On the night of March 28, 1942, Sgt. Thomas F. Durrant and the men of No.1 Commando were part of a daring night raid against the St. Nazaire harbor, which lay deep behind enemy lines.
During the raid, Sgt. Durrant was in charge of a twin Lewis gun on board a small motor boat, the HM ML306. As it came up towards the objective, ML306 came under heavy fire from the shore and was unable to land its troops.
With no cover or protection, Sgt. Durrant engaged enemy gun positions and searchlights ashore. Moments later, the ML306 came head to head with a German destroyer. With no fucks to spare, Sgt. Durrant continued firing against the enemy vessel, despite being wounded a total of 17 separate times.
The Commander of the German destroyer called on ML306 to surrender. Sgt. Durrant's answer was a further burst of fire at the destroyer's bridge. Although now very weak, he went on firing, using drums of ammunition as fast as they could be replaced. A renewed attack by the enemy vessel eventually silenced the fire of the Motor Launch, but Sgt. Durrant refused to give up until the destroyer came alongside, grappled the boat and took prisoner those who remained alive.
He died of his wounds shortly after.
A week later, the commander of the German destroyer, Kapitänleutnant F. K. Paul, met the Commando commander, Lt Col. Newman, in a prisoner of war camp in Rennes. Bringing the action to Newman's attention, the German commander suggested that the Colonel might wish to recommend Durrant for a high award.
On Oct. 29, 1946, Sgt. Durrant would posthumously receive the Victoria Cross.
Of the 600 Commandos who participated in the raid, only 225 returned and 5 Victoria Crosses awarded. #stayzero #ww2