2SAS: Bill Stirling and the forgotten special forces unit of World War II

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Stirling was appointed Commander, Royal Artillery for the 1st Infantry Division in Palestine during the Palestine Emergency between 1947 and 1948 going on to be Chief of Staff at Anti-Aircraft Command between 1950 and 1952. [3] He was appointed commander 27th Infantry Brigade in 1952 and then Principal Staff Officer to the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff in 1956. [3] He became General Officer Commanding of the 2nd Division in 1958 and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for Western Command in 1960. [3] The 2nd SAS had already taken part in operations in support of the Allied landings in Sicily. Operation Narcissus was a raid by 40 members of 2nd SAS on a lighthouse on the southeast coast of Sicily. The team landed on 10 July with the mission of capturing the lighthouse and the surrounding high ground. Operation Chestnut involved two teams of ten men each, parachuted into northern Sicily on the night of 12 July, to disrupt communications, transport and the enemy in general.

The SAS: Savage Wars of Peace: 1947 to the Present, by Anthony Kemp, John Murray, 1994, pp. 88–89 [ ISBNmissing]This was set up at the Commando Special Training Centre at Inverailort House in the remote north of Scotland, and among the first recruits – thanks to Bill’s intervention, and to the relief of the Scots Guards – was Stirling. The SAS took part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq under the codename: Operation Row, which was part of CJSOTF-West (Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – West) [157] B and D Squadrons carried out operations in Western Iraq [158] and Southern Iraq; towards the end of the invasion, they escorted MI6 officers into Baghdad from Baghdad International Airport so they could carry out their missions, both Squadrons were replaced by G Squadron in early May. The US military designated the SAS element in Iraq during the invasion as Task Force 14; [159] in the months following the invasion, the SAS moved from Baghdad International Airport to MSS Fernandez in Baghdad, setting up and linking its "property" next to Delta Force, in summer 2003, following a request for a new mission, the SAS began Operation Paradoxical: The broadly drawn operation was for the SAS to hunt down threats to the coalition, SAS were 'joined at the hip' with Delta Force and JSOC, it also gave them greater latitude to work with US "classified" forces – prosecuting the best available intelligence. However, in winter 2003, they were placed under the command of the Chief of Joint Operations in Northwood, due to scepticism of Whitehall members about the UK mission in Iraq – making it more difficult for the SAS to work with JSOC. [160] On 4 December 1983, a SAS patrol found two IRA gunmen who were both armed, one with an Armalite rifle and the other a shotgun. These two men did not respond when challenged so the patrol opened fire, killing the two men. A third man who escaped in a car was believed to have been wounded. [59] He was commissioned into the Guards where he was christened "The Giant Sloth" by his fellow officers.

De la Billière and the commander of UKSF for Operation Granby planned to convince Schwarzkopf of the need for special operations forces with the rescue of a large number of Western and Kuwaiti civilian workers being held by Iraqi forces as human shields, but in December 1990, Saddam Hussein released the majority of the hostages, however the situation brought the SAS to Schwarzkopf's attention. Having already allowed US Army Special Forces and Marine Force Recon to conduct long-range reconnaissance missions, he was eventually convinced to allow the SAS to also deploy a handful of reconnaissance teams to monitor the Main Supply Routes (MSRs). [106] Gwilym Leejoinsthe cast to play Bill Stirling in season two (Image credit: BBC) SAS Rogue Heroes season 2 castIn 1942, a downtrodden Britain desperately needed a hero. The widespread respect – even grudgingly – enjoyed in Britain by charismatic General Erwin Rommel, the commander of Hitler’s Afrika Korps, was a source of particular frustration to Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In the summer of 1941, Bill was in Cairo working as an adviser for the Chief of the General Staff, Lt General Arthur Smith. Cawthorne, Nigel (2008). The Mammoth Book of Inside the Elite Forces. Robinson. ISBN 978-1845298210. Smith, Michael (12 September 2000). "Soldier killed in jungle rescue was SAS man". The Daily Telegraph. London . Retrieved 7 April 2010. David Stirling resented Blair Mayne. ‘Paddy’, as the Irishman was known, was the man Stirling wanted to be; the gifted sportsman and superb guerrilla soldier, festooned in medals, respected by his men and admired by his peers.

Spring, 1943. With David Stirling captured and Paddy Mayne now in charge of the SAS, their attention must turn from the conflict in North Africa to mainland Europe. But GHQ have cast doubt over the future of the regiment, while the creation of a new unit and a surprise arrival make things even more difficult for the men. Can they prove that the SAS remains essential to the war, wherever it may lead them?" Rayment, Sean (30 August 2008). "Gen Stanley McChrystal pays tribute to courage of British special forces". The Daily Telegraph. London . Retrieved 9 October 2013. SAS Rogue Heroeswill air on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK, MGM+ in the United States and is distributed internationally by Banijay Rights.Stirling struggled to earn either the respect or the admiration of the soldiers in the Special Air Service. He lived in the shadow of Mayne, whose exploits in the Libyan Desert in the winter and spring of 1941/2 were in stark contrast to his own incompetent attempts to destroy Axis aircraft. In two raids on Tamet airfield in December 1941, Mayne and the five men with him accounted for over fifty aircraft. Stirling achieved nothing. Two raids on the airfield at Sirte were embarrassing failures. On the first raid Stirling fell into a slit trench containing an Italian sentry and on the second he led his men into a mine field. Rayment, Sean (11 April 2010). "SAS reservists withdrawn from Afghan front line". The Daily Telegraph. London . Retrieved 15 March 2015.

The last recorded meeting between Mayne and Stirling was at an SAS reunion in December 1947 in London; a reporter from the Observer newspaper was present and wrote of Mayne that his ‘immense charm and cunning could only be compared to his mountainous physical proportions’. He described Stirling as ‘a sleepy imperturbable Scot’. Griswold, Terry (2005). Delta: America's Elite Counterterrorist Force. Motorbooks International. ISBN 978-0-7603-2110-2.

How Britain's fallen out of love with red meat (as well as tea, potatoes, bread and milk!): Fascinating charts show how diets have drastically changed since the 70s - and we now eat up to 80% LESS beef, pork and lamb Stirling was educated in England at the Catholic boarding school Ampleforth College. He was part of the Ampleforth Officer Training Corps. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge for a year before going to Paris to become an artist. [2] Second World War and the founding of the SAS [ edit ] Lieutenant Colonel Stirling with Lieutenant Edward McDonald and other SAS soldiers in North Africa, 1943 The centre was an instant success and Bill’s expertise was in demand. In January 1941 SOE asked him to join a mission to Egypt, but it was a short-lived appointment; SOE’s Cairo office was a shambles, an affront to Bill’s high standards. He was headhunted by Middle East HQ as an unofficial assistant to Lt-Gen Arthur Smith, Chief of the General Staff, whose boss was General Archibald Wavell, the commander-in-chief, Middle East.