He was a trusted friend and confidant of David Stirling and wrote this book with the full cooperation of him and his family. His biographer Alan Hoe disputed the newspaper's disparaging portrayal of Stirling as a right-wing ' Colonel Blimp'. I let him come reluctantly … I resented the strength of his persuasion and despised a little his colossal confidence. There are several threads here that refer to David Stirling, none on a quick look are a suitable home for this review by Saul David of the book 'David Stirling: the Phoney Major: the Life, Times and Truth about the Founder of the SAS' by Gavin Mortimer. uk will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you and to provide updates and marketing.

Hachette Australia acknowledges and pays our respects to the past, present and future Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.Born into privilege – his paternal grandfather was a baronet and his mother was a daughter of the 13th Lord Lovat – Stirling followed the usual life of his caste, packed off to board at Ampleforth at a young age.

Mayne was one of the few men who had seen through Stirling and recognised him for what he was: an incompetent egomaniac. Of the original 55 men, some 34 were killed, wounded or captured far from the target, after being blown off course or landing in the wrong area, during one of the biggest storms to hit the region. This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Stirling - who neither attended Mayne's funeral or paid tribute to his exploits - came back to Britain and was soon collaborating with a well-known American biographer, Virginia Cowles, on his war memoir. His elder brother Bill, on the other hand, had founded the original Commando training centre at Lochailort and joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE), set up by Churchill to coordinate resistance in occupied Europe.

David and Bill Stirling created the idea for a parachute unit to operate in the desert, attacking enemy airfields and coastal installations.

After the war, Stirling never achieved any real success, other than building his own myth once Mayne was safely out of the way. 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.Then in December 1955, Stirling heard that Mayne had been killed in a car crash; at last, the chance he'd been waiting for. This essential difference in ethos is, I would suggest, partly down to Stirling and his character flaws which have been exposed, for all to see, in Mortimer’s excellent myth-busting biography. Watchguard International Ltd was a private military company, registered in Jersey in 1965 by Stirling and John Woodhouse.