Operation Dryad facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Operation Dryad
Part of North West Europe Campaign
Date 2–3 September 1942 Location Casquets, Channel Islands Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Nazi Germany
Commanders and leaders
Major Gus March-Phillipps	Unknown
Units involved
No. 62 Commando
Strength
12	7
Casualties and losses
2 minor injuries	7 captured

Operation Dryad was a secret mission by British Commandos during World War II. They raided the Casquets lighthouse in the Channel Islands. The commandos captured the people working there and left without a trace.

Why the Raid Happened

The Casquets Lighthouse was built a long time ago, in 1724. It is about 6 miles (10 km) west of Alderney island in the Channel Islands. This area has some of the fastest ocean currents in the English Channel. The lighthouse has a tall tower, 88 feet (27 m) high, and two shorter towers on a bare rock.

After Germany took over the Channel Islands in 1940, they decided to use the lighthouse. They set up an observation post and a radio station there. This allowed them to report anything they saw and turn on the light for German ships passing by. The lighthouse crew was changed every three months.

Why Casquets Lighthouse Was Chosen

Because the lighthouse was so isolated, it was a perfect target for a commando raid. In fact, there had been seven attempts to raid it before, but all were stopped because of bad weather. The commandos chosen for this raid were from No. 62 Commando, also known as the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF). The mission was planned for the night of September 2-3, 1942. Their main goal was to capture prisoners.

The Commando Team

The raiding party had 12 men from the SSRF. Their leader was Major Gus March-Phillipps. His second-in-command was Captain Geoffrey Appleyard. Other team members included Captain Graham Hayes, Sergeant Winter, Private Anders Lassen, Dutch Lieutenant Henk Brinkgreve, and Sergeant Geoffrey Spencer.

The Mission Begins

The commandos sailed from Portland, England, on a fast boat called HM MTB 344. They left at 9:00 PM and arrived near Les Casquets at 10:45 PM. An Alderney man named "Bonnie" Newton, who worked for Special Operations Executive, helped guide the boat.

Landing on the Island

After dropping anchor, the landing party rowed ashore. They arrived just after midnight. Captain Appleyard was the first to jump out and tie the front of their boat. Captain Hayes controlled the back rope, which was tied to an anchor to stop the boat from hitting the rocks. Everyone landed safely without damaging the boat. Appleyard gave the front rope to another commando, and Hayes kept control of the back rope as the team moved on.

Surprising the Germans

The commandos climbed through barbed wire and up the steep, rocky surface to the lighthouse courtyard. No one challenged them. Once in the courtyard, the group split up to go to their assigned spots. Appleyard and Sergeant Winter quickly went up the spiral staircase to the lighthouse lamp room, but it was empty.

The German soldiers inside were completely surprised. Appleyard later said, "I have never seen men so amazed and terrified at the same time." Three Germans were sleeping, two were just getting ready for bed, and two others were on duty. All seven Germans were captured without a single shot being fired. One German, who was in charge of the lighthouse, fainted when he saw the commandos. Another was thought to be a woman at first because he was wearing a hairnet.

Clearing the Lighthouse

The commandos found weapons like an Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, rifles, and stick grenades. They threw all of these into the sea. The radio was destroyed with an axe. The boat they arrived in was meant for a maximum of 10 people, but now it had 19 (the 12 commandos and 7 prisoners). It was a tight squeeze, but they managed. Appleyard had an accident and broke his lower leg bone (tibia) as he got back onto the boat.

Return to England

The boat set sail at 1:35 AM. The seven prisoners, some still in their pajamas, were taken to England. They arrived at Portland at 4:00 AM. The commandos also took back several codebooks, logs, diaries, and letters for analysis.

The codebooks turned out to be not very useful because the code had already been broken by the British. When the Germans realized these books were captured, they made their wireless communications more secure. So, the raid might have actually made German radio security stronger.

What Happened Next

It took a few days for the Germans to realize something was wrong at the lighthouse. When a boat finally arrived, they found the lighthouse empty. An order was given to remove all lighthouse crews, but this didn't last long. The Germans soon realized the benefits of having manned lighthouses were greater than the risks. The Casquets lighthouse was later re-armed with a 2.5cm Pak (a type of anti-tank gun), five machine guns, and a larger crew of 24 soldiers.

Later Commando Actions

The next raid for the SSRF was Operation Aquatint on September 12-13. In that mission, the raiding party led by March-Phillipps was either killed or captured. Sergeant Winter and Captain Hayes were captured. Hayes managed to cross the French–Spanish border but was later killed in Fresnes prison.

In October 1942, Appleyard, now in charge of the SSRF, led a raid on Sark called Operation Basalt. During this raid, four German prisoners died during an escape attempt while they were tied up. This incident angered Adolf Hitler. He then issued the Commando Order, which stated that all captured commandos, whether in uniform or not, should be treated very harshly. He also protested the treatment of German prisoners and ordered that British prisoners of war captured during the Dieppe raid be shackled.

Appleyard later joined the Special Air Service (SAS), a special forces unit. He was reported missing and believed killed when the plane he was on was lost over the Mediterranean Sea while returning from an SAS mission. Private Anders Lassen, who was also on the Dryad raid, later became an officer. He was awarded the Victoria Cross after his death for his bravery while serving with the Special Boat Squadron of the SAS in Italy in 1945.