Plans to better remember Yorkshire's Cockleshell Hero - who helped shorten Second World War by six months

Marine David Moffat was one of eight servicemen who died taking part in a commando raid using kayaks on ships in German-occupied France during the Second World War. Operation Frankton took place in December 1942, damaging six vessels in the port of Bordeaux. Prime Minister at the time, Winston Churchill believed the mission shortened the war by six months. Only two of the 10 servicemen involved survived, with Marine Moffat and Corporal George Sheard dying after their kayak capsized.

Six others were executed under the High Command of the German armed forces’ Commando Order, which decreed Allied commandos should be summarily executed even if they were in uniform. The raid was carried out by a small unit of Royal Marines known as the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment, including Halifax resident Marine Moffat, and the kayaks used were given the codename “Cockle”.

The men’s story, although fictionalised, was made into a 1955 film, The Cockleshell Heroes, starring Trevor Howard, which is still frequently shown on television. This autumn Calderdale councillors heard the council had been requested to support a plan to replicate the journey of the Cockleshell Heroes and offer some recognition of Marine Moffat.

To date the only dedication Marine Moffat has received from Calderdale is a dedication in the War Memorial Book at Halifax Town Hall. Governance and Business Committee members discussed appropriate ways to offer recognition and it was suggested Bankfield Museum at Boothtown, Halifax, which has strong military connections, might be an appropriate place.

The council’s head of legal and democratic services, Ian Hughes, will discuss appropriate recognition with the Calderdale Museums manager.

David Moffat was born in Belfast but his family lived in Yorkshire – he was a member of the 15th Halifax (St Bernards) Scouts at St Joseph and St Bernards Church, Boothtown, Halifax, according to www.findagrave.com.

Marine Moffat is recognised on memorials at Plymouth and at Ils de Re in France, close to where his body was found, although he is believed to have been buried further along the coast.