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Royal Marines honour Victoria Cross recipient 80 years after gallant actions
3 April 2025
Scotland-based Royal Marines are marking the 80th anniversary of the gallant actions that saw a commando last earn the nation’s highest honour.
Thomas ‘Peck’ Hunter was awarded the Victoria Cross for repeatedly storming German machine-gun positions outside the town of Comacchio in northern Italy in April 1945 during the Second World War.
Royal Marines of 43 Commando have been remembering the battle with a series of events, including a commemorative dinner, attended by Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney MSP – Thomas Hunter’s nephew.
Despite the Royal Marines’ legendary reputation and countless deeds and actions around the globe – the Falklands, Gulf, Afghanistan – no green beret has been awarded the Victoria Cross since.
The modern-day successors to Hunter and his comrades provide round-the-clock protection for the UK’s nuclear deterrent, safeguarding the submarines at HM Naval Base Clyde when in base, and the nearby armaments depot at Coulport.
To mark Comacchio 80, they staged a ‘speed march’ to the historic commando training centre at Achnacarry in the Highlands, and held a memorial service and wreath laying at the impressive Commando Memorial in nearby Spean Bridge, before returning to Faslane for the anniversary dinner.
Ahead of the dinner, Mr Swinney was shown some of the records and photographs relating to the battle, his uncle and his troop. He has always been struck by the “astonishing courage and bravery” Thomas Hunter displayed, one of millions of Britons who answered the call to liberate Europe from fascism.
The First Minister said: “I find myself in the unusual position of being First Minister of Scotland, able to represent the connection between that office in Scotland with one of the great sons of our country who laid down his life in an act of bravery in 1945.
“Were it not for the actions of my uncle, Thomas Hunter and the other brave men of 43 Commando who fought alongside him, we might not enjoy the freedoms which we now take for granted.
“We cannot let their memories fade. If we do not remember the past, we will not be able to avoid mistakes of the future.”
Commanding Officer of 43 Commando, Colonel Adam Whitmarsh, added: “The determination, courage and selfless commitment to his comrades displayed by Corporal Thomas Peck Hunter VC highlights the spirit and the values which are as relevant to today’s Commando Forces as they were in 1945.”
Today, Thursday April 4, the First Minister also joined serving Royal Marines and veterans at a Memorial Service at the Hunter Memorial in Leith, Edinburgh.
During the service, Mr Swinney laid a wreath to mark the sacrifice made by his uncle at Lake Comacchio.
Wreaths were also be laid by other members of the Hunter family, including nephew Alex Hunter and his wife Cath and daughter Louise, as well as niece Sylvia Moore and husband Tom and son Steven who travelled from Canada for the event.
Two teachers and four pupils from Tynecastle School – which Hunter attended – were also at the ceremony.
- About Hunter’s actions
Although well-known by every member of 43 Commando, the Battle of Comacchio – codenamed Operation Roast – was eclipsed by the final battles in Germany around the same time.
Comacchio is a small town located on the northern shore of a large lagoon by the Adriatic, about 50 miles south of Venice.
In 1945, it formed the very end of the German front line in northern Italy – and the first objective of the Allied spring offensive to drive Nazi forces out of Italy.
On April 1, Operation Roast was unleashed across the lagoon – known to the marines as Lake Comacchio – to seize the spit of land separating it from the Adriatic, capture the bridges over the rivers and canals and generally nullify the German garrison.
In three days of intense fighting, 2nd Commando Brigade – which included 43 Commando (Royal Marines) – achieved its mission so successfully that all German forces around Comacchio were either captured or wiped out.
The success cost the attackers 180 casualties, among them Thomas Hunter, a 21-year-old corporal from Edinburgh.
Bren gun in hand, he had raced over 200 yards of open ground, drawing heavy fire from a cluster of houses where the Germans had established machine-guns. Hunter’s dash so unnerved the Germans that they surrendered or fled.
But his luck did not hold. Attempting to draw fire from his comrades a second time in the face of sustained German fire, he was killed instantly by a shot to the head.
His actions ensured most of his troop reached their objective – and led to the VC, presented to his family in September 1945 by King George VI, for displaying “magnificent courage, leadership and cheerfulness” all of which served as “an inspiration to his comrades”.
As for 43 Commando, in the 80 years since it has gone through different names and guises.
The unit was disbanded after World War 2, re-formed for several years in the 1960s, then re-born in 1980 as Comacchio Company, performing the mission it continues to carry out today.
In 2001, it was renamed Fleet Protection Group which it held until 2012 when it was decided to bring back the 43 Commando name.