What Happened To Gus March-Phillipps After The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Warning! Major spoilers for The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare ahead.

Summary The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare fictionalizes Gus March-Phillipps' WWII missions for entertainment value, but his true exploits were thrilling.

March-Phillipps married Marjorie just months after Operation Postmaster, although her involvement in the mission is mostly fictionalized.

March-Phillipps, a key figure in the development of special ops tactics, tragically died in action in 1942 during another mission post-Operation Postmaster.

Guy Ritchie's action spy comedy The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare centers around some of the first special operatives in modern warfare, and none was more interesting than the real Gus March-Phillipps, who is played by Henry Cavill in the movie. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a heavily fictionalized depiction of the actual WWII mission, Operation Postmaster, which was executed by March-Phillipps at the head of the British Army's No. 62 Commando unit. March-Phillipps' exploits even inspired Ian Fleming's character James Bond, proving how lasting his legacy has been.

The true story that inspired The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare may have been exaggerated for the sake of entertainment value, but the real exploits of Gus March-Phillipps were thrilling on their own. He became one of the most highly-decorated members of the British military in just a few short months of action. His relationship with the other members of his team portrayed in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was also fictionalized in many ways, but one detail mentioned in the movie's epilogue was true.

Related Where To Watch The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare: Showtimes & Streaming Status Henry Cavill and Guy Ritchie's WWII movie is here, and there are different options for where to watch The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

Gus March-Phillipps Married Marjorie After The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Guy Ritchie folded her into Operation Postmaster in the movie.

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A few months after the events of Operation Postmaster, Gus March-Phillipps did marry Marjorie Stewart, as mentioned in the on-screen text in the final moments of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. It's not known how long the two knew each other before Operation Postmaster, but they were married three months after the famous mission, in April 1942. While Marjorie Stewart (Eiza Gonzalez) was depicted as a major component of Operation Postmaster in the movie, there is no evidence that she actually participated in the mission. Per FindMyPast, she was long-believed to be a member of the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Gus March-Phillipps came from an impressive military lineage; the uncle he shares a name with, Gustavus Coulson, was awarded the Victoria Cross during the Second Boer War.

According to Combined Ops, Gus March-Phillipps founded the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF), which was the team featured in the movie, in 1942. The Special Operations Executive, which oversaw the SSRF, was started in 1940, and March-Phillipps had actually led an early precursor to the SSRF known as the Maid Honour Force, in honor of the trawler that March-Phillipps and his team used to secretly transport arms. That version of the team, and the Maid Honour trawler, is explosively featured in the opening scene of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

Gus March-Phillipps' WWII Military Career After Operation Postmaster

He collected a number of accolades and continued fighting.

Following the success of Operation Postmaster, several members of the SSRF were recognized by the British higher military authorities, even if they denied the mission had taken place with the British government's knowledge. Gus March-Phillipps was awarded the Distinguished Service Order of the King as the leader of the highly important mission. While March-Phillipps executed Operation Postmaster with 30 men (all of whom made it back safely), the mission's success led to the expansion of the unit, and resulted in the team being formalized as an arm of the British Combined Operations Command.

Gus March-Phillipps Died In 1942

He met his end on a mission just a few months after Operation Postmaster.

Image via Lionsgate

Operation Postmaster took place in January 1942, and unfortunately Gus March-Phillipps never saw that year come to an end. While he did marry Marjorie Stewart in April and went on a number of other smaller missions and trainings during the year, Gus March-Phillipps died in September 1942. The major was killed in action during a failed mission on the coast of France, known as Operation Aquatint.

Graham Hayes (Henry Hayes in the movie, played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin) was also a part of Operation Aquatint, and while he escaped the initial botched mission, he was eventually caught and executed by the Nazi regime.

On the mission, Gus March-Phillipps led a team of 11 members of the No. 62 Commando unit on a raid along what would later be designated as Omaha Beach. The mission was part of a series of excursions ordered by the British High Command to probe and gather intelligence on German coastal defenses. Using the SSRF's standard stealth vessel, the Missile Torpedo Boat, the small raiding force made it ashore, although they were about a mile from their intended target. Coming too close to a number of houses led to their discovery by a German patrol, and in their flight three men, including Gus March-Phillipps, were killed.

Gus March-Phillipps time as a British Commando was brief, but essential to the development of special operations tactics and forces during WWII. As the mastermind behind Operation Postmaster, March-Phillipps laid the foundation for modern special operatives like the British SAS and American Navy SEALs. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare may sensationalize Operation Postmaster, but the real soldier behind the story was every bit the exciting and courageous leader that he's depicted as.

Source: FindMyPast, Combined Ops