Lord Lovat talks about Commando training

Simon Fraser, commonly known as the 17th Lord Lovat, (1911-1995), was the 25th Chief of the Clan Fraser and a prominent British Commando during World War II. He was seriously wounded during the invasion of Normandy in 1944 but went on to make a full recovery. In the post-war period he devoted much of his time to politics and looking after the family estates in the Beauly district. <br /> <br /> In this audio extract, taken from an interview with Sam Marshall for Moray Firth Radio, Lord Lovat considers the importance of choosing the right type of soldier for the Commando Regiments.<br /> <br /> 'Achnacarry was the depot and there they were put through the hoop as private soldiers and some just couldn't take the hard conditions; lying out at night and having to live in wet clothes and do these enormous marches; and prove themselves capable of firing a rifle in the right direction. Lochailort was for officers and non-commissioned officers. Between the two we blended a core elite but I should say there was something like forty per cent returned to their own regiments. It wasn't easy to decide; sometimes a person who was a psychopath appeared to be immensely brave and was determined to win the Victoria Cross, and when you landed on a hostile beach you found he was shaking with fear and couldn't go backwards or forwards. One did find those things unexpectedly on occasions, but by and large it was an elimination of the people who just couldn't do the physical side and that was important'