Command Memorial (Special Forces Commando Squadrons M and Z)

Two multinational combined-forces commando units formed during WWII to undertake covert operations against the Japanese in the southwest Pacific theatre.  M Special unit, formed in 1943, comprised Australian, New Zealander, Dutch and British military intelligence personnel.  It provided information on Japanese naval and troop movements in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, deploying behind enemy lines and reporting back to the Allied Intelligence Bureau via radio.  A number of unit members were captured and executed by the Japanese.  Z Special Unit, also known as Z Force, undertook direct action missions. Its members were mostly Australian, British, Dutch and New Zealander, with some Timorese and Indonesian. The unit had notable actions in Singapore harbour, on Muschu Island and on Borneo.