David Stirling: The Life, Times and Truth about the Founder of the SAS Paperback – July 11, 2023

Well researched but the obvious dislike of Stirling that comes across in every page becomes repetitive and tedious.So let me save you having to read the book. Stirling is capricious, erratic and a dilettante. Mayne is brilliant, steadfast and courageous. Repeat endlessly.

Most of the books I have read, which focus on the foundation of the SAS, were coloured by either David Stirling's or his close associates' accounts, all of which seemed to have more than a hint of aggrandisement about them. There is little question that the SAS could not have come into being without David Stirling, but this book provides a much more detailed insight into the critical role played by his brother, Peter, and, post Stirling's capture, the vital role played by Col. Blair Mayne in laying the foundations for what Special Forces would become in the future. An excellent, impartial, and gripping read.

Excellente et très professionnelle transaction. Mille mercis.

What follows is a short review of 'David Stirling - The Phoney Major' by Gavin Mortimer.Firstly, let me say the book is impeccably written and has obviously been thoroughly researched. Gavin has, over time, interviewed approximately 150 veterans andan assortment of other people who are/were 'in the know' concerning the Stirling family.Written chronologically, what follows is an honest weave of events from early childhood to his final days living in London.If, like me, you have read a few other books concerning the formation of the SAS you will definitely be in for a surprise reading this.Clearly it was Bill, not David, who was key to the Regiment's formation, as you will discover. Gavin obviously has a very deep respect for Bill,who as he points out has been conveniently 'airbrushed out' from the story so to speak, this is very firmly corrected here so if you are a die-hard who believes the sun shone out of David's backsidethen you may get annoyed at times reading this.Likewise, the legendary Blair 'Paddy' Mayne is positioned front centre as the true pioneer warrior of the regiment who took the reins after David was captured and set the standard for what was to come.Again, over the years Paddy has been unjustly diminished as a psychopath who took great enjoyment in taking lives, however Gavin again paints a very different picture of a man who was much more complex than is depicted elsewhere, hopefully setting the record straight.A very well-read man, who cared very much for the men under his command. It will become clear why he did not receive the Victoria Cross, as many believe he should have been awarded.To conclude, if you want to read a believable and for the most part totally fascinating account of the life and times of 'The Phantom Major' then this book should be in your collection.How on earth the forthcoming BBC television drama 'Rouge Heroes' can be anywhere near the actual facts will be amusing to discover, I'm sure.I have read that book too, and in my personal opinion a good percentage of it is apocryphal.This book comes very highly recommended. I look forward to Gavin's biography of Bill Stirling, which he tells me will be released late 2023.

Well written and researched, which is what you'd expect from this extremely knowledgable author. It seeks to rebalance David Stirling's WW2 reputation, which became inflated somewhat in the post-War years due to his brother Bill's more diffident nature and the premature death in a drunken car crash of Paddy Mayne, who apparently did most of the heavy lifting in the formative years of the SAS. The author proposes the way was therefore clear for David Stirling to promulgate his own legend. Due to his own carelessness, David Stirling's war ended with his capture in January 1943, spending the rest of the War as a POW. At the end of the book though, I felt perhaps the author had overdone the demolition of David Stirling's efforts in the name of putting history straight. There's no doubt Stirling was clever, energetic (when he wanted to be) and extremely magnetic personality-wise, which carried him a long way in taking people with him. But then most aristocrats had that profile back then, and it brought about great things from those involved in the action, as well as causing catastrophic mistakes that cost a great many men their lives. It took all sorts to fight WW2 (and WW1 for that matter), and all wars are, as Churchill might have said, are a "bugger's muddle". I think that without the highly intelligent and well-educated barmy eccentrics and upper class officers and commanders, we might never have finally bumbled our way through.

The release of this book around the time of showing of the BBC TV series "Rogue Heroes" based on the prior recent book about the SAS by Ben McIntyre, seems very fortuitous given the BBC serial takes a few (but not many) liberties with the facts.The book's sub-title "The Phoney Major" and the opening chapter lay out the main theme of the book which is the credit given to David Stirling as the founder and leader of the SAS is mis-placed and not supported by the facts. McIntyre's book which had access to SAS records not previously allowed and which the BBC series follows differs considerably with that assessment. Author Gavin Mortimer however has a considerable advantage in making these claims which is many decades carrying out interviews with WW2 members of the SAS before they died (fully listed in the Appendices) plus his wider research and writing on Britain's "special forces" from inception to the current day.The book is very well written and is like McIntyre's an easy read. At times because the author covers David Stirling's life from start to finish it covers a lot that initially may feel irrelevant (such as Stirling's early life, education and initial military career) but by the end of the book the pieces all fall into place. Mortimer's thesis is that the credit for the origins and the success of the SAS is due as much to Bill Stirling (David's older brother) and Paddy Mayne - Jock Lewes who in David Stirling's eyes, the TV series and McIntyre book deserved more credit is largely sidelined.David Stirling's lifelong inability to follow procedures and rules may have helped overcome initial disdain by the British Middle East military command for the SAS proposal and get them up and operative (as Mortimer accepts his ability as a salesman and also getting the full confidence of similar background military colleagues was crucial in the early years) but organisation of military operations and detailed planning were never his forte. Indeed the book makes a strong case that the role of the Long Range Desert Group to the SAS's early successes is greater than the McIntyre book allows.The capture of Stirling by the Germans in early 1943 and his incarceration as a PoW till the end of the war is seen as the consequence of a comedy of errors by Stirling, reflecting his rash style of leadership and perhaps a good thing for the future of the SAS with Mayne then being put in charge. This is however not a book that sets out to lionise Mayne as the real hero (compared with Stirling they seem complete opposites both socially and in attitude and approach) but to show as matters developed Stirling was shown to be wanting and Mayne delivered. Mortimer's book provides extensive evidence and testimony of this key difference.Mortimer adeptly covers how the myth around Stirling was created with Rommel nicknaming him the "Phantom Major" because of the SAS attacks on his bases and Stirling's courting and recruiting of people of similar upper class social and educational backgrounds who may not have been brilliant militarily but whose contacts counted. Randolph Churchill the prime minister's son, made his father aware of Stirling's activities and Fitzroy Maclean whose memoir "Eastern Approaches" helped subsequently publicise his views on Stirling's role in the Desert War. Contemporary war morale boosting articles in the British press spotlighting Stirling added to this aura.With the end of the war and Stirling's release from captivity in Colditz, he moved to Rhodesia having broken all military links but his activities in trying to set up an organisation for post colonial independence in Africa were again a record of mis-organisation and failed ambitions.Mayne's early death in a car crash in the 1950s while drunk (a trait he had had since his Irish rugby playing days) seems to have reactivated Stirling with his biography then being published. Mortimer tracks many factual errors in this book including an alleged meeting with Churchill in Cairo in 1942. Later questionable activities in what would now be known as mercenary army activities did not burnish his reputation. His star however rose with the SAS inviting him to address anniversary celebrations as their founder and later activities such as the SAS storming of the Iranian Embassy in London though not involving him awoke public interest in the history of the SAS.One cannot fault the author for his detective work or the balance he brings to the contributions Stirling and others brought to the SAS story. His final few chapters are masterly in pulling all the evidence together and drawing conclusions about the key players. While accepting the SAS by its organisation and method of operating was different, Mortimer's book does successfully challenge many previously accepted facts and proves yet again as with many other recent WW2 books that history can be re-interpreted and re-written