COPP Survey
@coppsurvey.uk
Dedicated to Combined Operations Pilotage Parties (COPP), a top-secret unit that carried out covert reconnaissance of enemy-held beaches during the Second World War. Website: coppsurvey.uk
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COPP Survey
@coppsurvey.uk
· Nov 11
So many new followers, so a quick intro!
My interest in COPP is from family history research that got out of control – my grandfather Jack Crane joined COPP in August 1944. I'm still 'learning as I go' (and sharing it in public as I go).
My interest in COPP is from family history research that got out of control – my grandfather Jack Crane joined COPP in August 1944. I'm still 'learning as I go' (and sharing it in public as I go).
🕯️ During the Second World War, 13 men are known to have lost their life while serving with COPP.
A further four non-COPP men lost their life while on operations with them.
We will remember them.
A further four non-COPP men lost their life while on operations with them.
We will remember them.
We will remember them
During the Second World War, 13 men are known to have lost their lives while serving with Combined Operations Pilotage Parties (COPP).
Geoffrey Richards is buried in the Madras (St Mary’s) Cemetery…
buff.ly
November 9, 2025 at 10:50 AM
🕯️ During the Second World War, 13 men are known to have lost their life while serving with COPP.
A further four non-COPP men lost their life while on operations with them.
We will remember them.
A further four non-COPP men lost their life while on operations with them.
We will remember them.
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – at least two men from COPP 10 – Hugh Maynard and Nick Carter – are in recently liberated Salonika in Greece as 2nd Parachute Brigade arrives by sea, rather than by air (📸 IWM NA 20049). #NavalHistory 1/2
November 8, 2025 at 10:00 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – at least two men from COPP 10 – Hugh Maynard and Nick Carter – are in recently liberated Salonika in Greece as 2nd Parachute Brigade arrives by sea, rather than by air (📸 IWM NA 20049). #NavalHistory 1/2
🗓️ #OTD in 1942 – men from Party Inhuman, the 'prototype' COPP team, have been carrying out beach marking and pilotage during Operation Torch's landings in Vichy French-held Algeria (📸 IWM NA 30). (The concurrent landings in French Morocco had no Party Inhuman input.) #NavalHistory 🧵
November 8, 2025 at 9:05 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1942 – men from Party Inhuman, the 'prototype' COPP team, have been carrying out beach marking and pilotage during Operation Torch's landings in Vichy French-held Algeria (📸 IWM NA 30). (The concurrent landings in French Morocco had no Party Inhuman input.) #NavalHistory 🧵
There are some great items in this RMA – The Royal Marines Charity silent auction, including a chance to take part in next year's "Operation Itchy Blanket", paddling a Klepper on the Thames with the RMA Paddle Group.
🔗 buff.ly/svwsu8I
🔗 buff.ly/svwsu8I
November 7, 2025 at 12:25 PM
There are some great items in this RMA – The Royal Marines Charity silent auction, including a chance to take part in next year's "Operation Itchy Blanket", paddling a Klepper on the Thames with the RMA Paddle Group.
🔗 buff.ly/svwsu8I
🔗 buff.ly/svwsu8I
🗓️ #OTD in 1942 – Geoffrey Lyne (📸 IWM ADM 1260) and P.D. Thomas are captured while carrying out beach familiarisation ahead of Operation Torch, Allied landings in Vichy French-occupied north Africa.
They're part of Party Inhuman, a 'pre-COPP' team quickly thrown together. #NavalHistory 🧵
They're part of Party Inhuman, a 'pre-COPP' team quickly thrown together. #NavalHistory 🧵
November 4, 2025 at 9:01 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1942 – Geoffrey Lyne (📸 IWM ADM 1260) and P.D. Thomas are captured while carrying out beach familiarisation ahead of Operation Torch, Allied landings in Vichy French-occupied north Africa.
They're part of Party Inhuman, a 'pre-COPP' team quickly thrown together. #NavalHistory 🧵
They're part of Party Inhuman, a 'pre-COPP' team quickly thrown together. #NavalHistory 🧵
🎖️There's been some nice coverage of last weekend's event at Hayling Island Sailing Club to mark the 80th anniversary of COPP disbanding at the end of the Second World War.
COPP was based at the sailing club soon after being officially formed in November 1942. (📸 Roy O'Donnell)
COPP was based at the sailing club soon after being officially formed in November 1942. (📸 Roy O'Donnell)
November 3, 2025 at 8:44 PM
🎖️There's been some nice coverage of last weekend's event at Hayling Island Sailing Club to mark the 80th anniversary of COPP disbanding at the end of the Second World War.
COPP was based at the sailing club soon after being officially formed in November 1942. (📸 Roy O'Donnell)
COPP was based at the sailing club soon after being officially formed in November 1942. (📸 Roy O'Donnell)
Really enjoyed Friday evening's talk by Jeremy Black, 'How maps win or lose wars', hosted by @dougspecht.bsky.social and @britishlibrary.bsky.social as part of their new #SecretMaps exhibition. I think someone told their pop-up bookshop it had just been pay day ... Am excited to see the exhibition.
November 3, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Really enjoyed Friday evening's talk by Jeremy Black, 'How maps win or lose wars', hosted by @dougspecht.bsky.social and @britishlibrary.bsky.social as part of their new #SecretMaps exhibition. I think someone told their pop-up bookshop it had just been pay day ... Am excited to see the exhibition.
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – COPP 8's Alec Colson (front, 📸 Colson family archive) and Freddie Ponsonby take part in Operation Deputy with men from 42 (RM) Commando. It's a 'recce in force' of Kyunthaya island off the coast of Burma (now Myanmar). #NavalHistory 🧵
▶️ buff.ly/f23vor2
▶️ buff.ly/f23vor2
November 3, 2025 at 10:00 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – COPP 8's Alec Colson (front, 📸 Colson family archive) and Freddie Ponsonby take part in Operation Deputy with men from 42 (RM) Commando. It's a 'recce in force' of Kyunthaya island off the coast of Burma (now Myanmar). #NavalHistory 🧵
▶️ buff.ly/f23vor2
▶️ buff.ly/f23vor2
🗓️ #OTD in 1943 – scientist J.D. Bernal (📸 Birkbeck, University of London/JSTOR), an adviser to Combined Operations HQ, writes to 21 Army Group warning them about the probability of clay underneath Gold and Juno beaches in Normandy. #NavalHistory 🧵
▶️ buff.ly/ObxQDXd
▶️ buff.ly/ObxQDXd
November 3, 2025 at 9:00 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1943 – scientist J.D. Bernal (📸 Birkbeck, University of London/JSTOR), an adviser to Combined Operations HQ, writes to 21 Army Group warning them about the probability of clay underneath Gold and Juno beaches in Normandy. #NavalHistory 🧵
▶️ buff.ly/ObxQDXd
▶️ buff.ly/ObxQDXd
🗓️ #OTD in 1942 – future COPPist Bill Tebb is part of Operation Title, a 'chariot' human torpedo attack on battleship Tirpitz (📸 IWM HU 50947). The op is called off after both chariots, slung beneath a fishing vessel, are lost due to bad weather. #NavalHistory 1/2
▶️ buff.ly/sbLXf2n
▶️ buff.ly/sbLXf2n
October 31, 2025 at 9:02 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1942 – future COPPist Bill Tebb is part of Operation Title, a 'chariot' human torpedo attack on battleship Tirpitz (📸 IWM HU 50947). The op is called off after both chariots, slung beneath a fishing vessel, are lost due to bad weather. #NavalHistory 1/2
▶️ buff.ly/sbLXf2n
▶️ buff.ly/sbLXf2n
🗓️ #OTD in 1942 – a clearly frustrated Nigel Willmott messages Frederick Edward-Collins, Vice Admiral Commanding, North Atlantic (VACNA) (📸 IWM GM 852), to vent his annoyance that tweaks suggested for Operation Torch (forthcoming landings in north Africa) have been rejected. #NavalHistory 🧵
October 27, 2025 at 9:03 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1942 – a clearly frustrated Nigel Willmott messages Frederick Edward-Collins, Vice Admiral Commanding, North Atlantic (VACNA) (📸 IWM GM 852), to vent his annoyance that tweaks suggested for Operation Torch (forthcoming landings in north Africa) have been rejected. #NavalHistory 🧵
It's a lovely day for a small gathering at the sailing club. Thank you HISC for inviting us!
October 25, 2025 at 11:27 AM
It's a lovely day for a small gathering at the sailing club. Thank you HISC for inviting us!
🗓️ #OTD in 1945 – with the end of the war, COPP is officially disbanded. But it won't be long before the legacy is revived when 'cockleshell hero' Royal Marines officer 'Blondie' Hasler (📸 IWM A 29378) sets up the School of Combined Operations Beach and Boat Section (SCOBBS). #NavalHistory 🧵
October 25, 2025 at 10:02 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1945 – with the end of the war, COPP is officially disbanded. But it won't be long before the legacy is revived when 'cockleshell hero' Royal Marines officer 'Blondie' Hasler (📸 IWM A 29378) sets up the School of Combined Operations Beach and Boat Section (SCOBBS). #NavalHistory 🧵
🗓️ #OTD in 1943 – Admiral Bertram Ramsay (📸 IWM A 23443) is appointed Allied Naval Commander, Expeditionary Force (ANCXF) – the first of the senior Operation Overlord commanders to be put in place. #NavalHistory 1/2
October 25, 2025 at 9:02 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1943 – Admiral Bertram Ramsay (📸 IWM A 23443) is appointed Allied Naval Commander, Expeditionary Force (ANCXF) – the first of the senior Operation Overlord commanders to be put in place. #NavalHistory 1/2
🗓️ #OTD in 1943 – Bernard Sayers, one of the landing craft crew attached to COPP in south-east Asia, loses his life in the Bay of Bengal. He’s with COPP 7 returning to Chittagong (Chattogram in modern-day Bangladesh) after completing recce ops near Akyab.
October 25, 2025 at 8:02 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1943 – Bernard Sayers, one of the landing craft crew attached to COPP in south-east Asia, loses his life in the Bay of Bengal. He’s with COPP 7 returning to Chittagong (Chattogram in modern-day Bangladesh) after completing recce ops near Akyab.
Hayling Island Sailing Club, site of COPP Depot, looked very scenic when I arrived earlier.
October 24, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Hayling Island Sailing Club, site of COPP Depot, looked very scenic when I arrived earlier.
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – COPP 2's Mike Dawson and Jim Younger return to Italy from ops in the Gulf of Corinth. They'd probably been assisting Bucketforce, advancing eastwards towards Athens on the southern side of the Gulf of Corinth. (📸 IWM NA 19231) #NavalHistory
▶️ buff.ly/HgSi4Si
▶️ buff.ly/HgSi4Si
October 22, 2025 at 8:02 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – COPP 2's Mike Dawson and Jim Younger return to Italy from ops in the Gulf of Corinth. They'd probably been assisting Bucketforce, advancing eastwards towards Athens on the southern side of the Gulf of Corinth. (📸 IWM NA 19231) #NavalHistory
▶️ buff.ly/HgSi4Si
▶️ buff.ly/HgSi4Si
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – Men from COPP 2 including Clifford Irvine (L) and Bob Gillingham (R) (📸 Peter Palmer via Simon Hatch) join Floydforce in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia (modern-day Croatia), which has recently been liberated by Partisans from German occupation. #NavalHistory 🧵
▶️ buff.ly/aoZlQjb
▶️ buff.ly/aoZlQjb
October 21, 2025 at 8:01 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – Men from COPP 2 including Clifford Irvine (L) and Bob Gillingham (R) (📸 Peter Palmer via Simon Hatch) join Floydforce in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia (modern-day Croatia), which has recently been liberated by Partisans from German occupation. #NavalHistory 🧵
▶️ buff.ly/aoZlQjb
▶️ buff.ly/aoZlQjb
There's still time to book for next weekend's event that's being put on by HISC.
The exhibition is from 12:30 onwards, with the event itself starting at 2pm.
Contact HISC direct to book at £20 per person: 02392 463768
The exhibition is from 12:30 onwards, with the event itself starting at 2pm.
Contact HISC direct to book at £20 per person: 02392 463768
📆 PUBLIC EVENT | Hayling Island Sailing Club (HISC)
Saturday 25 October marks 80 years since COPP was disbanded at the end of the war. HISC, which served as COPP Depot, is putting on an event to mark it. 1/2
Saturday 25 October marks 80 years since COPP was disbanded at the end of the war. HISC, which served as COPP Depot, is putting on an event to mark it. 1/2
October 17, 2025 at 4:31 PM
There's still time to book for next weekend's event that's being put on by HISC.
The exhibition is from 12:30 onwards, with the event itself starting at 2pm.
Contact HISC direct to book at £20 per person: 02392 463768
The exhibition is from 12:30 onwards, with the event itself starting at 2pm.
Contact HISC direct to book at £20 per person: 02392 463768
🏠 Fancy owning a small bit of SBS history? 🧵
If you've got a spare £1.75m, and don't mind possibly having to run a care home, now's your chance! Be quick, though: it's already "under offer".
buff.ly/aFYTVzh
If you've got a spare £1.75m, and don't mind possibly having to run a care home, now's your chance! Be quick, though: it's already "under offer".
buff.ly/aFYTVzh
Impressive former care home property in North Devon for sale for £1.75m
Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has been instructed to sell the former care home, Fremington Manor, in North Devon.
www.christie.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:14 PM
🏠 Fancy owning a small bit of SBS history? 🧵
If you've got a spare £1.75m, and don't mind possibly having to run a care home, now's your chance! Be quick, though: it's already "under offer".
buff.ly/aFYTVzh
If you've got a spare £1.75m, and don't mind possibly having to run a care home, now's your chance! Be quick, though: it's already "under offer".
buff.ly/aFYTVzh
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – COPP 8 starts Operation David, intended to be a multi-night recce of Kyunthaya Island off the western coast of Burma (Myanmar) (🗺️ via McMaster University). They'll return to base at Teknaf between each night's recce. #NavalHistory 🧵
October 16, 2025 at 8:02 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – COPP 8 starts Operation David, intended to be a multi-night recce of Kyunthaya Island off the western coast of Burma (Myanmar) (🗺️ via McMaster University). They'll return to base at Teknaf between each night's recce. #NavalHistory 🧵
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – COPP 10’s Hugh Maynard (📸 from IWM Documents.7063) starts four days of operations supporting Yugoslav Partisan forces around Klek (in modern-day Croatia) and Neum (in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina). No further details are known.
October 14, 2025 at 8:01 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – COPP 10’s Hugh Maynard (📸 from IWM Documents.7063) starts four days of operations supporting Yugoslav Partisan forces around Klek (in modern-day Croatia) and Neum (in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina). No further details are known.
🗓️ #OTD in 1942 – men from 2 SBS arrive in Gibraltar to complement Party Inhuman, a "pre-COPP" unit that's been thrown together by Nigel Willmott for Operation Torch, forthcoming landings in Algeria. On the day, they will help provide beach marking. #NavalHistory 1/2
October 13, 2025 at 8:02 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1942 – men from 2 SBS arrive in Gibraltar to complement Party Inhuman, a "pre-COPP" unit that's been thrown together by Nigel Willmott for Operation Torch, forthcoming landings in Algeria. On the day, they will help provide beach marking. #NavalHistory 1/2
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – COPP 10’s Nick Carter (📸 from IWM Documents.7063) and another unknown rating help Partisans and artillery land on Mljet island (📸 Bosko Bunusevac/Adobe Stock) as German forces continue to be 'encouraged' to withdraw. Few details of this op are known.
▶️ buff.ly/iKDum3g
▶️ buff.ly/iKDum3g
October 10, 2025 at 8:02 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1944 – COPP 10’s Nick Carter (📸 from IWM Documents.7063) and another unknown rating help Partisans and artillery land on Mljet island (📸 Bosko Bunusevac/Adobe Stock) as German forces continue to be 'encouraged' to withdraw. Few details of this op are known.
▶️ buff.ly/iKDum3g
▶️ buff.ly/iKDum3g
🗓️ #OTD in 1942 – Nigel Willmott is in the Med with a thrown-together team doing beach recce ahead of Op Torch. In his absence, back in the UK his long-standing plea for beach recce to be taken seriously is starting to produce permanent results. (📸 IWM A 17721, illustrative) #NavalHistory 🧵
October 6, 2025 at 8:01 AM
🗓️ #OTD in 1942 – Nigel Willmott is in the Med with a thrown-together team doing beach recce ahead of Op Torch. In his absence, back in the UK his long-standing plea for beach recce to be taken seriously is starting to produce permanent results. (📸 IWM A 17721, illustrative) #NavalHistory 🧵