David Stirling: Founder Of The Sas: The Authorised Biography of the Founder of the SAS

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But as I continued writing, I began to have increasing doubts; I went back to the interviews I had conducted, revisited archives and examined reams of documents; and as a result I discovered another David Stirling, the one described by senior officers in documents I unearthed as: ''insubordinate", "extravagantly careless", "impetuous", "wildly indiscreet" and "unreliable". Believing that taking his idea up the chain of command was unlikely to work, Stirling decided to go straight to the top. Small wonder that even his own brother Bill thought he would be better off in a prisoner-of-war camp. During World War 2 David Stirling constantly fought to have his ideas heard and but for some good fortune and some luck may never have suceeded.

He described this in detail in an interview from 1974, part of which is featured in Adam Curtis's documentary The Mayfair Set, episode 1: "Who Pays Wins".As a freelance journalist he has contributed articles to a diverse range of magazines and newspapers, including the Observer, the Guardian, History Monthly and Esquire.

Prior to Schurch’s court-martial for treachery in late 1945, Stirling denied he had revealed any sensitive information. Along with several associates, Stirling formed Watchguard International Ltd, initially with offices in Sloane Street (where the Chelsea Hotel later opened), latterly in South Audley Street in Mayfair. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

Her narrative, based on the eyewitness testimony of the men who took part, gives a fascinating insight into the early years of the SAS. He recruited like-minded individuals from within the trade union movement, with the express intention that they should cause as much trouble during conferences as permissible. In mid-1970s, Stirling became increasingly worried that an "undemocratic event" would occur and decided to organise a private army to overthrow the government. David and Bill Stirling created the idea for a parachute unit to operate in the desert, attacking enemy airfields and coastal installations.

Although Stirling escaped from the Germans, he was subsequently re-captured by the Italians, who took great delight in the embarrassment this caused to their German allies. Stirling was born at his family's ancestral home, Keir House, in the parish of Lecropt, Perthshire on 15 November 1915. This is an important book that properly explains the early history of the SAS and David Stirling’s true role. Cautious when speaking to the Italians, he was “vain and voluble” in conversation with a fellow “captive”, Captain John Richards. He was a trusted friend and confidant of David Stirling and wrote this book with the full cooperation of him and his family.Woodhouse resigned as Director of Operations after a series of disagreements and Stirling ceased to take an active part in 1972. He had been captured by the Italians on his “most hare-brained scheme yet” — leading a small raiding party deep into enemy territory in Tunisia to attack lines of communication, reconnoitre the terrain and become the first Eighth Army unit to link up with the First Army advancing from the west. 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.

He was the son of Brigadier-General Archibald Stirling, of Keir, and Margaret Fraser, daughter of Simon Fraser, the Lord Lovat (a descendant of Charles II). On 1 February 1941, Layforce sailed for the Middle East, in support of the capture of Rhodes, but were soon disbanded after suffering heavy casualties in the Battle of Crete and the Battle of the Litani River.He joined the Scots Guards and then the Commandos, but was a conspicuous failure at both as he displayed his idleness and irresponsibility (his nickname was the “Giant Sloth”). Gives great insight into why the individual drive and diversity of the early SAS made it such a unique special force, and the template for their modern counterparts. The unit was given the deliberately misleading name "L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade" to reinforce Dudley Clarke's deception of a parachute brigade existing in North Africa. Herein lies the secret to Stirling’s success: an ability to bend more talented people than himself to his will.