Located in moorland beside the A82 trunk road, 1¼ miles (2 km) northwest of Spean Bridge, is the Commando Memorial. This 5.1m (17-foot) high memorial was designed by Scott Sutherland, of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art (Dundee) and unveiled by HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (1900 - 2002) on 12th September 1952. The three soldiers which comprise the memorial look out from their plinth over Leanachan Forest to the peaks of Aonach Mor and Ben Nevis. It commemorates the elite force known as the 'Commandos', which was set up in 1940 on the orders of Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965) to harry the axis forces and regain the initiative on the part of Britain. The force trained in the area around this monument, with their Training Centre at Achnacarry, 4 miles (6 km) to the northwest.
The plinth of the memorial records the Commando's motto United We Conquer and a plaque states: "In Memory of the Officers and men of the Commandos who died in the Second World War 1939 - 1945. This Country was their Training Ground."
A further plaque was added to the memorial on the occasion of the Freedom of Lochaber being conferred on the Commando Association on the 18th November, 1993.This memorial also commemorates the thousands of allied servicemen who trained and received their green berets in the Scottish Highlands. The day Kyle and I visited was cold, wet and appropriately somber, a quiet time for reflecting on those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in World War II. A very moving experience for both of us...
