We died with our boots clean

the long version

"We fought with bayonets and, in unarmed combat, learned how to kill someone in seven seconds. An instructor demonstrated, using me as the victim. I vividly remember falling to the ground with a grey film across my eyes and in great pain. "At the age of 17, Kenneth McAlpine ran away from Repton school to join Churchill's new elite special force, the Royal Marine Commandos. He was the youngest member of the youngest commando force and after three months found himself fighting on the beaches of Normandy. From his best friend's arrest for swearing at the Queen of Holland, a concerted attempt to kill a sergeant major, and his own time in a military prison, McAlpine paints a fascinating picture of commando life.