0:00:10 > 0:00:15On a November night in 1941, high above the North African desert,
0:00:15 > 0:00:19five ancient RAF planes clawed their way through a ferocious storm.
0:00:22 > 0:00:27Inside, 55 paratroopers from a new and intensely secret combat unit
0:00:27 > 0:00:30were ready to jump over the target.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37But the planes were lost, far behind enemy lines
0:00:37 > 0:00:38and under heavy fire.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43The pilot turned to the officer in command and asked,
0:00:43 > 0:00:44"Should we turn back?"
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Many would not survive the mission.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52All the men knew it.
0:00:52 > 0:00:53None hesitated.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58One by one, they hurled themselves into the gale.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02These were the first men of the SAS.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10Today, the Special Air Service is the world's most famous combat unit,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13with the motto Who Dares Wins.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17But the story of how it came into existence has been, until now,
0:01:17 > 0:01:19a closely-guarded secret.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26With unprecedented access to the SAS archives,
0:01:26 > 0:01:28unseen footage
0:01:28 > 0:01:31and exclusive interviews with its founding members...
0:01:33 > 0:01:37..this series tells the remarkable story behind
0:01:37 > 0:01:40an extraordinary fighting force.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44It was essential that some success should be recorded
0:01:44 > 0:01:46and recorded quickly.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52That band of vagabonds had to grasp what they had to do.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57We should never have dropped under those conditions.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59But, if we hadn't,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01there would never have been an SAS, that is for sure.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22The SAS is one of the most mysterious military organisations
0:02:22 > 0:02:24in the world.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Its missions are closely guarded secrets.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31The records are kept securely locked away.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Now, for the first time,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39the SAS has agreed to open up its archive and allow me to reveal
0:02:39 > 0:02:41the true story of their formation
0:02:41 > 0:02:44during the darkest days of World War II.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50This is the official image of the wartime SAS.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53The one-dimensional macho men of popular myth.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59But the archive reveals that, in truth, they were, by turns,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02eccentric, resilient, intelligent, amateur,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05and, in some cases, borderline psychotic.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12The regiment very nearly died at birth.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16It faced as many enemies inside the British military establishment
0:03:16 > 0:03:17as it did on the battlefield.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23But these rogues and misfits fought from the deserts of North Africa
0:03:23 > 0:03:25to the very heart of Nazi Germany
0:03:25 > 0:03:29and recorded it all in the archive's most revealing artefact.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35Hidden in the SAS archives is this - the war diary.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40An extraordinary scrapbook of combat reports and original photographs,
0:03:40 > 0:03:45secretly put together by the men themselves in a leather binder,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47liberated from Nazi Germany.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50It lists every detail of every mission.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55But, more than that, it also contains the words and memories
0:03:55 > 0:03:58of the men who carried out those missions,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02providing a unique insight into the psychology,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06character and personalities of the people who forged the SAS.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28In the summer in 1941, at the height of the war in the Desert,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31a bored and eccentric young army officer
0:04:31 > 0:04:33was planning to take on the German and Italian forces
0:04:33 > 0:04:38with an elaborate scheme that was imaginative, radical,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41and entirely against the rules.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43This young soldier wasn't exactly the stuff
0:04:43 > 0:04:45of traditional military heroes.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48He lacked the most basic military discipline.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50He'd never seen any actual fighting.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52And he couldn't even march straight.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54He was so tall and so lazy
0:04:54 > 0:04:57his comrades nicknamed him the Giant Sloth.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04David Archibald Stirling was a dreamer
0:05:04 > 0:05:08who had once hoped to be the first man to climb Mount Everest,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10or perhaps become a famous artist.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16When the war came, Stirling joined the commando force in Africa
0:05:16 > 0:05:19hoping to seize military glory.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23His seniors considered this unlikely.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28One report described him as "irresponsible and unremarkable."
0:05:28 > 0:05:30But Stirling wasn't quite the layabout
0:05:30 > 0:05:32his commanders thought he was.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Britain was losing the war.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37And Stirling, who was nothing if not self-confident,
0:05:37 > 0:05:41believed he knew just what to do to reverse the tide.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52'Film roll. 42, 53, take one.'
0:05:54 > 0:05:59In 1987, David Stirling agreed to tell his complete story on film.
0:06:01 > 0:06:02Hidden away for decades,
0:06:02 > 0:06:07it is an extraordinary first-hand account from the maverick visionary
0:06:07 > 0:06:10who dreamed of reinventing the way war was fought.
0:06:11 > 0:06:17From the start, we knew we would never make it to a regiment
0:06:17 > 0:06:22unless we succeeded in establishing a new role.
0:06:22 > 0:06:28It had to be regarded as a new type of force
0:06:28 > 0:06:33to extract the very maximum out of surprise and guile.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41By 1941, the Axis powers of Hitler and Mussolini had overrun Europe
0:06:41 > 0:06:44and were seeking to dominate the Mediterranean.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48Under the command of Hitler's most formidable general, Erwin Rommel,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52they seemed close to achieving just that.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58His aircraft dominated the skies,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01effectively halting any counterattack.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06For the British to break the deadlock,
0:07:06 > 0:07:11a way had to be found to destroy the enemy's aircraft on the ground.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13But with his airfields hundreds of miles
0:07:13 > 0:07:15behind the lines in the desert,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19massed British commando raids were practically impossible.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Stirling could see what the generals could not.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27That the commando force were simply too large and cumbersome
0:07:27 > 0:07:28to be fit for purpose.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32He began to imagine what it would be like if the unit was split up
0:07:32 > 0:07:34into smaller raiding parties.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39These would be far more mobile and could react quickly to changes
0:07:39 > 0:07:41in terrain or weather.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44They might be able to penetrate deep behind enemy lines
0:07:44 > 0:07:48and attack several targets at once without warning.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54First of all I had to relate it to an operation in order to capture
0:07:54 > 0:07:57the imagination of the top command.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Stirling knew that the Germans had used paratroopers to great effect
0:08:05 > 0:08:09and he believed that the British should develop a force of their own.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Parachuting would give him the advantage of novelty
0:08:12 > 0:08:14when selling the idea of his unit,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16and it might be quite fun to try it as well.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Stirling acquired a shipment of parachutes,
0:08:25 > 0:08:26and, with no training whatever,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29carried out his first experimental jump.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34He simply strapped on a parachute and jumped out of a plane.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42I was a bit unlucky,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45because my parachute, when it opened,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47was attached to the tail pin,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50and, before it broke loose,
0:08:50 > 0:08:54it took off a panel or two off the parachute.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58I descended a good deal faster than my companions.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08I couldn't move either of my two legs
0:09:08 > 0:09:12and I went to Alexandria Hospital.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15And, of course, it gave me a marvellous opportunity
0:09:15 > 0:09:18to do some homework on the project.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22Undaunted by his disastrous first parachute jump,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26Stirling was inspired to develop his plan in a different way.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30The forces defending the Axis airfields were expecting
0:09:30 > 0:09:33to be attacked from the Mediterranean,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and so had all their guns trained to the North.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39What if Stirling and his parachutists attacked them
0:09:39 > 0:09:41from the opposite direction?
0:09:49 > 0:09:53To the south lay the Great Sand Sea,
0:09:53 > 0:09:58a vast waterless desert covering 45,000 square miles.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Temperatures here can reach 120 degrees by day
0:10:02 > 0:10:05and plummet to freezing at night.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08It is not an easy place to live.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10But it is a very easy place to die.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15One of the most hostile environments on Earth.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21The Germans and Italians considered it virtually impassable
0:10:21 > 0:10:24and therefore left it largely unprotected.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29Stirling observed this was one sea the Hun was not watching.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34From here, they could wreak havoc on the remote airfields
0:10:34 > 0:10:36by attacking from where they were least expecting.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41And then slip back into the embracing emptiness
0:10:41 > 0:10:44of the Sand Sea before the enemy knew what had hit them.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52Stirling had just drawn up the blueprint for an entirely new type
0:10:52 > 0:10:56of warfare that might be the key to defeating Rommel.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58We would have to have access to intelligence.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03We were going to develop methods and techniques
0:11:03 > 0:11:05which were new in Army terms.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11And, therefore, we would have to have a special status of our own.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19But, first, this lowly lieutenant with no battle experience would have
0:11:19 > 0:11:23to persuade high command that his idea could actually work.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Housed in a large block of commandeered flats
0:11:29 > 0:11:31and surrounded by barbed wire,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34British HQ in Cairo was an impenetrable fortress
0:11:34 > 0:11:37of old-fashioned thinking.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Stirling knew his plan was so radical
0:11:41 > 0:11:45that if it passed through the normal channels, it would perish
0:11:45 > 0:11:48on the desk of the first officer who read it.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51In the eyes of some, sneaking in by parachute,
0:11:51 > 0:11:55blowing up planes in the middle of the night and then running away
0:11:55 > 0:11:57was a job for saboteurs,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00not soldiers of His Majesty's Armed Forces.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04Well, that meant I had to more or less ignore
0:12:04 > 0:12:08the normal rules and regulations because there was no way
0:12:08 > 0:12:11that anybody was going to back the scheme,
0:12:11 > 0:12:15except possibly at the very top.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18Stirling's only option was to get his plan directly
0:12:18 > 0:12:20into the hands of the top brass.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23How he did so has become the stuff of myth.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29Still on crutches after his accident,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Stirling hobbled up to the entrance where he was stopped by two guards.
0:12:33 > 0:12:39Unfortunately, I didn't have a pass and I was refused admittance,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42so I had to use my crutches as a kind of ladder
0:12:42 > 0:12:45to get over the wire when the guards weren't looking.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Going as fast as his stiff legs could carry him,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52he burst into a room marked Adjutant General.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56It was an unfortunate choice.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59I had forgotten he was the same chap who tried very hard
0:12:59 > 0:13:01to have me sacked
0:13:01 > 0:13:04when I didn't take my military training very seriously.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08So when I appeared and put a paper for him to read,
0:13:08 > 0:13:10he was absolutely outraged.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Hearing the guard thundering upstairs,
0:13:14 > 0:13:16he dashed into the next room.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Which turned out to contain General Sir Neil Ritchie...
0:13:20 > 0:13:23..the very man he wanted to see.
0:13:23 > 0:13:29It took him rather by surprise, and he settled down to read it.
0:13:29 > 0:13:30He really got quite engrossed in it
0:13:30 > 0:13:34and had forgotten the rather irregular way it had been presented.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38He said this is something we can use.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43This is an almost perfect Stirling story.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45It has the patina of a tale
0:13:45 > 0:13:48polished, told, and retold after dinner.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51It is entirely possible that the whole thing was invented.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54But, whatever the truth of how Stirling got his notes
0:13:54 > 0:13:58under the noses of high command, his timing couldn't have been better.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Richie's superior, General Sir Claude Auchinleck,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07had recently taken over as commander in chief and was under intense
0:14:07 > 0:14:10pressure from Winston Churchill to strike back at Rommel.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21With a major British counterattack looming,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Stirling's plan could hamper enemy air power at a critical moment.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28And, if it failed,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31all that would be lost would be a handful of adventurers.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38Stirling was a mere lieutenant and an undistinguished one at that,
0:14:38 > 0:14:41but he had now won permission to create and command what looked
0:14:41 > 0:14:43suspiciously like a private army.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50To the fury of many at British HQ,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Stirling was promptly promoted to captain and authorised to raise
0:14:54 > 0:14:56a force of six officers and 60 men.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59The Special Air Service, or SAS, was born.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31The name was the brain child of Brigadier Dudley Clarke,
0:15:31 > 0:15:34the chief of military deception in the Middle East.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Operating from the basement of a Cairo brothel,
0:15:37 > 0:15:43Clarke distributed misinformation to baffle and mislead the enemy.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47He was also a master of disguise, with a taste for cross-dressing.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53Clarke wanted to convince the enemy that the British
0:15:53 > 0:15:55had a large airborne force in the area
0:15:55 > 0:15:58and so he invented the SAS Brigade in the form of
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Stirling's real, but very small, force of men.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Clarke gave them the important sounding title - L Detachment,
0:16:07 > 0:16:10Special Air Service Brigade.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Stirling would later joke that the L stood for learner.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28Stirling now set about recruiting men who would live up to the promise
0:16:28 > 0:16:30of the name Clarke had given them.
0:16:33 > 0:16:34'17, take one.'
0:16:34 > 0:16:38Those he chose were also interviewed in 1987.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40'Roll 67, take one.
0:16:42 > 0:16:43'29, take one.
0:16:46 > 0:16:47'41, take one.'
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Conventional soldiers were rejected out of hand.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Stirling was looking for something rather different.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01An ability to think and react independently.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07I heard some, what you might term as a conversation that
0:17:07 > 0:17:10there was do or die boys being formed in Egypt.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13You'll get the diehards,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16they've got a nice, comfortable job polishing their seat.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19You was looking for men that you thought
0:17:19 > 0:17:23was better than the present ones that you were serving under.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28I had a lot of problems getting into the Army.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30A, because I was too young,
0:17:30 > 0:17:34and, B, because they thought that I wasn't big enough.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36I thought I was big enough.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38The adjutant sent a message saying,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42"There's a Lieutenant Stirling wants to see you."
0:17:42 > 0:17:43Then I realised he had an interest.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46He said, "Do you want to do something special?"
0:17:47 > 0:17:52Said to me, "What will your wife say if she finds out
0:17:52 > 0:17:56"that you've joined this parachute unit?"
0:17:56 > 0:18:02I said, "She won't know anything at all about it."
0:18:02 > 0:18:04So I was accepted.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12The men he chose were supremely brave
0:18:12 > 0:18:14and just short of irresponsible.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Uncomplaining and unconventional rogues
0:18:19 > 0:18:22who could fight a new and secret sort of war.
0:18:25 > 0:18:30In a sense, they weren't really controllable.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33They all had this individuality.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37The object was to give them the same purpose.
0:18:39 > 0:18:45Most of them were escaping from conventional, regimental discipline.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49They didn't fully appreciate they were running into
0:18:49 > 0:18:52a much more exacting type of discipline.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58That band of vagabonds had to grasp what they had to do.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05We had to get down to training immediately.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Stirling's enemies at British HQ couldn't stop him.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17But they could make life as difficult as possible
0:19:17 > 0:19:19for his band of renegades.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26The new detachment arrived at the designated spot to find a sign post
0:19:26 > 0:19:29with the unit's name scrawled on it,
0:19:29 > 0:19:32a few ragged tents, and a couple of chairs.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Someone said, "Where's the camp?"
0:19:34 > 0:19:38And David said, "That's the first job you do is to steal one."
0:19:41 > 0:19:45It happened there was a New Zealand brigade
0:19:45 > 0:19:50particularly well-supplied with camp facilities,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53including a grand piano.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59So, we decided while the New Zealanders were out on their march,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02we would take what we were entitled to.
0:20:05 > 0:20:11We stole tents, we stole a piano, bars, the whole camp.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15By next morning, we had a really spectacularly effective,
0:20:15 > 0:20:17probably the best camp in the area.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21We thought it was great.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23We thought this is the unit to be with.
0:20:23 > 0:20:28And so started L Detachment.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Forging a new fighting unit required someone who understood
0:20:33 > 0:20:35the practicalities of combat.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38David Stirling was the inspiration for the SAS
0:20:38 > 0:20:41but the man to turn that into hard military reality
0:20:41 > 0:20:43was Lieutenant Jock Lewes.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55This is hitherto unseen footage of Jock Lewes before the war.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01Athletic, rich, patriotic and handsome,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03a darling of the society magazines.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09"Be someone great", his father had told him.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13And, when war came, Lewes set about fulfilling that injunction.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Jock was encouraged by his parents to be someone great...
0:21:23 > 0:21:25..ever since he was a child.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30Jock had a very clear vision of what he wanted to do.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32He wanted to shorten the war.
0:21:34 > 0:21:40He was fulfilling the greatness that his mother and father
0:21:40 > 0:21:44had expected him to rise to.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50While Stirling had been planning the SAS from his hospital bed,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Lewes had come to a similar conclusion on the field of battle.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56He was a man Stirling was determined to have on his team.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59I put him in charge of training.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02It's something he had been longing to do.
0:22:02 > 0:22:07He improvised all kinds of new training techniques.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13This is the only footage of Lewes's unique style of parachute training.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21British paratroopers had never been dropped into the desert before.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Without a plane available for training,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Lewes decided to improvise.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29None of us had ever parachuted in our lives.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Let's get that straight. None of us had done it.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34So, he had a brilliant idea.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36He thought it was anyway.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38And we got some trucks.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44And the idea was at 10mph, we'd jump off it backwards.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49So we did it. And then he thought 20mph.
0:22:50 > 0:22:5330mph, I'm afraid we gave up.
0:22:54 > 0:22:55But Jock went on.
0:22:55 > 0:22:56So what could you do?
0:22:56 > 0:22:59He jumps off a truck at 40 mile an hour
0:22:59 > 0:23:01and he asks you to jump off at 30.
0:23:03 > 0:23:04You just did it.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21Lewes's training was harsh, exacting and extremely dangerous.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26Many broke bones, including Jock himself,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29but his steely determination captured the imagination of his men.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34That was the thing with Jock Lewes's training.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36He said, "Never run away."
0:23:36 > 0:23:40He says, "Because once you start running, you stop thinking."
0:23:40 > 0:23:42It was very sound advice.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47But there was another secret side to Jock Lewes that would have given
0:23:47 > 0:23:50Stirling pause, had he known about it.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Lewes had very nearly become a fascist.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Touring Germany before the war,
0:24:04 > 0:24:09Lewes had become deeply impressed by the organisation and strength
0:24:09 > 0:24:10of the Third Reich.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14Lewes even fell in love with a young German woman.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19Senta Adriano was a society beauty and an enthusiastic Nazi.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25Then came Kristallnacht,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28the night of broken glass,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31as the Nazis went on the rampage against the Jews.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39And the politically naive Lewes suddenly saw with horrible clarity
0:24:39 > 0:24:43the true nature of the regime he had so enthused over.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52Lewes found a new love - Mirren Barford.
0:24:52 > 0:24:57Unimpeachably British and a woman worth fighting a war for.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02From the battlefront, Lewes wrote Mirren ever more loving letters.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04And she replied with similar passion.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Finally, he asked for her hand in marriage,
0:25:09 > 0:25:11but not until he had vanquished the enemy.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16"I swear I will not live to see the day when Britain hauls down
0:25:16 > 0:25:21"the colours of her beliefs before totalitarian aggression.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23"I willingly take up arms against Germany."
0:25:25 > 0:25:28Lewes's ruthlessness and determination,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32his utter dedication to the task of defeating Germany,
0:25:32 > 0:25:36was that of a man who had been wronged by a faithless lover.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38One who had made a terrible mistake
0:25:38 > 0:25:41and was now determined to make amends.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50Jock's letters to Mirren and her letters back to him
0:25:50 > 0:25:57are the incredible love story of two people who'd only met ten times.
0:25:58 > 0:26:04But because he was convinced that he was going to marry her,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08he was able to reveal everything to her.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16He couldn't tell her what the military orders were,
0:26:16 > 0:26:20but he could tell her of the huge challenges he was facing.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25How his faith was really being tested.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29He was a Christian.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33He didn't enjoy killing.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38And he had to find a way of squaring the circle.
0:26:40 > 0:26:45These letters and this love affair, at a distance,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48was what enabled Jock to bear the burden.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56- TV ANNOUNCER:- Our paratroops have been training in the western desert
0:26:56 > 0:26:57as well as in Britain.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01In late 1941, the War Office allowed a newsreel to be made
0:27:01 > 0:27:02of the unit in training,
0:27:02 > 0:27:06quite possibly as part of Dudley Clarke's deception operation.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10This rare footage shows Stirling in shorts,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13introducing General Auchinleck to his men.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18What we had was chaps who came from all walks of life
0:27:18 > 0:27:21and there was short ones, tall ones, medium height.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23We had to blend all that into a fighting body.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Stirling said that although he needed men who would be prepared
0:27:28 > 0:27:32to kill at close quarters, he didn't want psychopaths.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Which was exactly how many people described
0:27:36 > 0:27:40Stirling's most challenging recruit - Lieutenant Blair Mayne,
0:27:40 > 0:27:41known as Paddy.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Paddy was very, very different.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47The antithesis of Jock.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53A former Irish rugby international,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57Mayne was a hard drinker with a volcanic temper.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03This is Stirling introducing Paddy Mayne to the general
0:28:03 > 0:28:05but the Irishman had little respect for authority.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Stirling later claimed he'd found Mayne in prison,
0:28:10 > 0:28:11awaiting court martial.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16He found reason to knock out his commanding officer
0:28:16 > 0:28:18and was doing time.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23I persuaded him that our position was a good one and he joined up.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Recruiting Paddy Mayne was like adopting a wolf.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34Exciting, certain to instil fear, but not necessarily sensible.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39He had a marvellous battle nostril.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41He knew how to exploit surprise.
0:28:41 > 0:28:46And what looked to be absolutely foolhardy was legitimate with Paddy.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49But I'd tell him, very firmly,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52this commanding officer wasn't for hitting.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Stirling and his men were ready for battle,
0:28:57 > 0:29:01and so it seemed was their commander-in-chief Claude Auchinleck.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07Operation Crusader was planned as an all-out attack to relieve
0:29:07 > 0:29:10the besieged town of Tobruk - a vital coastal stronghold.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14But Tobruk was flanked by air fields,
0:29:14 > 0:29:16bristling with enemy aircraft.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19These would undoubtedly attack
0:29:19 > 0:29:22Auchinleck's advancing ground forces,
0:29:22 > 0:29:24unless they could be attacked first.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28Stirling proposed to parachute in the SAS
0:29:28 > 0:29:31deep behind enemy lines before the British ground attack.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35These could then attack the individual air fields
0:29:35 > 0:29:38and destroy as many aeroplanes as possible
0:29:38 > 0:29:41using a new weapon designed by Jock Lewes.
0:29:43 > 0:29:48Jock knew he had to find a bomb that would blow up an aircraft
0:29:48 > 0:29:51and he had to find one that was light enough to carry.
0:29:51 > 0:29:56The men could hear the occasional explosions during lunchtime when,
0:29:56 > 0:29:58of course, Jock was working again.
0:30:00 > 0:30:05Jock had mixed up a mixture of plastic, thermite and steel filings.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07That was the secret - steel filings.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09Of course, the thing blew up.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13It was a great moment, a great moment.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16He jumped for joy.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21Shouting out and hugging the nearest NCOs.
0:30:21 > 0:30:22He knew he'd cracked it.
0:30:22 > 0:30:27And he knew that the SAS were going to be fully operational.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38The war diary contains the SAS's first-ever battle order.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42The top secret directive from HQ ordering the mission to go ahead.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48Stirling and almost his entire force
0:30:48 > 0:30:51would be dropped deep into the desert
0:30:51 > 0:30:54with just five days' supply of food and water.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59Armed with the new Lewes bombs,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02the men would sneak onto the airfields at night
0:31:02 > 0:31:05and plant their explosives on every aircraft they could find.
0:31:07 > 0:31:08To escape from the desert,
0:31:08 > 0:31:12a rendezvous was set up with the trucks of the LRDG -
0:31:12 > 0:31:14the Long Range Desert Group,
0:31:14 > 0:31:18a unit experienced in desert reconnaissance.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21The pick-up point was dangerously close to the enemy.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24The LRDG would wait no more than three days
0:31:24 > 0:31:27before leaving the men alone in the desert.
0:31:30 > 0:31:34Lewes was elated at the prospect of action at last.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38His letters home ring with the chivalric tones of a crusader.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40"We wait to prove ourselves.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42"This unit cannot now die.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45"It is alive and will live gloriously."
0:31:47 > 0:31:50But for all Lewes's visions of glory,
0:31:50 > 0:31:54there was one factor over which no-one had any control -
0:31:54 > 0:31:55the weather.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05With just hours to go before takeoff,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08the weather forecast was atrocious.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15Heavy rain and winds of at least 30 knots,
0:32:15 > 0:32:17twice the maximum speed for parachuting.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21Weather was against us going.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24We were all given the option of opting out.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32High command sent a message allowing Stirling to cancel the mission.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37But, after months on the sidelines,
0:32:37 > 0:32:41this was Stirling's first and perhaps his only chance
0:32:41 > 0:32:44to demonstrate his radical new method of warfare.
0:32:45 > 0:32:51Stirling and Lewes could have been tempted to say, "We'll cancel this."
0:32:52 > 0:32:56But because of the opposition to the SAS in HQ Cairo,
0:32:56 > 0:33:02they felt absolutely that if they didn't take this chance,
0:33:02 > 0:33:04they might never get another chance again.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11I wasn't prepared to see the first of our operations,
0:33:11 > 0:33:14because of bad weather, being postponed.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18It couldn't be postponed, it had to be cancelled.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20We refused absolutely.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23They gave us the option. So we went ahead.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34Stirling almost certainly made the wrong decision
0:33:34 > 0:33:36in allowing the operation to go ahead.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43But if he had made the right decision and called it off,
0:33:43 > 0:33:45there would probably never have been an SAS.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49That evening, we were given a meal.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52It was out of this world, the RAF had laid it on.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54It was like the Last Supper.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59I think the RAF thought they'd never see any of us again, you know.
0:34:10 > 0:34:15Five of the RAF's cumbersome and outdated Bombay aircraft
0:34:15 > 0:34:17clambered into the darkness.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19With Stirling's men holding tight,
0:34:19 > 0:34:24the planes flew into the worst storm in the area for 30 years.
0:34:31 > 0:34:32As soon as they reached the coast,
0:34:32 > 0:34:36the enemy's air defences opened up with a storm of anti-aircraft fire.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44The plane inside was absolutely lit up.
0:34:44 > 0:34:49Jock got up and just walked up and down as though nothing cared at all.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51He gave you confidence.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53"Well, he's not frightened, why am I frightened?"
0:34:53 > 0:34:55He said, "Not to worry, but we'll have to jump.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57"We don't know where we are, but we're going to jump."
0:34:57 > 0:35:02It was a night without any moon, pitch-black.
0:35:02 > 0:35:07And they dropped the 65 men
0:35:07 > 0:35:11taking part all over the bloody shop.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20Seized by the wind, most of the parachutists
0:35:20 > 0:35:22landed miles from the drop zone.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29Several, unable to unclip their parachutes in the high wind,
0:35:29 > 0:35:31were scraped to death on the desert floor.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57I don't know whether you know the desert at night-time,
0:35:57 > 0:35:59but it gets as black as hell.
0:36:01 > 0:36:07My arms, I had to hold them close to my chest because I was in pain.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14Armed only with revolvers and a handful of grenades
0:36:14 > 0:36:17and barely a day's supply of water,
0:36:17 > 0:36:20as an attacking force, Stirling's team was now useless.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26And, now, somehow, lost in the wilderness of sand,
0:36:26 > 0:36:29the survivors would have to find their way to the rendezvous point.
0:36:29 > 0:36:35Ahead of them lay a 36-hour march through high winds and driving rain.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40Undaunted, Lewes said, "At least we won't die of thirst."
0:36:52 > 0:36:54We saw this light in the distance.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57Jock thought it was a star.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01I said, "No, no, it's not a star.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04"It's a light. That's the thing."
0:37:04 > 0:37:09The handful of survivors had found the only way to get back out
0:37:09 > 0:37:12of the desert - the trucks of the LRDG.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15One of the last out was Stirling.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19Dazed and exhausted, he asked, "Has anyone seen my men?"
0:37:25 > 0:37:27One aircraft had been shot down,
0:37:27 > 0:37:31some men had been killed in the parachute drop, some captured,
0:37:31 > 0:37:34others dragged to their deaths, or left to die in the desert.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39Only 21 of the 55 had returned.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51Stirling remained at the desert rendezvous for two more days,
0:37:51 > 0:37:54scanning the horizon in the hope that other stragglers
0:37:54 > 0:37:56might eventually emerge.
0:37:58 > 0:37:59None did.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05It was tragic because there was so much talent in those who we lost.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10We had to try and survive.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23Thinking that 21 of us came out of that, we thought of the others...
0:38:23 > 0:38:26We didn't know where they were, whether they were alive or dead.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28I think most of us wanted to continue.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32We'd gone through so much,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35so whatever happened afterwards was going to be, as you would say,
0:38:35 > 0:38:38a piece of cake. It wasn't, of course, but...
0:38:40 > 0:38:43The raid had failed utterly.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47But in disaster, as so often, lay the germ of salvation.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51The thought now occurred to Stirling that if the LRDG could get them out
0:38:51 > 0:38:55of the desert, they could surely drive them in as well.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06With their distinctive Arab headdress
0:39:06 > 0:39:08and their specially customised vehicles,
0:39:08 > 0:39:13the Long Range Desert Group were part soldiers and part explorers
0:39:13 > 0:39:15who had made the desert their home.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19They had honed their skills by developing
0:39:19 > 0:39:24advanced desert mapping techniques and using their own sun compass.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31Their expertise made them the ideal desert scouting force,
0:39:31 > 0:39:35primarily gathering intelligence while occasionally attacking
0:39:35 > 0:39:38the enemy and committing piracy on the high desert.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43One of the LRDG's best navigators
0:39:43 > 0:39:46was 21-year-old Corporal Mike Sadler.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50Now aged 96, he's the only man left to have fought alongside
0:39:50 > 0:39:53the original soldiers of the SAS.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56How do you navigate in the desert?
0:39:56 > 0:39:59- How do you do it?- It was a bit of an art, really.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01It came naturally somehow.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05And so I was fairly successful at it.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14Sun threw a shadow onto a little sun compass
0:40:14 > 0:40:17and you had to set the disc depending on the time of day
0:40:17 > 0:40:19and the latitude that you were on and all that.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23Come nightfall,
0:40:23 > 0:40:27we had to establish whether we were right or not by observing the stars.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32And that was the thing which I found so fascinating.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43Sadler came to the LRDG as a gunner,
0:40:43 > 0:40:47but had become obsessed with plotting courses across the sands.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51As I'd been taking interest in it,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54the first thing they said was, "Would you like to be a navigator?"
0:40:54 > 0:40:57And I couldn't believe it.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59So I said, "Yes, I would."
0:40:59 > 0:41:03And I never looked at an anti-tank gun again, with great relief!
0:41:05 > 0:41:09Stirling soon realised that men with the desert expertise of Mike Sadler
0:41:09 > 0:41:12could deliver the SAS on time and on target
0:41:12 > 0:41:15far better than the RAF ever could.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17He was a very quiet fellow.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19He never raised his voice.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23But he was a bit inclined to forget you because he was not concentrating
0:41:23 > 0:41:26so much on the job in hand.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29He was thinking much more about higher matters.
0:41:38 > 0:41:43Stirling took his new plan back to Cairo to find HQ in a state of panic.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48The Axis had inflicted a major defeat on the British,
0:41:48 > 0:41:51driving them out of Libya and back into Egypt.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55But Rommel's rapid advance
0:41:55 > 0:41:59had left his forces overstretched and vulnerable.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03This was an opportunity for Stirling to attack again.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06We were rather on tiptoe, got hold of a truck or two,
0:42:06 > 0:42:11and we were equipped to undertake our first series of operations
0:42:11 > 0:42:13with the Long Range Desert Group.
0:42:16 > 0:42:21Ahead of them lay a 350-mile journey to the enemy-held coast,
0:42:21 > 0:42:23courtesy of the LRDG,
0:42:23 > 0:42:27or the Libyan Taxi Service, as the SAS had taken to calling them.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37Stirling had less than half his force left.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41Every single one of them was determined to get back into the war.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49They headed into the desert in the certain knowledge
0:42:49 > 0:42:51that if they failed again,
0:42:51 > 0:42:54this would be their last mission together.
0:42:54 > 0:42:59It was essential for the unit that some success should be recorded and
0:42:59 > 0:43:01recorded quickly.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03Another failure like that and they would have disbanded it
0:43:03 > 0:43:05before it even got off the ground.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33There are few experiences more uncomfortable
0:43:33 > 0:43:36than a long desert journey in a vehicle like this.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40For three days, they rumbled and jounced their way north-west.
0:43:40 > 0:43:45The heat and monotony inducing a state of sweaty semi-consciousness.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50The trucks frequently broke down or sank into the sand
0:43:50 > 0:43:53and had to be mended or laboriously dug out.
0:43:53 > 0:43:58It was freezing by night, broiling by day.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00The men called it devil country
0:44:00 > 0:44:04and developed the desert sores and bad temper to prove it.
0:44:08 > 0:44:13First few days, there was nobody, no Bedouins, no nothing.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18But, as you got nearer the target,
0:44:18 > 0:44:20so then the tension started to rise.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27The trucks presented an easy target for the very aircraft
0:44:27 > 0:44:29the SAS were aiming to destroy.
0:44:32 > 0:44:34First got in bomber range,
0:44:34 > 0:44:36then you got in fighter range,
0:44:36 > 0:44:40and spotter planes, and they were liable to pick you up.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44Then you moved in to the coastal belt,
0:44:44 > 0:44:46you start to get a bit of shrub, stuff like that.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49And the tensions start building.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52Then you'd move in till you thought, "That's near enough."
0:44:52 > 0:44:57The noisy trucks would attract too much attention.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59The rest of the journey would be on foot.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15The men hiked several miles until the target was in their sights.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21The first ops, sentries not on the alert.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27300 or 400 miles behind the line.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29It was cushy.
0:45:29 > 0:45:30The war was never going to touch you.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38Across the target airfields,
0:45:38 > 0:45:42the men planted Lewes bombs on every aircraft they could find.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45Setting the fuses to detonate simultaneously,
0:45:45 > 0:45:49they fled before the destruction erupted.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02When they went up, they went!
0:46:02 > 0:46:04You had great big volumes of flames.
0:46:10 > 0:46:14By early morning, Stirling and the LRDG had disappeared
0:46:14 > 0:46:18back into the desert, leaving behind them an epic trail of destruction
0:46:18 > 0:46:21and a bewildered enemy.
0:46:21 > 0:46:26There is no defence against a small party, three or four determined men,
0:46:26 > 0:46:28getting in.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33But destroying aircraft wasn't enough for Paddy Mayne.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40He decided to attack the men who flew them as well.
0:46:45 > 0:46:50The war diary contains Mayne's chilling account of what followed.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54"I stood there with my Colt .45.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57"The others at my side with a Tommy gun and another automatic.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01"We were a peculiar and frightening sight.
0:47:01 > 0:47:06"Bearded and unkempt hair. I said, 'Good evening.'
0:47:06 > 0:47:11"At that, a young German arose and moved slowly backwards.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13"I shot him.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17"I turned and fired at another, some six feet away.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19"Then, the two machine gunners opened up.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25"The room, by now, was in pandemonium."
0:47:30 > 0:47:32Despite the success of the mission,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35Stirling was appalled by the shooting of some 30 men
0:47:35 > 0:47:37at point-blank range.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42He reported, "It was necessary to be ruthless,
0:47:42 > 0:47:45"but Paddy had overstepped the mark.
0:47:45 > 0:47:46"I was obliged to rebuke him
0:47:46 > 0:47:49"for over-callous execution of the enemy."
0:47:51 > 0:47:55Paddy Mayne's brutal attack veered away from sabotage
0:47:55 > 0:47:58and came close to cold-blooded killing.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02It showed just how far the unit had already moved away
0:48:02 > 0:48:04from conventional warfare.
0:48:13 > 0:48:17Over the next two weeks, the SAS mounted raid after raid,
0:48:17 > 0:48:21often unauthorised and picking targets at will.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25Bill Fraser's party got the biggest bag.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27They got 37 planes.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32And we went back to the same place and got 24 planes,
0:48:32 > 0:48:35and, eight days later, we went back and got another 24.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39That's when it all started, that's when the results started coming in.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44They destroyed everything,
0:48:44 > 0:48:47terrorising and demoralising the enemy before disappearing
0:48:47 > 0:48:51into their oasis hideout deep in the desert.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53Obviously, there was jubilation.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55We're back in business, sort of thing.
0:48:58 > 0:49:03Must have been on Christmas Day, the LRDGs shot a gazelle.
0:49:03 > 0:49:09We made a little bar in the sun and we had gazelle and rum and lime.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11We had a very, very nice Christmas.
0:49:11 > 0:49:15Fired up by success, Stirling would not allow even Christmas
0:49:15 > 0:49:17to slow the pace of destruction.
0:49:17 > 0:49:21Rommel was falling back, ever more dependent on air support.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23The SAS would attack again.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29But the Germans and Italians were getting wise
0:49:29 > 0:49:31to the tactics of the SAS.
0:49:35 > 0:49:37Aerial patrols were scouring the desert,
0:49:37 > 0:49:40looking for the telltale dust plumes of the trucks.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44It was only a matter of time
0:49:44 > 0:49:47before the enemy would have Stirling's men in their sights.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52You had so much faith in the people you were with
0:49:52 > 0:49:58that no-one anticipated that anything was going to go wrong.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07Jock Lewes could tell his fiancee Mirren Barford
0:50:07 > 0:50:09very little about their secret mission in the desert
0:50:09 > 0:50:11and could only hint at their great success.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14In a telegram, he wrote,
0:50:14 > 0:50:18"Back today with a pullable beard and a possible medal.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20"Off again tomorrow. Merry Christmas to all."
0:50:23 > 0:50:24In his private diary,
0:50:24 > 0:50:27Lewes expressed the lofty, martial sentiments
0:50:27 > 0:50:30that burned brightly in his heart.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33"I feel my strength and fear is far away.
0:50:33 > 0:50:35"I will not seek to save my life,
0:50:35 > 0:50:38"but will choose the most difficult and dangerous work."
0:50:40 > 0:50:43But beneath the chivalric tone lay a hint of martyrdom.
0:50:48 > 0:50:52He was so passionate to end the war early
0:50:52 > 0:50:54and get back to his love,
0:50:54 > 0:51:00and that meant there was a high chance of being killed.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05"I am prepared for this to be my life's work
0:51:05 > 0:51:08"because it will be well done
0:51:08 > 0:51:12"and a thing to be proud of here or anywhere.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15"I am losing my life
0:51:15 > 0:51:20"in this hard, graceless, unpoetic,
0:51:20 > 0:51:24"unbeautiful devotion."
0:51:36 > 0:51:39He was a very studious character, Jock Lewes,
0:51:39 > 0:51:43and, as a training officer and to go into action with,
0:51:43 > 0:51:44he was a very good one, too.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48He...
0:51:48 > 0:51:52I think he probably had a slight too much regimentality
0:51:52 > 0:51:54about him in active conditions.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57I think that's one of the things that cost him his life.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05Racing across the desert after a dawn raid,
0:52:05 > 0:52:08Jock Lewes's convoy was spotted by a German plane.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14In the open desert, they were sitting ducks.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20The SAS trucks could not escape the speed and fire power
0:52:20 > 0:52:21of their attackers.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27As planes filled the sky, the men jumped for their lives.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31But Jock Lewes delayed, gathering his papers.
0:52:33 > 0:52:34He could see it was coming in,
0:52:34 > 0:52:37it was coming in so low that everybody bears off.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48Jock Lewes stayed too long in the truck...
0:52:49 > 0:52:52..and he got caught in that fire.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04Jock Lewes was buried where he fell.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11His men would never know why he had delayed,
0:53:11 > 0:53:13but perhaps he'd already given them a clue.
0:53:15 > 0:53:16Never run away.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21I regard him as a great leader.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23I'd follow Jock anywhere.
0:53:25 > 0:53:26He was a good fellow.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49On New Year's Eve, the survivors of the Lewes raid limped back
0:53:49 > 0:53:52to the oasis, bringing news
0:53:52 > 0:53:55that one of the unit's most important members was gone.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00Stirling was furious that Lewes's body
0:54:00 > 0:54:02had been left behind in the desert.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05But, then, it was Lewes himself who had insisted
0:54:05 > 0:54:08that collecting the dead was a dangerous waste of time.
0:54:12 > 0:54:17In Lewes's empty tent, his comrades found a letter from Mirren Barford,
0:54:17 > 0:54:20joyously accepting his proposal of marriage.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26- MIRREN:- "Please remember you are my dearest and only love.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28"Don't leave me ever.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31"You always have my love and all I can do now
0:54:31 > 0:54:34"is ask the almighty powers to be merciful
0:54:34 > 0:54:36"and to keep you safe and free."
0:54:38 > 0:54:42Mirren's letter accepting Jock's offer of marriage
0:54:42 > 0:54:45arrived after Jock died,
0:54:45 > 0:54:52but Jock did say one word before he died, and he said,
0:54:52 > 0:54:53"Mirren."
0:55:01 > 0:55:03We were a unit that if any...
0:55:03 > 0:55:06anybody got killed, that was the end of it.
0:55:06 > 0:55:07You know...
0:55:09 > 0:55:14There was no shedding tears and getting handkerchiefs out,
0:55:14 > 0:55:16or drying your eyes and thinking,
0:55:16 > 0:55:19"There's my best pal. I'll get the Germans for this."
0:55:19 > 0:55:21You know, like the Americans do it.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23There was none of that.
0:55:23 > 0:55:27I mean, you took your chance and that was it.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37By January 1942,
0:55:37 > 0:55:40L Detachment had destroyed more than 90 planes
0:55:40 > 0:55:42and left almost as many enemy dead.
0:55:42 > 0:55:47Behind them was a trail of wrecked munitions, vehicles,
0:55:47 > 0:55:49and a demoralised and mystified enemy.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07The SAS returned to Cairo with their heads held high.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16Stirling was promoted to major, and Auchinleck,
0:56:16 > 0:56:20recognising the great potential of his newest fighting force,
0:56:20 > 0:56:24authorised the recruitment of six more officers and 40 more men.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29L Detachment were no longer learners.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31But success had come at a price.
0:56:39 > 0:56:4334 men had been lost in the first doomed parachute raid.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48And now the unit had also lost the man
0:56:48 > 0:56:50who had been instrumental in their success.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56It was very grave on all of us
0:56:56 > 0:56:59and it did leave a very big gap.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04The grave of Jock Lewes was never found,
0:57:04 > 0:57:07lost forever in the Great Sand Sea.
0:57:08 > 0:57:15Jock was absolutely key to this incredible regiment.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17And, by the time he died,
0:57:17 > 0:57:22everything he'd done had proved that it could survive,
0:57:22 > 0:57:26but it still needed guarding.
0:57:28 > 0:57:30Without his right-hand man,
0:57:30 > 0:57:34Stirling would have to rely on the newly promoted captain, Paddy Mayne.
0:57:36 > 0:57:39An officer as unpredictable and dangerous
0:57:39 > 0:57:42as the new phase of war that was about to begin.
0:57:44 > 0:57:48The SAS would have to adapt if it was going to survive.
0:57:52 > 0:57:53But the game was changing.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57The airfields were now being heavily defended
0:57:57 > 0:57:59and, unknown to David Stirling,
0:57:59 > 0:58:03the Germans were training special units to track,
0:58:03 > 0:58:07intercept and kill the marauding SAS.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10The hunters would soon become the hunted.