[3] The man selected as the overall commander of the force was Admiral Sir Roger Keyes himself a veteran of the landings at Galipoli and the Zeebrugge raid in the First World War.

The course in the Scottish Highlands concentrated on fitness, speed marches, weapons training, map reading, climbing, small boat operations and demolitions both by day and by night.

44 (Royal Marine) Commando was formed on 1 August 1943, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel F C Horton and consisted of seven Troops just over 400 men.

It took part in the Burma Campaign and was located in the Arakan during the Japanese U-Go Offensive, before carrying out a number of raids along the Burmese coastline.

44 (Royal Marine) Commando was assigned to the 3rd Special Service Brigade and sailed for the Far East and saw action against the Japanese in the Burma Campaign.

Their first operation 11 March was a landing from the sea at Alethangyaw their objective was to capture the town for the rest of the brigade to pass through into the surrounding hills to engage the enemy.

The landing was met in force by machine gun emplacements and sniper fire and for the next 48 hours the Commando had a series of running battles with the Japanese and carried out a reconnaissance of the surrounding hills.

[14] Their second mission was crossing the Naf River by barge on 21 March with the objective of raiding Nahkaungdo, Lambaguna and Hinthaya.

The operation, during which the unit chaplain, the Revd Harold Manger RNVR, was killed in action,[15] was a success: following a number of small skirmishes the Japanese were forced to bring up reinforcements and the Commando was withdrawn.

44 were involved in a full scale amphibious landing with the rest of the brigade and a tank squadron in Operation Lightning at Akyab.

[18] In March 1945 the Commando was withdrawn back to India for to prepare for Operation Zipper, the planned invasion of Malaya.