Graham Hayes
| Graham Hayes | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1916 |
| Died | 13 July 1943 aged 29 Fresnes Prison, near Paris |
| Buried | Viroflay New Communal Cemetery (Yvelines, France) |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Years of service | 1939—1943 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Service number | 129354 |
| Unit | Border Regiment No. 62 Commando (Small Scale Raiding Force) |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Military Cross |
Captain Graham Hayes MC (1916 - 1943) was a British commando in the Small Scale Raiding Force in World War II.
He was the son of Herbert Charles and Lilian Grace Hayes, of Linton-on-Wharfe, Yorkshire. He was educated at Clayesmore School in Blandford, Dorset. His brother Flying Officer Malcolm Cedric Hayes, also died on service in WWII.
Hayes was a direct descendant of the Captain Daniel Hayes born 1767 who traded sugar from the island of Antigua.
Descendants of the family are thought to currently exist in the South West of Ireland, as well as across the UK and Yorkshire in particular.
Before the war Hayes went to Mariehamn in Finland and signed onto the windjammer Pommern on which he sailed round the world via Cape Horn and Australia. This sea-faring experience was put to good use during his military career in WWII.
Hayes was the third founding member of the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF), a unit formed around a small group of commandos under the command of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The commandos were formed in 1940 by order of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill who called for specially trained troops who would "develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast", and by 1943 had become lightly equipped assault infantry specialising in spearheading amphibious landings.
The objective of Operation Postmaster was to board the Italian and German ships in the harbour on the Spanish island of Fernando Po, now known as Bioko, off West Africa and sail them to Lagos in Nigeria. The SSRF commandos successfully captured three ships - Duchessa d’Aosta, an Italian 8,500 ton Merchant vessel; Likomba, a large German tug boat; and Bibundi, a diesel-powered barge.
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