Educational Resources

This Digital Resource Library was created by the Jewish Museum London learning team. The Library brings together objects, video and audio that relate to the Jewish experience in Wales from collections across the country and is specifically designed for teachers and students.

Photograph (Object)

Copyright/attribution: Andie Byrnes

Reference: Garrett, Lisa, X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos who helped defeat the Nazis, (Chatto & Windus, 2021) pp. 273-276

What do you see?

We see a black stone with writing on it. We can also see the dates 1942 – 1943. Look closely, what do you see?

What do we know?

This is a memorial which remembers the 3 Troop 10 (1A) also known as the X Troop Commando. The Commando unit consisted of 87 soldiers, of which 82 were Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria who had managed to escape Nazi persecution and come to Britain before the outbreak of war. The X Troop trained for special operations in the village of Aberdovey (Aberdyfi) which is in Gwynedd.

The inscription on the memorial says ‘For the members of 3 Troop 10 (1a) Commando who were warmly welcomed in Aberdyfi while training for special duties in battle 1942-1943. Twenty were killed in action’.

The memorial was erected in Penhelyg Park in 1999.

What do you wonder?

We might wonder why it was important for these refugees to fight in the war for Britain? We might wonder why does the plaque not mention that the soldiers were Jewish? What do you wonder?

Discussion Questions

Why do you think the Commando unit trained in Wales?

What might have been some of the challenges of being Jewish in the British army?