On the night of September 12–13, 1942, a daring British commando raid known as Operation Aquatint was underway. In the dark of a Normandy night, a small unit of Allied commandos made its way to the German-occupied French coast near Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes. But nothing went as planned. The small group landed on the beach but immediately came under heavy German fire. Gustavus Henry March-Phillipps, known as “Gus,” risked everything but was killed during the fighting. He was 34 years old. An extraordinary officer, novelist, sailor, horseman, and devout Catholic, he left behind an elite commando unit and a track record of successful covert operations. Yet, even today, he remains largely unknown to the general public. Gus March-Phillpps was an unconventional figure for his time, both an irreverent poet and a swashbuckling soldier. Born in 1908, he entered the abbey school of Ampleforth in Yorkshire in 1917. Run by Benedictines, it is one of England’s great Catholic Read More…

The Catholic commando who may have inspired James Bond