Andrew Charnock

If you are ever on Dartmoor and visit Soussons plantation, just inside one of the gates
you will find this cross, nailed to a tree. It has been put there in memory of Andrew Charnock a Royal Marine who died of a heart attack on a 30 miler training run.

I did not know him, in fact he was only born in the year after I left the Corps From his age he was either a late entry or a member of the training team but once a marine always a marine and I can feel for him. The nature of the training leads to injuries, sometime serious and even fatal. A member of my squad lost an eye with a bayonet.
Very few get to the passout week of the commando course without picking up some injury but by then you just learn to get on with it. The phrase was "Mind in neutral, finger up the bum job" in other words switch off the pain and think about something else.
That last week was something else including a the scramble course of two mile cross country including a waist deep bog then run 4 miles back to camp, run straight onto the rifle range and fire 10 rounds, with at least 7 hitting the target.
A 9 mile speed march in under 90 mins followed on the last day by the 30 miler across Dartmoor in under 7 hours. All done of course carrying about 40 lbs in kit and clothing and I missed out the ropes and assault course, the last leg of which was to carry another marine the length of a football field in with both of you wearing the said 40lbs of kit.

It is the common bond of having completed this that gives the Royal Marines the esprit de corps which makes them special.