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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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commando
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Word used by the *Boers in South Africa to mean a military company formed of drafted civilians. The name was adopted in Britain in 1940 to describe units, made up of volunteers from army regiments, which were trained to land from the sea in enemy-occupied territory. From 1942 commandos were increasingly formed from the *Royal Marines, and after the war the role became exclusively theirs. The name was soon used for a soldier within such a unit (wearing the distinctive green beret) rather than for the unit itself.
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