The Birth of the SAS in WW2

The genesis of the SAS was a cancelled operation to capture the island of Rhodes in 1941. By Gavin Mortimer.

Officers David Stirling (left) and Blair 'Paddy' Mayne, 1942.The Dawn of the SAS in WW2

Eighty years ago, on the night of January 31/February 1 1941, three troopships sailed from the Firth of Clyde. The ships, the Glengyle, the Glenearn and the Glenroy, carried nearly two thousand soldiers, most of them commandos. Only a handful of officers knew they were bound for North Africa.

Cabins designed for two passengers contained three officers and the men were in hammocks in overcrowded mess decks. The trio of troopships encountered a gale as they emerged from the Firth, and for three days the wind blew and the men wretched. It was an ominous beginning to their new venture.