The Cockleshell Canoes

British Military Canoes of World War Two

Used most famously in December 1942, when a small group of ten men in five canoes were dropped off by submarine 80 miles from the inland port of Bordeaux. Taking a couple of days to get to Bordeaux, the men laid limpit mines on a series of German ships, sinking one and seriously damaging others. These men became the Cockeshell heroes, named after the canoes they sailed in. But the story of the Cockleshells is more than that of this dozen brave men, most of whom died in what was a suicide mission. Over 4000 canoes were made and the contribution they made to the war was immense, but has remained untold until now. In this new work, Quentin Rees, lucky owner of two of the Cockles, tells the story of the development and use of these 4,000 canoes, from Combined Operations to SOE.