1915-1990

David Stirling was born November 15th 1915 son of Brigadier Archibald Stirling of Keir and the Hon Margaret Fraser, 4th daughter of the 13th Baron Lovat. So he had a long pedigree in serving his country at times of need. David Stirling was educated at Ampleforth College, and Cambridge University. Stirling joined up when WW11 started. Sterling served in Scots Guards, No. 8 Commando, Layforce. The unit was later disbanded. Sterling took up Parachuting, which was rare at this time. In 1941, Stirling was bed ridden in Cario, Egypt, after being injured in a parachute accident. During this time, he came up with the idea of a small unit to strike the enemy fast. He proposed the idea to senior officers. Stirling called his new unit "L Detachment “ Special Air Service". The SAS was born working along side of the LRDG (Long Range Desert Group).  In 1943, Stirling was captured by the Germans, then escaped, but was captured by the Italians and became a prisoner-of-war. Hitler had ordered that all members of the SAS and other special forces should be executed but to his credit Field Marshall Rommel was the only German commander to ignore the order. He escaped four times and was sent to the famous Colditz Castle where he remained for the rest of the war. In the meantime, his brother had taken over as commander of an SAS Brigade. It has been said by many, that Stirling was the "most under-decorated soldier of the war". David Sterling was knighted in 1990. He died a few months later at his home in Scotland. He was awarded the OBE and DSO for actions during WWII. He was nicknamed the "Phantom Major" by his peers. The British SAS was created as a desert raiding force to weaken Rommel's North African logistics network. It would also be used to hinder aircraft operations. The first successful SAS operation happened December 1941. Two SAS groups destroyed 61 aircraft at two airfields. Another raid destroyed 27 airplanes. In another operation, 144 men were parachuted with jeeps and supplies into an area close to Dijon, France. The SAS inflicted 7,733 German casualties in Europe. 4,784 prisoners were captured. 700 vehicles were destroyed or captured. 164 railways were cut. Seven trains were destroyed, thirty-three were derailed. Field Marshall Montgomery, who commanded the Allied forces in North Africa at the time, said, "The boy Stirling is quite mad, quite, quite mad. However, in a war there is often a place for mad people."

Visit - Sir David Stirling Memorial, Doune in Scotland

"Who Dares Wins"
For many years, the Commando War Memorial at Spean Bridge in Lochaber, north of Fort William, has been a popular stopping-off place for the many tourists and others who pass by. The Forth Valley in Stirlingshire may not be as desolate as the Spean Valley but it now has a memorial which is just as dramatic. And judging by the number of cars stopping in the car park, it has become just as popular.

While recuperating from a parachute accident, he built on the idea of a small highly-trained special operations group attacking the Rommel's long supply lines. When he failed to gain access to his commanding officer General Auchinleck to argue his case, he just slipped past the guard and walked in (on crutches) - "who dares wins," indeed. Using the innocent-sounding name of L-Detachment Special Air Service and working alongside the Long Range Desert Group, small detachments drove behind enemy lines and attacked enemy airfields, communications and supply dumps. The highly-trained and well-motivated created chaos and the Italians and Germans had to use up more and more forces to guard their bases. The destruction of large numbers of enemy aircraft even allowed a naval convoy to reach Malta to relieve the beleaguered island. Field Marshall Montgomery - another unconventional soldier, gave Stirling his backing and Winston Churchill became so impressed by the unit's performance that it was made into a full Brigade. 

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