The rogue soldier who created the SAS
When he arrived in Cairo in 1941, the 25-year-old lacked the most basic discipline, had never seen any actual fighting and could not even march straight.One report from his senior officers described him as "irresponsible and unremarkable".
The TV series was created by Steven Knight and is based on the book of the same name by Ben Macintyre, who also narrated a BBC TV documentary on the subject in 2017. He joined the Scots Guards at the outbreak of World War II before being transferred to a newly-formed strike force, the Commandos.Lieutenant ‘Jock’ Lewes set up a gruelling, experimental training programme for the unit.In Egypt he met Lewes, another wealthy soldier in search of adventure. One of their first acts was to strap parachutes to their backs and jump out of a plane, despite neither of them having had any training.
"It had to be regarded as a new type of force, to extract the very maximum out of surprise and guile," he told the BBC in 1987. Stirling was promoted to captain and authorised to raise a force of six officers and 60 men - and the Special Air Service was born. So five ancient RAF planes struggled through a ferocious storm with 55 paratroopers ready to jump over the target.The mission was a total disaster and only 21 returned.Image caption,Despite this calamity, Stirling was allowed to try again - this time with the vehicles from the LRDG driving them for days across the desert to strike under cover of darkness.
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