A photograph of 3 troop, also known as X troop, of 10 Inter-Allied Commando. The photo was taken on a meadow above Aberdyfi, Gwynedd, probably in early 1943.

About X Troop.

One of the most famous units made up of foreign nationals was No. 3 Troop of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, nicknamed ‘X Troop’, which was billeted at Aberdyfi, Gwynedd. This elite group of 87 German-speaking refugees trained in camouflage, street fighting, housebreaking and lockpicking in the rough terrain of Snowdonia. Mostly Jews, they had to change their names and adopt different personas in case they were captured behind enemy lines.

Sources.

Commando Veterans Archive, X Troop at Aberdyfi, 1943 [accessed 15 august 2022]

Leah Garrett, X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War II (London: HMH Books, 2021)

Refugees from National Socialism in Wales, Refugees and Service in the Armed Forces [accessed 13 July 2022]