Philip Martel - Telegraph Bad weather then led to the postponement of Ambassador for 48 hours, but Martel and Mulholland had no means of communication and no means of knowing that the plans had been altered. They were on their own and on the run. On the evening of July 14, the raiding force eventually embarked on two destroyers accompanied by six RAF air-sea rescue launches, but they then encountered a series of problems with their transport. Two of the launches carrying the Independent Company broke down and had to be left behind. Degaussing, to reduce the magnetic field, put the compasses "out of true" and, as a result, the launch that Martel expected to meet at Le Jaonnet landed on Sark; the other ran into a rock. The detachment from No 3 Commando, under Lt-Col John Durnford-Slater, ignored their compasses and reached Telegraph Bay, close to the Jerbourg Peninsula. The tide was in and they got soaked landing among the rocks. Encumbered by their wet uniforms and equipment, they then had to climb several hundred steps to the cliff top. An aircraft, sent to deaden any noise that the raiders might make, circled overhead but this proved too much for the local dogs which set up a chorus of barking. The Commandos surrounded the machine-gun post but, having jumped into the sandbagged circle, found themselves staring down the muzzles of each others" guns. There were no Germans there, and a search of the barracks proved equally fruitless. On the way back to the beach a revolver went off by mistake and, at last, the Germans came to life and pursued them with tracer. The launches were 100 yards out but could come no closer because of the rocks. There was no alternative but to swim out to them - but three of the party then confessed that they couldn't swim; they had to be left behind and became prisoners of war. Churchill was furious at the failure of the operation, describing it as a "silly fiasco." Martel and Mulholland waited at Le Jaonnet for two nights, but their torch flashes in Morse code were mistaken for enemy signals and the submarine did not pick them up. They then lay low for three weeks and made two attempts to escape. First they stole a boat, but the sea was rough and they knew nothing about sailing; after giving themselves a bad fright, they returned to the shore. Then they took a boat to Sark. There were German soldiers on board, and when they reached the island they discovered that all the fishing smacks were well guarded. After returning once more to Guernsey, they decided to give themselves up. Added to the continual strain of being on the run, there was the danger to their families and others who knew where they were. They contacted the island's Attorney General and told him their story. He drove to the town arsenal and found some uniforms of the Royal Guernsey Militia. These were altered into some semblance of British service dress and the fugitives were handed over to the German military authorities. The two men were flown to France and interrogated separately. They were questioned closely about the Commando raid, but neither knew that there had been a landing, and their genuine bewilderment may have saved their lives. Both were sent on to Germany, and Martel spent the next five years at camps at Tittmoning, Warburg and Eichstätt. While the PoWs were being marched away from Eichstätt, they were strafed by Allied aircraft. The man walking beside Martel was killed and there were numerous other casualties. Martel was liberated from Moosburg in 1945 by American troops. His MC was gazetted the following year. Philip Martel was born at Le Mont Durand, St Martins, Guernsey, on December 17 1914. He was educated at Elizabeth College, St Peter Port, and then moved between Geneva, Bristol and London learning watchmaking and optics. After the war, he took up his life in Guernsey. He inherited the family jewellery firm, which traded at St Peter Port as AP Roger, and retired after selling the business in 1981. Philip Martel married, in 1948, Rosemary Robertson, who survives him with their two sons and a daughter. Philip Martel, born December 17 1914, died February 23 2012