Jock Lewes - Co-Founder of the SAS

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And then we had to find David Stirling and I count myself quite fortunate that I was included in part of that process and was able to read with one or two actors for the role. When you saw Connor’s take there was no removing him from what you were hoping the project would end up being. Working with him has been one of the highlights of the job, just to see him step up to the mark and take it all in his stride. What he does when the cameras are on is spell-binding. It’s Steven Knight’s telling of a piece of the Second World War that wasn’t made public knowledge for a long, long time. Others who were key to the inception of the SAS included intelligence officer Clarke who worked out of a converted bathroom in a British Army office in Cairo. He is played by Dominic West in SAS: Rogue Heroes. In the show, Stirling, while bedbound, then formulates the plan for what becomes the SAS – a small airborne unit that can drop behind enemy lines and carry out sabotage missions. Still on crutches, he sneaks into British HQ in Cairo, evading the guards, and gets his plan in front of the appropriate general. The story is one of the most legendary SAS tales, but – according to Mortimer – the product of Stirling’s self-serving imagination. Some say Mayne was personally responsible for destroying 100 aircraft, and he’s reputed to have destroyed more German planes during the Second World War than the RAF’s top ace.

Stirling was captured by the Germans in January 1943 after yet another raid. Although he did initially escape, the officer was re-captured by the Italians and, despite another four attempts to get away, he was imprisoned for the rest of the war at the infamous Colditz Castle.I would like to think that SAS Rogue Heroes is a great yarn about the spirit of the people that invented this extraordinary unit of guys in World War II, who in a way changed the nature of warfare. But if that sounds a bit dry or a bit grim, it actually isn’t because what makes SAS Rogue Heroes so exciting is the rebel spirit of these men.

Once Stirling and Randolph got into Benghazi, the unit couldn’t get their dinghies to inflate. And at one point, some Italian soldiers tagged along with them, believing Stirling’s men to be Germans on a drill (which is depicted in the episode). She also said she thought the behaviour of some, particularly after the war, owed a lot to post-traumatic stress. Best-selling author Damien Lewis, whose new book SAS Brothers In Arms also tells the story of the founding of the SAS, had access to early memorabilia kept by Paddy Mayne, as well as the soldier's personal effects. What also drew me was the fact that I grew up in a military family. My grandfather was a colonel when Algeria gained its independency in 1962, but was a captain under the French military. I grew up very much in a military family, so it just hits home for me. In that way being Algerian, growing up in Paris and having that relationship with France - and so does my character who is Algerian but serves under the French regime under General de Gaulle directly. I was also very proud to play an Algerian character who is considered highly in those kind of areas, who is also educated, and serving a purpose that is bigger than her own. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair 'Paddy' Mayne is pictured right in Norway in 1945. The SAS wreaked havoc against German and Italian positionsAs seen in the series, the SAS were named by Dudley Clarke, who had already created the Special Air Service as a fictitious regiment – a clever ploy to confuse and misdirect the enemy (Dominic West’s Clarke is seen wearing women’s clothes and make-up in one scene – a reference to Clarke once being arrested in Madrid while dolled-up in ladies’ clothing). She said: "It is almost as if they would rather see it treated like a documentary, but it is not a documentary, it is a drama and it is making people aware how crazy and mad the whole scene was in that period. Mortimer says that Bill and David Stirling collaborated on the proposal. “Bill had experience with sabotage and he was a military intellectual,” he says. Sophie Evans (6 February 2017). "SAS founder was 'dazzled' by Third Reich and even fell in love with NAZI socialite in run-up to WW2". The Daily Mirror . Retrieved 11 November 2022.

This show is an important and essential part of history about real men who fought during an important time. This show is about the bravery and the courage of these men, and the insanity of these men. General Bernard Montgomery was among senior officers who initially did not look kindly on the SAS. He described Stirling as 'mad, quite, quite mad'.

Cast

Big Dave' successfully argued the case that Britain needed to send guerilla fighters behind German lines to create chaos.