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David Stirling
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling, DSO, OBE (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British Army and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). Under his leadership, the SAS carried out hit-and-run raids behind the Axis lines of the North African campaign. He saw active service during the Second World War until he was captured in January 1943. He spent the rest of the war in captivity, despite making several attempts to escape.
Stirling left the Regular Army in 1947. He settled in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and founded the Capricorn Africa Society, which aimed to fight racial discrimination in Africa, but Stirling's preference for a limited, elitist voting franchise over universal suffrage limited the movement's appeal. He subsequently formed various private military companies and was linked with a failed attempt to overthrow the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the early 1970s. He also attempted to organise efforts to undermine trades unionism and to overthrow the British government, none of which made significant headway. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1990, and died later the same year.
The National Army Museum records that Stirling was born and raised in Keir House, Perthshire, into an aristocratic Scottish family with a proud military heritage. However, The Scotsman newspaper of 20 November 1915 and The Stirling Observer of 23 November 1915 both published announcements that "The Hon Mrs Keir gave birth to a son on Monday 15th at 15 Cambridge Square, London". The General Records Office (GRO) also records his birth registered in the Paddington district of London.
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). Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat was a first cousin. His paternal grandparents were Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9th Baronet and Lady Anna Maria Leslie-Melville.
Stirling was educated in England at the Catholic boarding school Ampleforth College alongside his elder brother Bill Stirling. He was part of the Ampleforth Officer Training Corps. He briefly attended Trinity College, Cambridge, before being "sent down" (i.e. expelled) for 28 transgressions of which the master of the college asked him to select three which would be the "least offensive to his mother". He then went to Paris to unsuccessfully attempt to become an artist.
Stirling was commissioned into the Scots Guards on 24 July 1937. When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, Stirling was in Montana, USA, working as a cattle-rancher until returning to Britain on SS Manhattan, from New York City to Southampton, on 16 September 1939.
In June 1940, he volunteered for the new No. 8 (Guards) Commando under Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Laycock, which became part of Force Z (later named "Layforce"). 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. 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.
Believing that taking his idea up the chain of command was unlikely to work, Stirling decided to go straight to the top. On crutches following a parachuting accident, he stealthily entered Middle East headquarters in Cairo (under, through, or over a fence) in an effort to see Commander-in-Chief, Middle East Command General Sir Claude Auchinleck. 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. Retreating rapidly, he entered the office of the deputy chief of staff, Major General Neil Ritchie. Stirling explained his plan to Ritchie, immediately after which Ritchie persuaded Auchinleck to allow Stirling to form a new special operations unit. 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.
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David Stirling
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling, DSO, OBE (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British Army and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). Under his leadership, the SAS carried out hit-and-run raids behind the Axis lines of the North African campaign. He saw active service during the Second World War until he was captured in January 1943. He spent the rest of the war in captivity, despite making several attempts to escape.
Stirling left the Regular Army in 1947. He settled in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and founded the Capricorn Africa Society, which aimed to fight racial discrimination in Africa, but Stirling's preference for a limited, elitist voting franchise over universal suffrage limited the movement's appeal. He subsequently formed various private military companies and was linked with a failed attempt to overthrow the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the early 1970s. He also attempted to organise efforts to undermine trades unionism and to overthrow the British government, none of which made significant headway. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1990, and died later the same year.
The National Army Museum records that Stirling was born and raised in Keir House, Perthshire, into an aristocratic Scottish family with a proud military heritage. However, The Scotsman newspaper of 20 November 1915 and The Stirling Observer of 23 November 1915 both published announcements that "The Hon Mrs Keir gave birth to a son on Monday 15th at 15 Cambridge Square, London". The General Records Office (GRO) also records his birth registered in the Paddington district of London.
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). Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat was a first cousin. His paternal grandparents were Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9th Baronet and Lady Anna Maria Leslie-Melville.
Stirling was educated in England at the Catholic boarding school Ampleforth College alongside his elder brother Bill Stirling. He was part of the Ampleforth Officer Training Corps. He briefly attended Trinity College, Cambridge, before being "sent down" (i.e. expelled) for 28 transgressions of which the master of the college asked him to select three which would be the "least offensive to his mother". He then went to Paris to unsuccessfully attempt to become an artist.
Stirling was commissioned into the Scots Guards on 24 July 1937. When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, Stirling was in Montana, USA, working as a cattle-rancher until returning to Britain on SS Manhattan, from New York City to Southampton, on 16 September 1939.
In June 1940, he volunteered for the new No. 8 (Guards) Commando under Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Laycock, which became part of Force Z (later named "Layforce"). 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. 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.
Believing that taking his idea up the chain of command was unlikely to work, Stirling decided to go straight to the top. On crutches following a parachuting accident, he stealthily entered Middle East headquarters in Cairo (under, through, or over a fence) in an effort to see Commander-in-Chief, Middle East Command General Sir Claude Auchinleck. 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. Retreating rapidly, he entered the office of the deputy chief of staff, Major General Neil Ritchie. Stirling explained his plan to Ritchie, immediately after which Ritchie persuaded Auchinleck to allow Stirling to form a new special operations unit. 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.