40 Commando's New Colours

The Duke and 40 Commando's new colours

As Captain General of the Royal Marines, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, is seen here presenting 40 Commando with their new colours during a parade on Plymouth Hoe. 40 Commando are a battalion-sized light infantry component of 3 Commando Brigade now based at Norton Manor Camp in Somerset but at the time of this film had been re-established at Seaton Barracks in Crownhill, Plymouth. In the 1970s they were deployed to Northern Ireland and Cyprus.

40 Commando’s early history started as units formed from the British Army, by 1942 at Deal in Kent, the Royal Marines were tasked with creating their own commando units, and members of these units became ‘The Royal Marine Commando’. All are trained at Lympstone in Devon and different commando units are equipped with various operational capabilities such as cold weather formation, tropical jungle, desert or mountainous terrain.