Popski's Private Army Memorial

[Plaque 1, front face]: POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY/ NO. 1 DEMOLITION SQUADRON/ ROLL OF HONOUR/ (Names...)/1942- LIBYA - TUNISIA - ITALY - AUSTRIA - 1945 [Plaque 2, front face]: THIS MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED BY/ SIR ROBERT CRAWFORD CBE/ ON/ SUNDAY 30 MARCH 2008/ IN THE PRESENCE OF/ VETERANS, RELATIVES AND FRIENDS/ WHOSE GENEROUS DONATIONS MADE IT POSSIBLE/ [Plaque 3]: POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY/ NO. 1 DEMOLITION SQUADRON/ HONOURS AND AWARDS/ DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER (Names...)/ DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL (Names...)/ MILITARY CROSS (Names...)/ MILITARY MEDAL (Names...)/ MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES (NAMES...)/ 1942 - LIBYA - TUNISIA- ITALY - AUSTRIA - 1945/ [Plaque 4, left-hand column]: POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY/ NO. 1 DEMOLITION SQUADRON/ 28TH GARIBALDI BRIGADE/ TO THE ETERNAL MEMORY OF/ ARRIGO BOLDRINI (BULOW) - GOLD MEDAL FOR MILITARY VALOUR/ AND THE PARTISANS OF 28TH GARIBALDI BRIGADE/ UNDER HIS COMMAND IN PORTER FORCE, BRITISH EIGHTH ARMY,/ DURING THE 1944 CAMPAIGN FOR THE LIBERATION OF/ THE CITY OF RAVENNA/ AND/ WITH ETERNAL GRATITUDE/ TO THE 604 HEROES WHO FELL IN THE ACHIEVEMENT OF VICTORY./ [Right-hand column is the Italian translation.] 1942- LIBYA - TUNISIA - ITALY - AUSTRIA - 1945/ [Plaque 5]: POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY/ NO. 1 DEMOLITION SQUADRON/ 27TH LANCERS & PORTERFORCE/ IN MEMORY OF/ LIEUTENANT-COLONEL ANDREW HORSBRUGH-PORTER DSO AND BAR,/ THE MEN OF 27TH LANCERS/ AND THE 54 OFFICERS AND MEN WHO FELL DURING THE WAR/ PORTERFORCE OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1944/ HQ PORTERFORCE/27TH LANCERS/ ROYAL CANADIAN DRAGOONS/ KING'S DRAGOON GUARDS/ 145 RAC/ GGHQ/ 1 ROYAL HORSE ARTILLERY/ 1 AND 2 CANADIAN FIELD REGIMENT, RCA/ 2 AND 5 CANADIAN MEDIUM REGIMENT, RCA/ 12 AND 13 CANADIAN FIELD COMPANY/ 24 FIELD REGIMENT, RA/ 49 ANTI TANK BATTERY, RA/ 151 ANTI TANK BATTERY, 93 ANTI TANK REGIMENT, RA/ 310 ANTI TANK BATTERY, 60 ANTI TANK REGIMENT, RA/ 32 PLATOON RCASC, 747 BRIDGE COMPANY RASC/ 1800 BAILEY BRIDGE PLATOON/ 1820 FOLDING BOAT EQUIPMENT PLATOON, RCASC/ 168 LONDON INFANTRY BRIGADE SIGNALS SECTION/ 1/3 ESSEX REGIMENT/ 2721 SQUADRON RAF REGIMENT/ ROYAL WESTMINSTER REGIMENT/ 4 AND 7 CANADIAN LIGHT FIELD AMBULANCE/ 1, 2 AND 5 CANADIAN MEDIUM REGIMENT PLATOONS RCASC/ 5 ARMY JEEP PLATOON/ 81 CANADIAN ARTILLERY COMPANY, RCASC/ 1501 ARTILLERY PLATOON, RASC/ 3 CANADIAN PROVOST COMPANY/ POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY/ 1942 - LIBYA - TUNISIA - ITALY - AUSTRIA - 1945 [Plaque 6 - information plaque]: POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY/ THE STORY OF NO. 1 DEMOLITION SQUADRON, PPA/ AND LT-COL VLADIMIR PENIAKOFF DSO MC/ PART ONE/ POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY WAS FOUNDED BY MAJOR VLADIMIR PENIAKOFF IN/ CAIRO IN OCTOBER 1942, BECOMING OPERATIONAL ON 10 DECEMBER 1942, AS/ AN 8TH ARMY SPECIAL FORCES UNIT AT THE SUGGESTION OF LIEUTENANT-COLONEL/ "SHAN" HACKETT. ITS OFFICIAL NAME WAS "NO. 1 DEMOLITION SQUADRON, PPA"/ AND IT WAS FORMED SPECIFICALLY TO ATTACK FIELD-MARSHAL ROMMEL'S FUEL/ SUPPLIES, IN SUPPORT OF GENERAL MONTGOMERY'S OFFENSIVE AT EL ALAMEIN./ AFTER THE LONG RANGE DESERT GROUP AND THE SPECIAL AIR SERVICE,/ PPA WAS THE LAST AND SMALLEST OF THE THREE MAIN RAIDING, RECONNAISSANCE/ AND INTELLIGENCE UNITS RAISED DURING THE NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN. MAJOR/ PENIAKOFF HAD JUST BEEN AWARDED A MILITARY CROSS FOR HIS INTELLIGENCE/ REPORTING AND PETROL DUMP RAIDING WHILE LEADING THE LIBYAN ARAB FORCE/ COMMANDO FOR THREE MONTHS BEHIND ENEMY LINES, AND FOR AN OPERATION/ WHILE ATTACHED TO THE LRDG. THERE WERE FURTHER LAURELS TO COME./ POPSKI'S NICKNAME REFERRED TO A DAILY MIRROR CARTOON CHARACTER AND/ WAS GIVEN TO HIM BY CAPTAIN BILL KENNEDY SHAW, THE LRDG'S INTELLIGENCE/ OFFICER, BECAUSE HIS SIGNALLERS HAD PROBLEMS WITH "PENIAKOFF". THE UNIT'S/ COVER NAME CAME FROM HACKETT'S MILD EXASPERATION AT POPSKI'S DELAY IN/ COMING UP WITH SOMETHING SUITABLE: "YOU HAD BETTER FIND A NAME QUICK OR/ WE SHALL CALL YOU POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY". "I'LL TAKE IT" SAID POPSKI./ VLADIMIR PENIAKOFF WAS BORN IN 1897 IN BELGIUM OF RUSSIAN INTELLECTUAL/ PARENTS. HE WAS PRIVATELY EDUCATED IN BELGIUM AND WENT UP TO CAMBRIDGE,/ BECOMING AN ARDENT ANGLOPHILE, INFLUENCED BY BERTRAND RUSSELL. ONLY FOUR/ TERMS LATER THOUGH HE SIGNED UP AS A FRENCH GUNNER DURING WORLD WAR I / BUT WAS INVALIDED OUT IN 1918 AFTER 12 MONTHS IN HOSPITAL./ AFTER THE WAR PENIAKOFF QUALIFIED AS AN ENGINEER IN GRENOBLE. HE/ WORKED IN HIS FATHER'S CHEMICAL FACTORY IN BELGIUM, THEN IN 1924 MOVED/ TO EGYPT TO RUN A SUGAR REFINERY. WITH PLENTY OF LEISURE TIME THROUGHOUT/ THE NEXT 15 YEARS, HE CLIMBED IN THE ITALIAN ALPS AND LEARNED TO FLY LIGHT/ AIRCRAFT AROUND THE MIDDLE EAST. HE EXPLORED THE EASTERN AND WESTERN/ DESERTS, RELYING ONLY ON HIS OWN RESOURCES, LEARNING DESERT NAVIGATION,/ MEETING AND TALKING HISTORY WITH ARAB TRIBESMEN. HE BECAME A FELLOW OF/ THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, MARRIED AND HAD TWO DAUGHTERS. WHEN/ WORLD WAR II BROKE OUT AND AFTER HIS REJECTION BY THE ROYAL AIR FORCE AND/ THE ROYAL NAVY, A RELUCTANT BRITISH ARMY WAS PERSUADED TO TAKE ON THIS/ PODGY BUT PERSISTENT MIDDLE-AGED BELGIAN./ ASSIGNED TO MUNDANE GARRISON DUTIES AS AN ARABIC-SPEAKING JUNIOR/ OFFICER IN THE LIBYAN ARAB FORCE, POPSKI PLOTTED HIS ESCAPE AND FORMED THE/ LIBYAN ARAB FORCE COMMANDO - A SMALL GROUP OF SOLDIERS WHO OPERATED/ BEHIND THE AXIS LINES IN THE JEBEL AKHDAR AREA OF CYRENAICA./ AFTER RETURNING TO CAIRO IN THE MIDDLE OF 1942 ONLY TO DISCOVER THAT HIS/ LAFC HAD BEEN DISBANDED WHILE HE WAS AWAY, POPSKI WAS INVITED TO JOIN/ AN LRDG RAID IN THE AREA HE HAD JUST LEFT. HE LEARNED MUCH ABOUT THEIR/ WAYS, LOST A FINGER ON HIS LEFT HAND TO AN ITALIAN BULLET, AND WON AN MC./ IT WAS SHORTLY AFTER THIS THAT PPA WAS FORMED: THE SMALLEST INDEPENDENT/ UNIT OF THE BRITISH ARMY AT 23 ALL RANKS. THE ORIGINAL OFFICERS OF PPA WERE/ THREE FRIENDS WHO HAD SERVED TOGETHER IN THE LIBYAN ARAB FORCE: POPSKI,/ ROBERT PARK YUNNIE AND JEAN CANERI./ EVENTS PROCEEDED RAPIDLY AS THE GERMANS AND ITALIANS WERE CHASED/ OUT OF NORTH AFRICA ALMOST BEFORE PPA REALLY GOT GOING. A JOINT LRDG-/PPA PATROL DISCOVERED THE GAP IN THE MOUNTAINS THAT LET MONTGOMERY'S/ ARMOUR OUTFLANK ROMMEL'S MARETH LINE DEFENCES, AND PPA WAS AMONG/ THE FIRST ELEMENTS OF 8TH ARMY, PUSHING WEST, TO MEET THE BRITISH 1ST/ ARMY AND AMERICAN 2ND CORPS, PUSHING EAST, IN TUNISIA IN EARLY 1943./ MANY PPA RAIDING AND RECONNAISSANCE OPERATIONS WERE CARRIED OUT/ AROUND THE TIME OF THE KASSERINE PASS FIGHTING. INCLUDING TAKING THE/ SURRENDER OF 600 ITALIANS, ALONGSIDE BRITISH AND AMERICAN FORCES./ THE SUMMER OF 1943 WAS SPENT IN ALGERIA AND TUNISIA RECRUITING AND/ TRAINING NEW VOLUNTEERS FROM THE LRDG, SAS, COMMANDOS ND ROYAL/ ARMOURED CORPS FOR THE FIGHT IN ITALY, BRINGING THE UNIT'S SIZE UP TO ABOUT/ 35 ALL RANKS, WITH TWO FIGHTING PATROLS AND A SMALL HQ./ THE PPA MEMORIAL WAS FUNDED BY PPA VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES AND FRIEND, AND ERECTED IN 2008 BY FOPPA/ THIS PLAQUE WAS GIFTED IN 2010 BY MICHAEL BLAKE AND ROBERT CUMMINGS IN MMEORY OF TROOPER PAT BLAKE 1942 - LIBYA - TUNISIA - ITALY - AUSTRIA - 1945 [Other plaques:unknown]