Peter Charles, the 5th child was born on the 23rd March, 1919 in Ince Avenue, Crosby, West Derby, Liverpool. Birth Ref: West Derby 1919 - 2nd Qtr (8b - 350) Oscar Alfred is again mentioned as a Board of Trade Surveyor. Peter Charles followed the paths of his elder brothers. He attended Leytonstone High School and was a keen athlete, with swimming and table tennis in particular. He joined the Boys’ Brigade with his elder brothers and attended many camps. Peter started work with the Asiatic Petroleum Co Ltd of London after he left school, joined the Territorial Army and readily joined up at the outbreak of war. He volunteered for special services and this became the commandos and, after intense training was sent to North Africa. Incorrect information led his unit on the disastrous mission with the raid on Rommel’s HQ and he was killed in action on the 14th November, 1941, aged 22.
Birth Certificate Peter Charles Barrand 1919
Registration of Birth
Peter 1924 1938 1939 1940
Operation Flipper www.combinedops.com/Operation Flipper.htm (more reading) was a British commando raid, during the 2nd Second World War that included among its objectives an attack on the headquarters of Erwin Rommel, the commander of the Axis forces in North Africa. It was timed to strike on the night of 17/18 November 1941, just before the start of Operation Crusader a major British offensive. The mission was a total failure. Rommel had left the targeted house two weeks earlier, and all but two of the commandos who managed to get ashore were killed or captured. From the book "Get Rommel: The secret British Mission to kill Hitler's greatest general": details of the raid are given and the account of the death of Peter Barrand is as follows:-
"Charles Lock and James Bogle managed somehow to drag themselves ashore but many of the others were carried off by the current. One of them, Lance Corporal Peter Barrand of the London Rifles, Tommy Macpherson's runner from 10 troop on the Litani, was never seen alive again. His body was washed ashore a few days later. Frank Varney, his close friend - also from 10 troop - could never understand how Barrand had drowned since he was a strong swimmer and all the Commandoes had been wearing two Mae Wests. Lt. Col. Laycock whose report mysteriously makes no mention of Barrand's death also insists that all ranks were wearing two Mae Wests.
But Paul Chapman wrote later that this was not the case. While the men on the Torbay were wearing two life jackets apiece and floated, those on the Talisman (Submarine) were only wearing one each, and sank. He blamed himself for this saying that he should have made sure Talisman crew knew that two Mae Wests per man were needed before the submarines left Alexandria. Chapman also claimed that the jackstay (rope for transferring personnel or provisions) on the Talisman's casing had never been properly inspected.
Peter Barrand paid the price for these omissions and so did the Rommel raid, for Col. Laycock and seven inlisted men were all that got off Talisman, and that meant that Lt Gen. Geoffrey Keyes (Commander) had only a little more than half the required number of troops for the job. Lt. Col. Laycock was concerned because he believed that six of the men from Talisman had been drowned already, in fact, just one man had died, Peter Barrand, and Laycock did not mention Barrand's death in his report at all.
Lt. John Pryor said he had heard that the arabs had shot dead his tommy-gunner at close range, but all the members of the raiding party are accounted for as POW's. It is more likely that the Italians had found the body of Peter Barrand who had been drowned off Talisman on 15th November. The body had probably been washed ashore where it had been found and buried locally by the Carabinieri, so giving rise to the rumour that they had killed one of the commandos (certainly it is known that Peter Barrand was wearing two life jackets when his body was washed ashore)."
Casualty details BARRAND, PETER CHARLES
Rank: Lance Corporal
Service No: 6971182
Date of Death: 14/11/1941
Age: 22
Regiment/Service: Rifle Brigade and No. 11 (Scottish) Commando
Panel Reference - Column 74.
Memorial - ALAMEIN MEMORIAL
Additional Information: Son of Oscar A. and Grace Barrand, of Selsey, Sussex.
The Fallen From the "Litani Raid"
ALAMEIN MEMORIAL (Egypt) BARRAND, Lance Corporal, Peter Charles, 6971182. Rifle Brigade. 14th November 1941. Age 22.
Lance Corporal Peter Charles Barrand
Peter Barrand 1941