Details about  Oak Military Shield Plaque HQ 3rd. Commando Brigade Royal Marines

Oak Military Shield Plaque HQ 3rd Commando Brigade Royal Marines

Oak shield wall plaque mounted with the crest of the 3rd. Commando Brigade Royal Marines.

Measures approximately 7" (18 cm) tall and is 5 3/4" (17.5 cm) wide.

In excellent condition.

3 Commando Brigade is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces and the main manoeuvre formation of the Royal Marines. Its personnel are predominantly Royal Marines, supported by units of Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery,and the Fleet Air Arm, together with other Commando Qualified Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen.

The brigade was formed in 1943, during the Second World War with a mixture of army commando and Royal Marine commando units and served in the Burma Campaign. After the Second World War the army commandos were disbanded and the brigade became a Royal Marine formation. Recently the Brigade has again became a mixed army and marine formation with the addition of an army infantry battalion, artillery regiment and engineer regiment alongside three Royal Marine battalions and support services. Since the end of the Second World War it has served in the Suez crisis, Falklands War, Gulf War and the War in Afghanistan.

3 Commando Brigade can trace its origins back to World War II, when it was formed as the 3rd Special Service Brigade. The Commandos were formed as forces to perform raids on occupied Europe. Many of these raids were relatively small affairs, but some were very large, such as the 1942 Dieppe Raid, and the attack on St. Nazaire to cripple the dry dock there.

The 3rd Special Service Brigade was formed in 1943 and sailed for the Far East and saw action against the Japanese in the Burma Campaign. On 6 December 1944 the brigade was re named 3rd Commando Brigade, removing the hated title Special Service and its association with the German SS. In January 1945 they were involved in the battles to secure the Myebon peninsula and Kangaw, holding a key position during the battle of Hill 170 against repeated Japanese attacks. The brigade was then withdrawn to India to prepare for the amphibious assault on Malaya, but the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan ended the war before the planned invasion. Instead the brigade moved to Hong Kong to secure the Crown Colony. In 1946 the Army Commandos in the brigade were disbanded and the brigade became a Royal Marine Commando formation.

3 Commando Brigade was at the forefront of many actions over the next 25 years, acting as a strategic reserve for the Far East and Mediterranean areas. Its most high profile operation during this time was the Suez Crisis, when it took part in the amphibious assault against Egyptian targets. During Operation Musketeer, units of the brigade made the first British helicopter-borne assault in history.

1971 saw the withdrawal of British forces from the Far East and Persian Gulf. The brigade returned to the UK with other British units. It moved to Stonehouse in Plymouth, where it remains to this day.