The Bandies are the best in the world and highly respected by us Commandos, most people don't realise that they are not only professional musicians but play a critical role in war by being stretcher bearers, medical personnel and moral boosters.
My father served as a RM Bandsman in WW2, at 18 years old he was doing stretcher bearer duty on Sword Beach when he got blown up and badly injured. When on board they worked the gunnery control tables, usually situated down in the bowels of the ship betwixt fuel tanks and magazines. If a ship was badly hit or went down it was very rare for any bandsmen to survive.
