The real, 'mad' SAS Rogue Hero of Colonel David Stirling who took elite fighters deep behind German lines

The exploits of Scottish soldier Lieutenant-Colonel David Stirling during World War Two feature in BBC drama SAS Rogue Heroes.

In a war, there is often a place for mad people, Field Marshal Montgomery once said.

“The boy Stirling is quite mad, quite, quite mad,” he said of Lieutenant-Colonel David Stirling, the Scots-born officer who is widely credited with founding the Special Air Service (SAS). Colonel Stirling is credited with taking his elite, handpicked crew of fighters deep, deep behind German lines in the North African desert at a crucial stage of the Second World War.

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Lieutenant-Colonel David Stirling in his office in 1974.Lieutenant-Colonel David Stirling in his office in 1974.
Lieutenant-Colonel David Stirling in his office in 1974. | Getty Images

The exploits of Colonel Stirling, who was born into aristocratic lines at Keir House near Doune in Stirlingshire, are being aired and elaborated upon in the new series of BBC hit drama SAS: Rogue Heroes.

In the show, he is portrayed as the whisky-fuelled fighter-without-fear who led the first detachment of the Special Air Service through a series of raids of German and Italian airstrips.

Aircraft and ammunition were destroyed in hit-and-run missions using delayed action incendiary bombs, machine guns and a collective bravery without bounds.

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Such was the threat of the special forces unit, Colonel Stirling was dubbed the ‘Phantom Major’ by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, whose Afrika Korps were being heavily stripped by the SAS who worked to halt the advance towards the Suez Canal.

Actor Connor Swindells as Colonel David Stirling in SAS: Rogue Heroes, the drama series from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.Actor Connor Swindells as Colonel David Stirling in SAS: Rogue Heroes, the drama series from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.
Actor Connor Swindells as Colonel David Stirling in SAS: Rogue Heroes, the drama series from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. | PA

After they struck, and much aided by the Long Range Desert Group, the ‘Phantom’ and his SAS fighters disappeared again into the desert night to begin preparing for their next target.

Such was the devastation caused, Adolf Hitler issued an order for their capture. “These men are dangerous, they must be hunted down and destroyed at all costs,” he reportedly said.

Back home in Scotland, a tiny cutting in the Perthshire Advertiser in September 1942 noted the desert activities of the-then 27-year-old Major, who stood at 6ft 4ins tall.

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The article reported “scores of vehicles, Germans and Italian, and more than 200 enemy aircraft” had been destroyed by Stirling and his “hand-picked band of men”.

Lieutenant Colonel David Stirling in 1974. He is widely credited with founding the SAS in North Africa during World War Two.Lieutenant Colonel David Stirling in 1974. He is widely credited with founding the SAS in North Africa during World War Two.
Lieutenant Colonel David Stirling in 1974. He is widely credited with founding the SAS in North Africa during World War Two. | Getty Images

“On his recent visit to the desert, Mr Churchill was charmed by Major Stirling, and General Smuts described him as the mildest mannered man who ever scuttled ship or cut a throat,” the article said.

“The Phantom Major has refused all pressing invitations to return home and put his great experience to training purposes. He prefers to go where he is not invited.”

According to the National Army Museum, Colonel Stirling exhibited both “a spirit of adventure and a rebellious waywardness” as a young man in the 1930s.

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Keir House near Doune, Stirlingshire, where David Stirling was born into aristocratic lines. PIC: geograph.org.Keir House near Doune, Stirlingshire, where David Stirling was born into aristocratic lines. PIC: geograph.org.
Keir House near Doune, Stirlingshire, where David Stirling was born into aristocratic lines. PIC: geograph.org. | geograph.org

The profile added: “An inveterate gambler with a fondness for drink and nightlife, he balked at the hard work required for a conventional path in life. As a result, he was unable to see out his studies or establish himself in a profession.

“Thrown out of Cambridge University after his first year, he initially tried his hand as an artist and an architect. His intrepid nature then steered him into becoming a mountaineer and a reservist in the Scots Guards, taking on the lofty ambition to become the first man to scale Mount Everest.”

Colonel David Stirling played by Connor Swindells in SAS: Rogue Heroes. PIC: PA.Colonel David Stirling played by Connor Swindells in SAS: Rogue Heroes. PIC: PA.
Colonel David Stirling played by Connor Swindells in SAS: Rogue Heroes. PIC: PA. | PA

Stirling was in Montana working on a ranch when the Second World War broke out and returned to Britain to re-join the Scots Guards. Averse to regimental discipline, he then joined the Commandos, the new raiding and reconnaissance force that his brother, Major Bill Stirling, helped to train and was dispatched to the Middle East with part of the Layforce group.

After meeting Lieutenant Jock Lewes, the pair embarked on an experimental parachute jump, which ended in serious injury for Colonel Stirling. He suffered a spinal injury and paralysed legs, which left him unable to walk for two months.

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In hospital, ideas of a parachute raiding force continued to percolate and, on release, Colonel Stirling used his social connections at GHQ to advance the argument for the “army within the army”.

The new special force was named L Detachment Special Air Service Brigade to exaggerate its small numbers to the enemy, who had a hugely superior airborne force. Its first mission, codenamed Operation Squatter, was due to parachute behind the lines in Libya to destroy enemy aircraft on the ground, but, launched in a ferocious storm, the mission ended in disaster.

Permission to abort the operation given the conditions was rejected and of 55 men who took off in the plan, only 21 made it back.

Colonel Stirling’s capabilities and tactics have later come under much scrutiny, with the Phantom’s role downplayed in the face of the achievements of his brother, Major Bill Stirling; Lieutenant Jock Lewes and Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Mayne, all who feature heavily in the show.

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In 2020, author Gavin Mortimer published David Stirling: The Phoney Major.

While his bravery has never been questioned, some have described Colonel Stirling as disorganised, impetuous and unable to follow orders. Others have described him as a genius whose unassailable character only helped to convince GHQ of the need for the elite fighting force.

Colonel Stirling was captured on operations in Tunisia in January 1943 after ignoring advice from Brigadier George Davy that he was going too close to the enemy. Mortimer has argued the operation was the “height of irresponsibility” and illustrated the “arrogance” of Colonel Stirling, who put his men at risk.

The officer made several escape attempts from POW camps in Italy before being sent to Colditz Castle where he remained until the end of the war.

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He retired with the rank of colonel and, after the war, took on two major enterprises: the Capricorn Society, which aimed to bring greater unity to Africa, and a global network of television stations.

Colonel Stirling became involved in the arms and security businesses and founded the hugely controversial GB75 group following Harold Wilson’s election as prime minister.

The private force, which included of ex-soldiers and spies among its ranks, was built to take over if the UK lurched leftwards in the mid-1970s. He was knighted in 1990, the year that he died at the age of 74.

Today, his legacy is still widely marked, including at an SAS memorial near the estate near Doune where he was raised.

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