaux to Eymet, stands the home of Mr and Mrs Jaubert, 'sheep herders', who from 16th to 19th December 1942 picked up Lieutenant John MacKinnon RM and Marine James Conway, who had been led on foot by Mr Cheyraud, a resident of Baigneaux. These two soldiers of the British Royal Marines were retreating south in an attempt to reach Spain after taking part in one of the most daring commando raids of the Second World War against blockade runners stationed in Bordeaux. They had paddled aboard one of the five kayaks launched by the submarine HMS TUNA off Montalivet, and their boat, after ramming an underwater obstacle, sank before reaching their target. Miraculously, they had more than 60 km to Baigneaux. At the risk of their own lives, Mr and Mrs Jaubert gave them shelter and food. They treated Lieutenant MacKinnon, who was suffering from anthrax in his knee, as best they could and did everything they could to help them catch a train from La Réole station to Toulouse. The two Royal Marines were captured near that city on 19 December and then taken to Bordeaux, where they were joined by two other survivors of the attack, Corporal Laver and Marine Mills, who had managed to complete their mission and were captured at Montlieu-La-Garde. Taken to Paris, the four men, although arrested in uniform, were executed there on 23 March 1943, without having divulged during the interrogations to which they were subjected the names of the courageous Frenchmen who had helped them on their return journey."

Operation Frankton
The Cockleshell Heroes carried out Operation Frankton in December 1942, targeting German ships in Bordeaux. Trained at Lumps Fort in Portsmouth, they paddled 60 miles in collapsible kayaks to lay limpet mines.

Of the ten commandos, two were drowned, six were captured and executed, and only Major Hasler and Marine Sparks escaped. Despite heavy losses, the raid sank two ships and damaged four, disrupting enemy supply lines. Winston Churchill later credited it with shortening the Second World War by six months.

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