Statue of Lord Lovat at Ouistreham, SWORD Beach
Alexander Braun • July 27, 2023
Lord Lovat
Born on July 9, 1911, Scotsman Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, 5th McShimidh, 15th Lord Lovat, 4th Baron Lovat, who was usually only called "Shimi" by his friends, was quite a colorful character. After attending Ampleforth College and Magdalene College in Oxford, he joined the Scots Guards in 1931. When his father died in 1933, 22-year-old Simon followed him as the 15th Lord Lovat and 25th Chief of the Fraser Clan. Lord Lovat, promoted to lieutenant in 1934, was discharged from active duty as a reserve officer in 1937 but was recalled to active duty as a captain when the war broke out. In 1940, the British Army was looking for volunteers for the newly formed elite Commando unit.
The adventurous Lord Lovat, one of the first volunteers, was accepted into the ranks of No. 4 Commando and saw his first action on March 4, 1941, when he took part in the very successful raid on the Lofoten islands (Operation CLAYMORE).
On April 21/22, 1942, Lovat, now a major, commanded a section of No. 4 Commando (about 170 men) during the equally successful ABERCROMBIE Commando raid on the French coast south of Boulogne. For the prudent and cool leadership of his men in this operation, Lord Lovat was awarded the Military Cross, the third-highest military award in the British armed forces.
Four months later, on August 19, 1942, Lord Lovat’s luck ran out. Lovat, by now promoted to lieutenant colonel, took part in the disastrous landing at Dieppe, Operation JUBILEE, with No. 4 Commando now under his command. Lovat’s men, reinforced by 50 U.S. Army Rangers, succeeded in destroying the German artillery battery HKB 813 "Hess" near Varengeville (6 x 150-mm guns), but the destruction of the battery was the only notable success of Operation JUBILEE. Lovat even managed to get most of his men safely back to England, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
When it became evident during the planning of Operation NEPTUNE, the amphibious landing phase in Normandy, that a larger number of command units would have to be deployed under a single command, Lovat was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the newly formed 1st Special Service Brigade, comprising No. 3, No. 4, No. 6 Army Commandos, and No. 45 Royal Marine Commando.
Lovat, who landed with his brigade in the second landing wave on SWORD Beach in sector QUEEN RED at about 8:40 a.m., then advanced with his men under the sound of bagpiper, Bill Millin, to Pegasus Bridge, which had been seized the night before by airborne troops of the British 6th Airborne Division.
Lord Lovat was badly wounded by shell fragments during the fighting for Bréville on June 12, 1944, and had to be evacuated. Although Lovat fully recovered after prolonged treatment, he retired from military service after his recovery and subsequently served as a politician in the House of Lords for many years.
Lovat passed away on March 16, 1995, in Beauly, Invernessshire.
The impressive bronze statue of Lord Lovat was inaugurated at the behest of the Mayor of Ouistreham on May 8, 2014.
The statue, which cost around €125,000 to make, was financed exclusively by the Lovat family.
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