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~SOLD~STIRLING David Archibald
Colonel Archibald David Stirling DSO OBE
The founder of the SAS was a Scottish Laird named David Stirling. Prior to World War II, Stirling was engaged in training to climb Everest. He was always adventurous, and eager to take on new challenges. He definitely stood out in a crowd; at 6 foot, 5 inches frame he was not one to be ignored.
When the war started, Stirling joined the Scots Guards as a subaltern, but soon volunteered for 8 Commando, named after it's commander Captain Robert Laycock as Layforce. At this time in history all Special Forces elements were viewed by the military establishment as more cost then they were worth. "Private Armies" as they were disdainfully known were given little support in quality men and materiel, and were under trained and over-criticized. An Old-Guard mentality was pervasive, and set-piece battles were seen as the only way to achieve success. Young David Stirling got his first taste of this in Layforce which was dismantled in all but name prior to arriving in North Africa. Special Forces as used in North Africa seemed doomed by this unfortunate circumstance.
The founder of the SAS was a Scottish Laird named David Stirling. Prior to World War II, Stirling was engaged in training to climb Everest. He was always adventurous, and eager to take on new challenges. He definitely stood out in a crowd; at 6 foot, 5 inches frame he was not one to be ignored.
When the war started, Stirling joined the Scots Guards as a subaltern, but soon volunteered for 8 Commando, named after it's commander Captain Robert Laycock as Layforce. At this time in history all Special Forces elements were viewed by the military establishment as more cost then they were worth. "Private Armies" as they were disdainfully known were given little support in quality men and materiel, and were under trained and over-criticized. An Old-Guard mentality was pervasive, and set-piece battles were seen as the only way to achieve success. Young David Stirling got his first taste of this in Layforce which was dismantled in all but name prior to arriving in North Africa. Special Forces as used in North Africa seemed doomed by this unfortunate circumstance.
Fortunately for the British army, David Stirling saw the possibilities for Special Operations behind enemy lines. He reckoned that a group of highly-trained, highly motivated soldiers could wreak havoc on enemy supply lines, bases and moral. He joined forces with Australian Jock Lewes , an officer with the Welsh Guards, and this meeting would prove to be the nucleus of the Special Air Service Regiment.
Lewes, an amazing adapter and improviser had scrounged a supply of fifty parachutes, which at first seemed to be the best mode of delivery for troops to get behind the lines. He and David started to jump immediately, and the result was at one disastrous and fortuitous. Disaster struck when David jumped from the old Valentia aircraft, which was most unsuited for the job, his parachute snagged on the tail of the aircraft. David was injured in the fall, and he ended up spending 2 months in the hospital. While uncomfortable, he was now able to devote his time to planning his new unit.
Upon his release from the hospital, Subaltern (2nd Lt.) Stirling headed straight for the High-Command Head-Quarters to see the Commander-in-Chief General Auchinlek. Now, the British military establishment has a strict protocol, and the chain of command had to be obeyed to the letter. David knew that if he tried to get things done in an appropriate fashion, it would never come to bear fruit. So David slipped past the guard, on crutches, and hobbled into the building, hastily seeking refuge in an office. In this office was Deputy Commander Middle East General Ritchie. Ritchie was instrumental in the formation of the new unit. He read David's pencil written notes, and promptly presented the plans to Auchinlek. Both Generals saw the opportunity to use the new unit immediately, as an offensive was planned for the near future. The new unit was to consist of sixty-six men from Layforce, including seven officers and many NCO's. This independent command was to be called L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade. This was done to make the German's think it was larger than it actually was. Stirling's dream had become reality.
Thus began an unparalleled adventure in North Africa. Rommels Afrika Korps had arrived, Britain's forces where being pushed back to Egypt by the Desert Fox, and supplies to the Allies were running short as Malta lay under siege. The first mission for the SAS (November 17th 1942) was to jump behind enemy lines and gather intelligence as well as harassing and tying up German forces while the British mounted the offensive. It was a disaster. Because moral was high and the troops well trained, Stirling decided to jump despite terrible conditions. Many men never made it back, of the sixty-six who went only twenty-two returned. While disastrous, Stirling and his officers Lewes and Paddy Mayne learned much from the experience.
One of the most import innovations came from Jock Lewes, who was challenged to devise a bomb small enough to be carried which would both explode and ignite when detonated to put a plane out of action. The Lewes Bomb was created, out of oil and thermite. It would explode on top of a wing and ignite the fuel within. It weighed one pound, and one man could carry enough to decimate a squadron of planes.
The focus now changed from aircraft insertion to overland. The Long Range Desert Group, a motorized reconnaissance unit would pick up the SAS raiders, circle south and west then north to enemy territory, drop off their cargo and rendezvous at a specified point at a predetermined time. The SAS would walk to their destination, usually an airfield carrying minimal weapons and supplies. They moved mostly at night and laid up during the day to avoid German and Italian Air and foot patrols.
The most successful of all the raiders was Paddy Mayne, an Irish rugby player who's fierce determination and courage accounted for dozens of planes blown on the tarmac. At one point, out of Lewes bombs, he ripped out an aircraft control panel with his bare hands. He is a legend in the Regiment today, embodying the rugged individualism sought when recruiting Special Forces personnel.
As the SAS successes mounted, and dozens of aircraft were destroyed on the ground, the Germans high command took notice. Their activities caused Hitler to issue the infamous Kommandobefehl , To his credit Field Marshal Irwin Rommel was the only German General that disregarded this order and treated Special Ops prisoners of war in the correct manner acc to Geneva Convention .
Accordingly, the German Army stepped up security and patrols in order to intercept the Raiders. This caused a change in tactics - along with the acquisition of several Jeeps. The SAS could now mount their own mobile operations. Jeeps were equipped with twin Vickers K machine guns, and became a formidable weapon, perfect for the long, rugged journeys they encountered. The jeeps formed the nucleus for mounted raids on enemy airfields. A Squadron of jeeps would enter onto the tarmac, fan out and throw a sustained series of fire , consisting of tracers at the aircraft, causing them to be torn to shreds and ignite. This caused so much confusion that casualties for the SAS tended to be light, and they could slip away back into the desert. These operations lost quite a few jeeps due to enemy fire or break-downs. The cost was insignificant compared to the amount of damage inflicted.
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. His brother Bill ended up commanding 2 SAS, while Paddy Mayne took over David's position as commander of 1 SAS. The War in North Africa ended, and Allied attention turned to Europe. SAS units became useful for establishing bases in France, far behind enemy lines. They were dropped in the standard squads of 4 men with limited supplies. Often they would contact groups of Maquisards, and arrange for drops of supplies, weapons and communications equipment. The SAS teams would implement training and carry out daring raids on German supply depots, rail-lines and strategic positions. Reconnaissance was the most important function as the Allies prepared for Operation Overlord, the D-Day Invasion. The SAS succeeded in tying up hundreds of German troops who otherwise would have been used against the Allies at Normandy These actions were perilous for the men involved. At one point, twenty four men plus a US air force pilot were captured and evidence shows they were tortured and executed in dreadful fashion.
Hunter Teams
An SAS team remained in Europe at the end of the War, They investigated the deaths of their comrades who had been murdered after being captured in action They hunted down specific targets , SS men and Gestapo , Wermacht , and civilian traitors who tried to hide or slip away in the chaos.
Information from www.electricscotland.com
Postwar
Mercenary work
Worried that Britain was losing its power after the War, Stirling organised deals to sell British weapons and military personnel to other countries, like Saudi Arabia, for various privatised foreign policy operations. Stirling along with other associates formed Watchguard International Ltd, formally with offices in Sloane Street (where the Chelsea Hotel now stands) before moving to South Audley Street in Mayfair. Business was chiefly with the Gulf States. He was also linked along with an associate Denys Rowley in a failed attempt to overthrow Gaddafi of Libya in 1970/71. Stirling was the founder of private military company KAS International (aka KAS Enterprises).
Great Britain 75During the social troubles of mid-1970s Great Britain, David Stirling became increasingly worried that an "undemocratic event" would occur and decided to take action. He created an organisation called Great Britain 75 and recruited members from the aristocratic clubs in Mayfair; mainly ex-military men (often former SAS members). The plan was simple. Should civil unrest result in the breakdown of normal Government operations, they would take over its running. He describes this in detail in an interview from 1974, part of which is present in Adam Curtis's documentary "The Mayfair Set", episode 1 - Who Pays Wins.
Undermining Trade Unionism During the mid to late 1970s David Stirling created a secret organisation designed to undermine trade unionism from within.
He recruited like minded individuals from within the trade union movement, the express intention that they should cause as much trouble during conferences as permissible. One such member was Kate Losinska who was Head of the Civil and Public Services Association. Funding for this "operation" came primarily from his friend James Goldsmith.
Television Stirling also ran another of his companies, Television International Enterprises, from the same offices as Watchguard International. T.I.E was responsible for bringing the children's program Sesame Street to Britain. Peter Orton, working at T.I.E., developed the Muppet Show and a couple of decades later Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder. He also worked on OTT
Later life Stirling was the founder of the Capricorn Africa Society - a society for promoting an Africa free from racial discrimination. Founded in 1949, while Africa was still under colonial rule, it had its high point at the 1956 Salima Conference. However, because of his emphasis on a qualified and highly elitist voting franchise, Africans opposed it. Conversely white settlers believed it to be too liberal. Consequently the society was ineffective, although surprisingly the South African Communist Party used Stirling's multi-racial elitist model for its 1955 "Congress Alliance" when taking over the African National Congress of South Africa. Stirling resigned as Chairman of the Society in 1959. That year, following gambling losses he was obliged to note John Aspinall - I owe you £173,500 in the accountant's ledger. One night in 1967 he lost a further £150,000. In 1968 he won substantial damages in Libel against Len Deighton amongst others.
Stirling was concerned about the political power of trade unions in Britain, and planned to establish an organisation GB75, which he described as "an organisation of apprehensive patriots" which would "help" the country in the event of country-wide strikes - by taking over governmental operations.[9] In August 1974, before Stirling was ready to go public with GB75, the pacifist magazine Peace News obtained and published his plans, and eventually Stirling - dismayed by the right-wing character of many of those seeking to join GB75 - abandoned the scheme.
He was knighted in 1990, and died later that year aged 74.
In 2002 the SAS memorial, a statue of Stirling standing on a rock, was opened on the Hill of Row near his family's estate at Park of Keir.
The current Laird of the Keir estate is his nephew Archie Stirling, a millionaire businessman and former Scots Guards officer.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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