The Prince of Wales honoured Major Mike Sadler, whose death aged 103 was announced in January. He was recruited by David Stirling, the founder of the elite Special Air Service regiment.
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In this extract from his history of the SAS, BEN MACINTYRE tells how its first chief charmed Churchill into backing his ragtag unit . only to meet his match in a tubby German dentist.
Today, in the second gripping extract from BEN MACINTYRE book on the SAS, he shows how Captain David Stirling and his survivors dramatically redeemed themselves.
The wind had reached gale-force as the five elderly Bristol Bombay transport aircraft neared their target, bucking in the storm and threatening to flip over.