Gustavus Henry March-Phillipps, DSO, MBE (1908 – 12 September 1942; sometimes spelled "March-Phillips"[1]) was the founder of the British Army's No. 62 Commando, also known as Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF), one of the forerunners of the Special Air Service (SAS).[a] He was also noteworthy as being one of Ian Fleming's main inspirations for the character of James Bond.
Gustavus Henry March-Phillipps | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1908 England |
| Died | 12 September 1942 (aged 34) Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes, France |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | British Army |
| Rank | Major |
| Service number | 39184 |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Order Member of the Order of the British Empire Mentioned in Despatches |
| Spouse(s) | Marjorie Stewart (1942 - 12 September 1942) |
In the Daily Telegraph, Max Hastings noted: "In January 1942 he launched Operation Postmaster, a picaresque 'cutting-out expedition', which seized two Italian merchantmen from the neutral Spanish colonial port of Santa Isabel in West Africa, and towed them triumphantly to Lagos."[2] After the raid March-Phillipps was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
Military career
March-Phillips was a special operations veteran who proved remarkably successful in his missions.[1]
He was killed in action during Operation Aquatint, which took place on the German-occupied French coastline in September 1942. With a view to harassing the enemy and boosting the Allied morale, March-Phillips led a raiding team of 11 men onto a beach in Goatley canoes. Landing was on an incorrect area of the beach, and they came under heavy fire from a German patrol. Four of the raiders were injured and taken prisoner, four men went on the run but were eventually captured; the rest of the team were killed, including March-Phillips who was shot when trying to swim ashore after his canoe got damaged.[3]
On Commando Veterans website the following note accompanies the text on his gravestone:[4]
In Memory of Major 39184 Gustavus Henry March-Phillipps DSO MBE
Royal Artillery and Commando, Small Scale Raiding Force
who died age 34 on 12 September 1942
Remembered with honour at ST. LAURENT-SUR-MER CHURCHYARD
Personal life
March-Phillipps married the fellow SSRF member Marjorie Stewart (an actress before and after the war, later Lady Marling) on 18 April 1942.[5][6][7][8]
He was the nephew of Gustavus Hamilton Blenkinsopp Coulson.
In popular culture
March-Phillipps is portrayed by Henry Cavill in the 2024 film The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare which depicts the fictionalised events of Operation Postmaster.[9]