The Phantom Major: The Story of David Stirling and the SAS Regiment

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Pretoria inquiry confirms secret battle for the rhino". The Independent. London. 18 January 1996 . Retrieved 13 February 2008. It was a ludicrous idea. Stirling simply strapped the parachute on, tied the ripcord to the leg of a chair in a completely inappropriate plane, then jumped out of the door. The parachute snagged on the plane’s tail fin and he plummeted to earth, very nearly killing himself. Police probe after plaques stolen from SAS memorial". BBC News. 5 June 2014 . Retrieved 9 May 2018. Stirling may be accompanied by up to 3 men (Veterans armed with anti-tank grenades and submachine guns, pistols or rifles/carbines as depicted on the model) for +19pts each Business was chiefly with the Gulf States. He was linked, along with Denys Rowley, to a failed attempt to overthrow the Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 1970 or 1971. Stirling was the founder of “ private military company” KAS International, also known as KAS Enterprises. [23]

The proposal flew in the face of properness – of battlefield etiquette and chain of command. It would never get past the army’s equivalent of middle management, so Stirling embarked on his daring mission into British Middle East Headquarters, located in Garden City, Cairo. As Stirling told it, he clambered over the wire but was spotted by the guards – so he dived into the first door, landing at the feet of an incredulous major. In a stroke of poor fortune, this major had previously tried to boot Stirling out of the Scots Guard for falling asleep in a lecture. Stirling hobbled off, guards still in pursuit, and put the proposal in the hands of General Sir Neil Ritchie, who all but commissioned it on the spot. The problems were knowing where you were, and knowing where you could find resources, such as the places where you could find water on a long journey in unknown territory over very bad conditions. Gavin says David Stirling tried to portray himself in later life as a kind of “devil may care buccaneer – a gambler”. But in an era when pulling down statues is all the rage, is it time to erect a new one? Of Bill Stirling, the real hero of the SAS.

Bill’s expertise was soon in demand elsewhere. He was sent to Egypt in January 1941 on a top-secret mission but once in the Egyptian capital he came to the attention of the high command. Lt-General Arthur Smith, the chief of the general staff, hired Bill as his personal assistant. Smith’s boss was General Archibald Wavell, the commander in chief of British forces in North Africa. Having been dubbed ‘The Phantom Major’ by his German adversaries, they found great delight in capturing Stirling during a mission in Tunisia 1943. He escaped and was recaptured by the Italians. There are parts of his closely guarded personal life that Mortimer briefly touches on towards the end of the book that help explain Stirling’s unease with himself and why he was such an awkward youth and unfulfilled adult. You can sympathise with why David Stirling so assiduously took most of the credit for the creation of the SAS for himself. Early: November 1941 – May 1942andIndependent: June 1942 – April 1943theatre selectors in the Western Desertcampaign book. Cost

The SAS was founded in the midst of the Second World War in a bid to undertake small-scale raids behind enemy lines and the elite raiding force has been running ever since. Who was David Stirling? He was sent to America by his mother and Bill who were at their wits end because he was so aimless. He was actually ranching. They had a family friend in El Paso.It’s a great story. It sets the template for the image of the SAS as skilled, self-sufficient, highly motivated soldiers who overcome all obstacles, beat all the odds, to achieve their goals. But it never happened. The other key player in the early SAS, who was never given the credit he deserved, says Mortimer, was Paddy Mayne. Why? Because Stirling feared and envied the talented Ulsterman in “equal measure”. Mayne was one of the few men who had seen through Stirling and recognised him for what he was: an incompetent egomaniac.

a b c Adam Curtis, The Mayfair Set "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 March 2014 . Retrieved 12 June 2014. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link)

The road to success

Like his comrade and SAS co-founder David Stirling, Lewes found his time in the Commandos frustrating. Many operations were cancelled and others ended in failure. Learning from this, Lewes sought to refine the commando concept and develop a more effective way of using these highly trained soldiers.

Cautious when speaking to the Italians, he was “vain and voluble” in conversation with a fellow “captive”, Captain John Richards. Unbeknown to Stirling, Richards was an Anglo-Swiss stool pigeon, Theodore Schurch, who had deserted from the British army and was working for fascist intelligence. When Mayne died, Stirling saw his opportunity. He returned from his self-imposed exile in southern Africa and staked his claim to be the ‘father’ of British special forces.” Research began with Paddy Mayne It’s a controversial question posed by best-selling writer, historian and TV consultant Gavin Mortimer in his new book ‘David Stirling The Phoney Major: The Life, Times and Truth about the Founder of the SAS’.

Early life and education

Jellicoe, George (2004). "Mayne, Robert Blair (1915–1955)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Wartime Raid is Recalled in Leader's Libel Actions". The Glasgow Herald. Glasgow. 24 May 1968. p.9 . Retrieved 30 March 2015.