Monday was a very special day in Catherington, many residents gathered to watch Lord Paddy Ashdown unveil a Blue Plaque to a Hero who had lived quietly in the community and whose actions were said by the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill to have shortened the war by six months.

Lt Col H.G Blondie Hasler, DSO OBE CdeG RM was the inspiration behind and leader of Operation Frankton (The Cockleshell Heroes) an audacious raid to disable Axis shipping in Bordeaux. An operation from which only two of the ten men who originally set out returned. Two men drowned and six men were captured, interrogated and executed.

Lord Paddy Ashdown was joined by Brigadier Richard Spencer Deputy Commandent Genneral RM and local man Commander Bill Evershed (Retd) to unveil a Blue Plaque on the family home of Blondie Hasler. Bill talked of the man he remembered as a boy, the man who fostered his love of the sea and inspired him to make the Royal Navy his career. Brigadier Spencer spoke of the strategic importance of this operation in maintaining the flow of shipping and goods to Western Europe and Lord Ashdown talked of the style of leadership that Blondie used and the creation of the Special Forces branch of the Royal Navy now known as the Special Boat Service that followed this raid.

The event was attended by the Royal Marine National Standard Bearer and Standards from the SBS and other Royal Marine Association branches who wished to represent their members. Many former Marines had travelled hundreds of miles to be present at this notable event including Lt Col Ewan Southby Tailyour, a close personal friend of the family, who has written Blondies biography. Hampshire District Council Leader Cllr Ferris Cowper, Chairman Cllr David Ashcroft and Chief Executive Sandy Hopkins were also present.

A contingent of local firemen have recently completed the ‘Cockleshell Challenge’, in which they recreated the journey of Blondie Hasler and his men by paddling from Gironde estuary to Bordeaux in canoes similar to those used in the original raid. The trip was the catalyst for Bill Evershed’s original idea for a blue plaque and they approached me for help. I was pleased to support the venture with monies from my Community grant fund. This was supplemented by monies raised by Catherington Village Residents Association.

The day was a real success with well over 100 people attending the event. The Blue Plaque looks superb and is now mounted on the front wall of 15 Glamorgan Road, a tribute to the man who lived there and the men who volunteered for this dangerous mission.

I would like to extend my special thanks to Greg and Sarah Hughes who now own 15, Glamorgan Road for supporting this project. After the ceremony the special guests joined the family for lunch together in Blondie’s former home.

Cllr Sara Schillemore

Photographs: Penny Plimmer, Richard J Veitch, Guy Shepherd

The next Neighbourhood Policing Team surgery is at Blendworth Church Hall on Thursday 3rd November between 10:00am and 11:00am. Our local team would like to welcome anyone who would like to ask about any policing issues.

Rowans Hospice welcome your support at their Christmas Fair on Saturday 12th November between 10am and 4pm at the Festival Hall, Petersfield.

The next Neighbourhood Policing Team Beat Surgery is at Horndean Library on Friday 28th October between 16:00 and 18:00. All are welcome.

Lord Paddy Ashdown is to unveil a plaque to commemorate Catherington’s ‘cockleshell hero’, ‘Blondie’ Hasler where a blue plaque will be placed on the family home of Lieutenant Colonel HG ‘Blondie’ Hasler, the driving force behind a daring World War II raid.

The event, on Monday 17 October, will be attended by senior military figures, including Brigadier R A W Spencer OBE ADC, Deputy Commandant General of the Royal Marines, as well as Blondie Hasler’s biographer Ewen Southby-Tailyour. Lord Ashdown, himself a former SBS officer, will unveil the plaque at 11.30am on the house in Glamorgan Road.

Lt Col Blondie Hasler DSO OBE CdeG RM planned and led Operation Frankton, a daring raid in 1942 to disable enemy shipping in Bordeaux by paddling canoes packed with mines up the Gironde.

Thirteen Royal Marines, dubbed the Cockleshell Heroes, after their canvas canoes, left Scotland in December 1942 in the submarine, HMS TUNA, bound for the Gironde estuary. One canoe was damaged while being unloaded through the submarine hatch so its two-man crew was unable to go. The remaining ten men paddled, under cover of darkness, towards the estuary.

Tragically two canoes capsized in the estuary tide-races. Of their crews, two men were drowned and two soon captured. The crew of a third canoe were later betrayed and captured by the enemy.

Only two canoes reached their destination where they successfully attached their limpet mines to ships berthed in the harbor, disabling six vessels.

Of the ten men who had left the submarine only two finally returned. Two men drowned and the remaining six were captured, interrogated, tortured and executed by the Germans. Blondie Hasler and his partner Bill Sparks escaped over land, were sheltered by the Resistance and finally reached neutral Spain and Gibraltar.

This operation gave rise to the creation of the now famous Commando Unit, the SBS, within the Royal Marines Corps.

During the ceremony Commander Bill Evershed, RN Rtd, a friend of Blondie Hasler and his family will say a few words about the man.

Cllr Sara Schillemore, councillor for Catherington, arranged the event and donated £500 from EHDC’s councillor grant scheme towards the plaque. This was supplemented by funds raised by Catherington Village Residents’ Association.

She said: “Blondie was from Catherington and it is important that the sacrifices these men made are not forgotten.It was a highly-dangerous mission that was heavily reliant on the ingenuity and courage of the men involved and Blondie masterminded the whole operation.  The then Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, said their efforts probably shortened WW2 by six months.”

“The unveiling of the plaque has become a significant event for the village and for the Royal Marines and we will be delighted to welcome many high-ranking representatives to the ceremony. I’m delighted that one of Catherington’s most famous residents is being commemorated in this way.”

Sara and Guy invite you to our Quiz Night where we will feed and entertain you with our acclaimed quiz night. This massively popular event sells out very quickly and we have just a few remaining tickets. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday 15th October; 6:30 for a 7:00pm start at Catherington Church Hall.

The evening includes 8 rounds of quiz questions with a cash prize for the winning team. Also included is a Chinese buffet. Plates and cutlery are provided, but please bring drinks and deserts of your choice. There is a raffle too on the night with some great prizes.

We are looking for 12 teams of 6 and hope to see teams from the local residents associations, and perhaps the action groups who have supported us so well recently against some of the local development threats.

Entry is £12 per person on the night which covers the quiz prize, food and hall hire. If you would like to support us and have a great night out then please contact sara@schillemore.uk to book your team of 6, or let us know you are coming in smaller groups as there will always be numbers to make up.

Please confirm by email on sara@schillemore.uk advising the names of those attending and if you would like a vegetarian alternative to the Chinese buffet.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Cllr Sara Schillemore, Cllr Guy Shepherd

The South Down Group have invited Peter McDowell, a retired Geologist, to present a talk about our local geology, and how housing and oil extraction could threaten this and the water table. with an oil company looking at oil extraction just to the east near Finchdean and housing being built in our communities (LEOH) this is of strong local interest.

St Wilfreds Church Hall, Cowplain Wednesday 19th October from 7:30