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

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In this gripping and controversial biography Gavin Mortimer analyses Stirling's complex character: the childhood speech impediment that shaped his formative years, the pressure from his overbearing mother, his fraught relationship with his brother, Bill,.

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. 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.It began to dawn on me that Stirling was more Phoney than Phantom, and while he had shamelessly embellished his own image, it was to the detriment of the deceased Mayne, who had been portrayed as a wild, inarticulate, brooding and undisciplined Irishman, which he was not. This is an important book that properly explains the early history of the SAS and David Stirling’s true role. He is usually portrayed as a two-dimensional character, superb on the battlefield but a truculent drunk off it. Founded in 1949, while much of Africa was still under colonial rule, it had its high point at the 1956 Salima Conference. His service (he has fought in the desert, amongst other places) has given him a deep understanding of the SAS.

Virginia Cowles's The Phantom Major is a classic account of these raids, an amazing tale of courage, impudence and daring, packed with action and high adventure. 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. Spotted by guards, Stirling abandoned his crutches and entered the building, only to come face-to-face with an officer with whom he had previously fallen out. Mayne was one of the few men who had seen through Stirling and recognised him for what he was: an incompetent egomaniac.American Jeeps, which were able to deal with the harsh desert terrain better than other transport, were cut down, adapted and fitted with Vickers K machine guns fore and aft. In fact, it was Bill Stirling, working in Cairo at the time, who wrote much of the memo and made sure it was read by senior officers. If you intend to prove that the thread that runs through David Stirling's 'life and times' and illuminates them is that he dishonestly presented himself and/or had been dishonestly represented, you're going to need bring a sack full of solid evidence. 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.

Drawing on interviews with SAS veterans who fought with Stirling and men who worked with him on his post-war projects, and examining recently declassified governments files about Stirling’s involvement in Aden, Libya and GB75, Mortimer’s riveting biography is incisive, bold, honest and written with his customary narrative panache. Stirling remained convinced that due to the mechanised nature of war, a small team of highly trained soldiers with the advantage of surprise could attack several targets from the desert in a single night. His real name was David Stirling, founder of the Special Air Service (SAS), and a man, opined the columnist, "famous in the war for his desert exploits". 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.

Stirling was the founder of “ private military company” KAS International, also known as KAS Enterprises.