He Who Dares: Recollections of Service in the SAS, SBS and MI5

by David Sutherland, Lord Jellicoe (Contribution by)

Overview

A British Army veteran offers a glimpse of the action undertaken by special forces during World War II in this memoir.

With so few survivors of the Second World War military generation alive today, it is extremely fortunate that men like David Sutherland recorded their experiences for posterity. There can be few veterans whose contribution to victory can rival Sutherland’s as readers of this superb memoir will discover.

Much of the action is set in the Aegean where the author served with the Special Boat Service, an off-shoot of the infant SAS, raiding airfields on the German-held islands. This is really thrilling stuff, made all the more moving by the author’s profound and lasting admiration for the Greek resistance fighters who risked not just their lives, but those of their families and entire villages, by giving their support.

David Sutherland has written a true adventure story. But it is one which raises that age-old yet acutely disconcerting question: “When men have lived lives like this, what am I doing catching the 8:15 from Woking?!”

Praise for He Who Dares

“If you have any interest in Special Forces, the war in the Aegean or just to marvel at the courage and adaptability of that rare breed who fought in “non-standard” formations this is a book for you. Well written, full of detailed stories of action but also the intimate details of a young officer with all the concerns and complexities of a dangerous job with the added responsibility for other people lives. For those of us who are armchair warriors, this is essential reading of a biography from that unique breed of men.” —Surrey Constabulary History Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473814844
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/24/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	214
Sales rank:	494,379
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

David Sutherland is an ex-military man who has written about his experiences.

Table of Contents

Foreword xiii

Preface and Acknowledgements xvii

Glossary xx

1 Origins 1920-38 1

2 Sandhurst, The Black Watch and Dunkirk 1939-40 13

3 Joining the Commandos 1940 26

4 With 18th Indian Cavalry in Tobruk July-September, 1941 35

5 The Rommel Raid November, 1941 46

6 With the SAS in the Western Desert March, 1942 50

7 The Aluite Plan April-May, 1942 60

8 Attacking German Airfields in Crete June, 1942 63

9 Operation Anglo September, 1942 70

10 SBS Reorganization and Operation Albumen June, 1943 96

11 With the SBS in the Aegean 1943-44 113

12 A Shipwreck and a Turkish Bath March, 1944 146

13 Hitler's Commando order and the Alimnia Patrol April, 1944 149

14 With the SBS in the Adriatic 1944-45 153

15 With Greek Raiding Forces in the Civil War 1948 177

16 MI5 183

Bibliography 193

Index 197