The Real Rogue Heroes: Robert Blair Mayne: Founding Member of the Special Air Service

According to the London Gazette: "In March 1939, prior to the outbreak of World War II, Paddy Mayne had joined the Territorial Army in Newtownards Ireland. After training with the Queen's University Officer Training Corps, he received a commission in the 5th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, Royal Artillery."

"In April 1940 he transferred to the Royal Ulster Rifles. Following Churchill's call to form a "butcher and bolt" raiding force following Dunkirk, Mayne volunteered for the newly formed 11 (Scottish) Commando. He first saw action in June 1941 as a Lieutenant with 11 Commando, successfully leading his men during the Litani River operation in Lebanon against the Vichy French Forces.

It was after this particularly brutal and confused action, in which 130 officers and men, around a third of the strike force, were wounded or killed, that Mayne reacted violently against what he believed was the ineptitude of his Commanding Officer, whom he considered inexperienced." - London Gazette April 12, 1940

Mayne's leadership on the raid had attracted the attention of Captain David Stirling who recruited him as one of the founding members of the Special Air Service (SAS). From November 1941 through to the end of 1942, Mayne participated in many night raids deep behind enemy lines in the deserts of Egypt and Libya, where the SAS wrought havoc by destroying hundreds of German and Italian aircraft on the ground.

"Mayne received the Distinguished Service Order for a December 14, 1941, raid behind enemy lines in Libya on Wadi Tamet airfield. After eliminating enemy airmen socializing in an officers’ mess, he and his team destroyed 14 planes and damaged 10 others. While serving in North Africa he was credited with personally destroying some 100 enemy aircraft on the ground—47 on a single occasion." - London Gazette February 20, 1942

Promoted to major in 1942, Mayne received a bar to his DSO for destroying coastal batteries at Capo Murro di Porco and capturing the town of Augusta, Sicily, in July 1943. His citation credited him with “courage, determination and superb leadership.”

Following Stirling's capture in January 1943, 1st SAS Regiment was reorganised into two separate parts, the Special Raiding Squadron and the Special Boat Section. As a Major, Mayne was appointed to command the Special Raiding Squadron and he led the unit with distinction in Italy until the end of 1943.

In January 1944 Mayne was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed the Commanding Officer of 1st SAS Regiment. He subsequently led the SAS with great distinction through the final campaigns of the war in France, Holland, Belgium, Germany and Norway, often campaigning alongside local resistance fighters including the French Maquis. - IWM

One of the most highly decorated servicemen of the Commonwealth, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair Mayne, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order with three bars, the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honour. Paddy died on December 13, 1955 resulting from injuries sustained in a car accident. He lies in rest at Movilla Cemetery in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. Lest We Forget.

Thanks for reading, we provide you the best of hjstory. Don't forget to leave your thought in the comment below.

Comments

THE TERRIBLE STORY OF THE LAST COMMANDER OF ONE GERMAN PANTHER TANK.

On this day in 1945, Americans capture the city of Cologne, Germany. The town had already been shattered by years of aerial raids. Now, as World War II was coming to an end, Germans began to flee before the oncoming American tanks. Yet the commander of one German Panther tank refused to go. Instead, he made a last stand in front of Cologne Cathedral, one of the few buildings to remain mostly intact. The Panther tanks were heavier and tougher than the American Sherman tanks. Indeed, that Panther soon knocked out a pair of M4 Sherman tanks, killing or wounding several of our soldiers. But Americans had another, newer tank: the Pershing. One crew was nearby and swung into action. Its commanding officer hoped to attack the Panther from a side street before the Germans knew what was coming. The move was nearly fatal. Inside the German tank, the crew sensed that something wasn’t right. The tank’s turret was turned so that its muzzle was aimed at the side street. Just then, the Pershing came

THE EXECUTION OF COLONEL HO NGOC CAN BY THE COMMUNIST FIRING SQUAD.

"ARVN Colonel HO NGOC CAN (1940-1975) Ho Ngoc Can was admitted in the ARVN Junior Military Academy when he was 14 years old. After graduation, he served 4 years as an instructor sergeant in the same academy. In 1961, he attended the Officer Candidates Class at the Dong De NCO Academy and was the distinguished graduate of the class in 1962. After commissioned, Can served the Ranger Corps as a platoon leader. He was promoted to captain in 1965, to major in 1968, to lieutenant colonel in 1971, and to full colonel in 1974. He was successfully commanding the 1/33 Battalion (21st Infantry Division), the 15th Regiment (9th Inf. Div.). In 1974, Can was appointed province chief of Chuong Thien Province, Vietnam south area. On April 30, 1975, he refused to surrender to the enemy. Along with his troops, Can was fighting with all his might, holding the provincial headquarters until 11:00 PM on May 1, when his forces were out of ammunition. In the last minutes, he ordered the

The Heroic Story Of Lieutenant Colonel Jay Zeamer, Jr. of Carlisle, Honoring Him For His Extraordinary Actions During WWII.

The Heroic Story Of Lieutenant Colonel Jay Zeamer, Jr. of Carlisle, Honoring Him For His Extraordinary Actions During WWII. U.S. Army Air Forces Lieutenant Colonel Jay Zeamer, Jr. of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary actions on June 16, 1943, over Buka area, Solomon Islands. In October 1939, Zeamer applied for the Army Air Corps flight training program and was accepted in December. His entrance to the program was deferred until after graduating from M.I.T. in June 1940 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, specializing in Structural Engineering. Zeamer began elementary flight school training as a flying cadet in the Chicago School of Aeronautics, Glenview, Illinois, where his leadership skills earned him the position of Captain of Cadets of Class 41-B. In March 1941, he received his wings and a commission in the U.S. Army Air Corps after graduating from basic and advanced flight school at Maxwell Field, Alabama. On June 16, 1943, Zeamer

THE TERRIBLE ESCAPE OF WILLIAM DYESS FROM THE JAPANESE PRISONERS OF WAR CAMP.

The Terrible Escape Of , William Dyess From The Japanese Prisoners Of War Camp. On this day in 1943, William Dyess was able to escape from a Japanese prisoner of war camp in the Philippines along with nine other men, and to make his way through the jungle and to a ship that transported him to Australia. Once free, Dyess would be able to reveal to the world the atrocities of the Bataan Death March that had taken place after U.S. and Philippine forces surrendered on April 9, 1942. When the Bataan Peninsula fell to the Japanese, Dyess, as commanding officer, refused to abandon those of his squadron who could not be evacuated. He gave his airplane to another fighter pilot for last bombing run on April 9. Dyess also supervised the evacuation of Philippine Army Colonel Carlos Romulo, a close friend of General Douglas MacArthur, who would survive the war and would later serve as President of the United Nations General Assembly. Dyess was captured by the Japanese on April 9, 1942, north of

THE PAINFUL EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL FOR HELP THE ENEMIES EXCAPE SHE IS A BRITISH WAR HEROINE WWII.

Edith Cavell - a British war heroine. Edith Louisa Cavell was born on the 4th of December 1865 at Swardeston, near Norwich, the daughter of a local vicar. Edith trained as a nurse and would become the matron of The Berkendael Medical Institute in Belgium in 1907. She was also active in nurse training there. The first World War broke out in 1914 and at the time Edith was on holiday, visiting her mother in Norfolk. Her family begged her to stay in England but she returned to her job in Brussels. The city would fall to the Germans on the 20th of August 1914. Edith was allowed to remain at her post when the hospital was taken over by The Red Cross. Edith began rescuing and treating injured British and French soldiers and getting them across the border into neutral Holland from where they could return to Britain. She also assisted Belgian civilians. These activities constituted a crime under German Military Law. Paragraph 58 of the German Military Code said: "Will be sente

The Terrible Death Of Captain Ben Salomon The Dentist Of WWII Who Kill 100 Japanese Soldier In His tent.

The Terrible Death Of Captain Ben Salomon The Dentist Of WWII Who Kill 100 Japanese Soldier In His tent. Captain Ben Salomon was a dentist who wound up on Saipan in the middle of one of the largest mass-banzai charges of the entire Pacific War. Before it was over, he killed over 100 Japanese soldiers in defense of his aid station. In 2002, 58 years later, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ “...serving at Saipan, on July 7, 1944, as the Surgeon for the 2nd Battalion, 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division. The battalion was attacked by an overwhelming force estimated between 3,000 and 5,000 Japanese soldiers. It was one of the largest attacks attempted in the Pacific Theater during World War II. The enemy soon penetrated the battalions’ perimeter and inflicted overwhelming casualties. In the first minutes of the attack, approximately 30 wounded soldiers walked, crawled, or were carried into Captain Salomon’s aid station. As the perime

THE HEROIC STORY IF CHOATE HE ENLISTED IN THE ARMY AS A PRIVATE AND SERVED 31MONTJA OVERSEAS...

Clyde Lee Choate of West Frankfort, Illinois, a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary actions on October 25, 1944, near Bruyères, France. Choate enlisted in the Army as a private and served 31 months overseas in the European Theatre. By October 25, 1944, he was serving as a staff sergeant in Company C, 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion. On October 25, near Bruyères in eastern France, his tank destroyer was hit and set on fire in an attack by German forces. He ordered his crew to abandon the destroyer and reach safety but then returned through hostile fire to ensure no one was trapped inside. Seeing a German tank overrunning American infantry soldiers, he single-handedly attacked and destroyed the tank. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on October 25, 1944. Choate was honorably discharged from the Army in 1946. In 1946, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. After three decades in the legislature, he retire

Honoring Gene Autry "Cowboy Entertainer" For His Services During WWII .

🇺🇲WWII uncovered: Gene Autry: Cowboy, Entertainer and Proud World War II Veteran "When World War II broke out, Gene Autry was determined to join the armed forces and do his part. On July 26, 1942, during a live broadcast of his radio show Melody Ranch and at the Pentagon's request, he was inducted into the Army Air Forces as a Technical Sergeant. Already a private pilot, Gene set out to earn his wings as a Flight Officer. After basic training at the Santa Ana Air Force Base, and serving at Luke Field, Thunderbird Field, and Phoenix Airport, he was eventually accepted for flight training at Love Field in Dallas." "A week after Gene was sworn into the military, the Gene Autry Melody Ranch radio show became the Sergeant Gene Autry radio show on August 2, 1942. The program was part of Gene’s regular duties in the Army Air Forces and still had his music, comedy, and action in a dramatic story but now with a military theme. The songs were patriotic, the comedy based on

Search This Blog