De Kock, Victor Peter De Chatillon (V P D C)

Missing in action, on a reconnaissance of Sicily, with Combined Operations Pilotage Parties. In March 1943, just a few weeks after the Hayling COPP depot was established, a team of 15 men was sent out on an ill-fated mission, to examine the southern beaches of Sicily. Canoes were transported to within half a mile or so of their target and then launched from submarines. Before launching they were loaded with the equipment, and then floated free from the partially trimmed submarine. Depending on the distance and the operating conditions the canoes were also often launched from small landing craft. The teams operated in pairs, the navy personnel normally doing the sea reconnaissance, and the army the on-shore military surveys. The army officer sat in the front cockpit with his navy paddler in the rear. They paddled to within a few hundred yards of the shore and anchored. The heavily equipped army man would then swim to the beach. Tragically, of the 15 men who set out, five were captured, five were lost, and only five returned to base. But lessons were learned, and ultimately thousands of Allied troops would owe their lives worldwide, to the dedication of the men of COPP