A british special air service unit commanded by major david stirling attacked a germanheld airfield in egypt during the western desert campaign of second world war. Stirling perhaps this colonel sir archibald david stirling. Colonel sir david stirling, obe, dso, lived from 15 november 1915 to 4 november 1990. And he was the man who created a new type of warfare special forces operations. The story of david stirling and his desert commandpreviously tit.
No figure in britains recent military history could quite match the achievements and nerve of david stirling. The writer rupert walters is adapting alan hoes book david stirling. According to many historians, sir david stirling, left, is the founding father of the sas. As a young lieutenant he smuggled himself into a generals office, disobeying orders. His idea was for small teams of parachutetrained soldiers to operate behind enemy lines to gain intelligence, destroy enemy aircraft, and attack their supply and reinforcement routes. David stirling, origins of the special air service, sas archives 6.
New sas book tells story of the regiments ww2 heroics. David stirling seemed the unlikely man to create such a force. The son of a brigadier general, stirling attended trinity college, cambridge, for a year. Rogue heroes with ben macintyre on dan snows history hit, first broadcast 12 june 2017. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The tone was set by the sas s creator, 25yearold david stirling, an aristocratic scots guards officer renowned for heavy drinking and disobeying orders, who found himself in egypt when the. The story of david stirling and the sas regiment reprint by virginia cowles isbn. Sas secret history is revealed in new book daily mail online. The rogue british officer who broke all the rules founded. The sas war diary 194145 collects rare and previously undisclosed photographs, top secret orders, firsthand accounts and reports many written by sas founder david stirling.
Sir david stirling, british army officer who founded and led the elite british special air service sas regiment during world war ii. Sas special air service books about or relating to the united kingdom special forces uksf corps of the british army the sas also known as the regiment which traces its origins to 1941 but was constituted on the 31 may 1950. As one of the original members of l detachment sas brigade, founded in north africa by david stirling in july 1941, reg seekings was involved in their first operation, a parachute drop in the. I first read this book when it came out with the book club way back in the distance. Augmenting this book, i also watched youtube videos on david stirling, sas. The units founder david stirling was to all intents and. Sas founders life story to be made into a film telegraph. Mike sadler is one of a handful of surviving original sas men. The authorised biography of the founder of the sas. The greatest thing about this book is the character david stirling and the unbelievable things he and his guys did. David stirling was the founder of the special air service.
The authorised biography of the creator of the sas as want to read. The authorised biography of the founder of the sas by alan hoe isbn. Although it was disbanded after the war, the sas was reformed six years later to meet the demands of a host of limitedintensity conflicts. Now author gavin mortimer describes the special air service in his book, the sas in world war ii. David stirling memorial feature page on undiscovered scotland. The b824, from doune to junction 11 on the m9, runs past it, and as a result it is easy to find and visit. They hid by day and struck by night, destroying aircraft, blowing up ammunition dumps, derailing trains and killing many times their own number. Under his command, small teams of resourceful, highly trained men penetrated beyond the front lines of the opposing armies and. The men were the special air service, the sas, the brainchild of david stirling, a deceptively mildmannered man with a brilliant idea. A number of books have been written about mayne, the first being colonel paddy by patrick marrinan 1960.
This book is about the sas in northern africa in 19411942. Colonel stirlings exploits were recounted in a book by virginia cowles, the phantom major harpers, 1958. The special air service began life in july 1941, during the second world war, from an unorthodox idea and plan by lieutenant david stirling of the scots guards who was serving with no. It is believed that producers are looking for a young british actor such as tom hardy. The authorised biography of the creator of the sas. When the second world war broke out he abandoned his plans to climb mount everest to enlist with the scots guards supplementary reserve of officers. Lieutenant david stirling was eventually moved to the famous colditz castle in germany, but by then the sas had become wellestablished as a spearhead force for the british. Colonel sir david stirling, obe, dso, was born, 15th november 1915, and died on the 4th november 1990, in a london care home aged 75. The story of david stirling and the sas regiment by. He was a scottish landowner, a keen mountaineer, world war ii army officer, and founder of the special air service. Under his command, small teams of resourceful, highly trained men penetrated beyond the front lines of the opposing armies and wreaked havoc where the germans least expected it. The tone was set by the sas s creator, 25yearold david stirling, an aristocratic scots guards officer renowned for heavy drinking and disobeying orders. Sir david stirling, 74, the founder of britains elite.
Book details crucial role of the british sas in italy. Here the srs would be upgraded to 1 sas proper, a battalionsized force of about 1,000 men, as it served in the special air service brigade alongside 2 sas led by bill stirling, david s brother and two french parachute battalions and an independent belgian. The raid on sidi haneish airfield was a military operation carried out the night of 26 july 1942. The wider picture in scotland at the time is set out in our historical timeline. Indeed, the same page of the cellar book mentions dow 1927 purchased from the wine importers twiss browning, the son of one of its partners having served in the soe. A 19th century farmhouse on the scottish estate where sas founder david stirling grew up has been pictured in a shocking state of disrepair with plaster crumbling and stonework cracking.
The special forces unit was the brainchild of david stirling, who was a lieutenant in the scots guards and part of the allied forces fighting rommels afrika korps. The david stirling memorial, sometimes also called the sas memorial, has stood since 2002 on the hill of row, near sir david s ancestral home, looking towards the mountains of the southern highlands. Archibald david stirling was born at the ancestral family home of keir house,three miles south east of doune, in perthshire, scotland. Finding it difficult to lead from the rear, stirling often led from the front, his sas units driving through enemy. The daring sas raid that destroyed 37 enemy planes and. Archibald david stirling, the son of a scottish laird, was just 25 and a junior officer of the scots guards and commandos when he came up with the idea of the sas in the spring of 1941. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that. David stirling, founder of the special air service, greets a jeep patrol in north africa, 1943. David stirlings scottish farmhouse falls into disrepair. In 1941, he founded the special air service sas in egypt to.
The sas brigade in europe eventually, disaster struck when david stirling was captured and imprisoned at colditz pow camp, where he was to spend the rest of the war. Had stirling never broken the rules and thumbed his nose at traditional british military hierarchy, the sas may have never existed. You can listen to the full episode below or to the full podcast for free on acast. The history of the sas, britains secret special forces unit that sabotaged. Memo entitled the first parachute jump in the middle east, national archives 8. The authorised biography of the founder of the sas hoe alan. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. The special air service was a unit of the british army during the second world war that was formed in july 1941 by david stirling and originally. David stirling interesting stories about famous people. His brother bill ended up commanding 2 sas, while paddy mayne took over david s position as commander of 1 sas. But out of his world war ii efforts, the modern british sas were formed where stirling and his men are simply referred to as, the originals.