The battle station: TV documentary tells the story of Achnacarry Castle’s wartime past

ANYONE who has braved the Scottish Highlands on a day when the rain is horizontal, the wind biting and the sky dark and heavy, might be forgiven for thinking that there can be few environments on earth that are more challenging, less forgiving. It was, in part, these qualities which prompted the British Army to use the Highlands as a training ground for elite soldiers during the Second World War, and estates across the north were used as bases to train Winston Churchill’s special forces to take on the Axis powers.

The most famous of them all was Achnacarry, the seat of the Cameron clan, located 15 miles north of Fort William and, from 1942-45, home to more than 25,000 men who passed the five-week commando basic training course in its grounds. This year marks 70 years since this elite “finishing school” was founded, and to mark the anniversary, a BBC2 Scotland documentary, Castle Commando, explores the history of the training camp and meets the men behind the legend.

“The whole idea of the commando forces was that they were trained in a higher way,” says Dr Stuart Allan of the National Museums of Scotland, who is the author of Commando Country. “The idea of using Highland terrain went back to 1940, and around a dozen Highland properties, including Achnacarry, were used during the Second World War. Many of the officers involved had aristocratic pedigrees and they chose the properties. They knew that part of the world because they went shooting and stalking there. That was combined with the handy physical attributes of the area: the lochs and mountains. It was about testing individuals to their limits to see if they were up to the mark.”

In 1940, small units were trained in secret at Inverailort House in Lochaber, and their success during raids in Europe was the catalyst for Achnacarry, where the aim was that thousands of troops would receive specialised training including hand-to-hand combat and use of weapons. The camp also turned out to be a handy propaganda tool, with the image of fighting-fit elite soldiers ready to take on the enemy proving to be a morale-booster for the British public.

Soldiers came from all over the UK and even further afield to train for five weeks at Achnacarry. They all volunteered for the gruelling challenge, but around 30 per cent dropped out before they received their coveted green beret, such was the demanding nature of the basic training.

It was exceptionally tough and, though no records of fatalities were kept, a number of men died during the more dangerous exercises. Cold, hungry and uncomfortable, trainees lived in tough conditions and were pushed to the point of exhaustion.

They had to abseil down cliffs with just a rope tied around their waists, climb mountains at night in the pouring rain, march up Ben Nevis and back down with their equipment. The idea was that if they survived Achnacarry, they would feel that they could survive anything.

Daniel Houldsworth, 93, trained at Achnacarry and emigrated to Australia in 1958. “It was rough country and hard training,” he says. “The weather was very cold and some people dropped out because of the conditions. I remember one training session where the Americans were making a beach landing, with the Brits defending. They were going to show us how it was done. But we were using live ammo, and maybe shot too close, hitting the landing craft. The Americans were not happy with the exercise and wouldn’t do it again. I couldn’t see what they were complaining about, since no-one was killed.”

The use of live ammunition at Achnacarry was infamous. The belief was that the men were being trained for combat so they should experience live fire, and, as such, would-be commandos had to show great bravery even in training.

“It was unusual having gone through basic army training to find live ammo now being used,” says Bryan Woolnough, who trained at Achnacarry and was a signaller in No 2 Commando. “Marksmen instructors subjected you to such close fire, much of it closer than real action, apart from being hit. Live hand grenade training was particularly daunting as individually you had to get your grenade on target, and it was no good trying to be too far away as you had to keep going until you achieved the required result. The frozen ground made the surface debris and grenade fragments hazardous.”

As gruelling as it was, there were also some lighter moments, camaraderie and excitement among the trainees. Many of the young men who visited Achnacarry had never seen anything like the Scottish Highlands, and for them the wilderness was novel. “For boys like me who had never been outside of London or the Home Counties, the mountains and the lochs were awesome,” says Eric Buckmaster, of No 2 Commando. “It rained constantly and the 15-mile speed marches over rugged ground were particularly demanding. But the humour and camaraderie that rapidly develops in army units between comrades who are in difficult and uncomfortable situations kept you going, whatever happened.”

Some of the practices may sound punishing but they left the men feeling prepared for anything. Graduates of Achnacarry played a key role in the Dieppe raid of 19 August, 1942, landing on beaches to the east and west of the French town to clear the path for Canadian troops. One private is said to have exclaimed upon landing on the beaches amid a hail of bullets; “Jesus Christ Sir, this is nearly as bad as Achnacarry!”

The raid ultimately resulted in great loss of life among the Canadians, with nearly 70 per cent left dead, injured, or taken prisoner. However, the commandos – who succeeded in silencing the enormous German guns in the town – fulfilled their role successfully, and Lord Louis Mountbatten, the chief of the Commandos at the time, credited the Dieppe raid with helping planning for the 1944 D-Day landings in Normandy.

By 1943 there were to be no more small raids in Europe. Everything was geared towards D-Day, and by the end of the war most commando units were disbanded. The base at Achnacarry closed on 31 March, 1946.

Many of the men who trained at Achnacarry stay in touch and keep their stories alive through the Commando Veterans Association and today a bronze monument between the site of the camp and the railway station at Spean Bridge commemorates the men who trained there. Furthermore, the West Highland Museum in Fort William is planning a permanent display dedicated to the Commandos and Achnacarry, and is looking for suitable items to be loaned or donated.

Then there’s the green beret, still worn proudly by the Royal Marines today. For the men who made it through basic training at Achnacarry it was a reminder that if they could achieve that, they could achieve just about anything.

Douglas Neish, 86, of No 1 Commando and then 1/5 Commando, puts his longevity down to his military training, especially his time spent at Achnacarry. “On my arrival back at Wrexham, on the march to the Holding Operational Commando, a gust of wind blew my green beret off my head into a vacant plot of land over some rather high pointed railings,” he says. “What would have been a difficult task to retrieve it before I went to Achnacarry now became a piece of cake. Nothing seemed to be so difficult any more and without much ado I climbed the fence, and with the beret back on my head made good haste to catch up with my disappearing squad for the march back into barracks.”

• Castle Commando is on BBC2 Scotland at 9pm tonight