SAS Rogue Heroes (& One of Our Own)

 

Last night, Jon and I finished watching the spectacular second series of SAS Rogue Heroes, Steven "Peaky Blinders" Knight's adrenaline-fuelled creation, based on the book by Ben Macintyre, of the origins of the fearless and reckless Special Forces unit, whose legend was forced amid the mayhem of WW2.

We f*cking loved it!!! Roll on series three!

Paddy Mayne and his men were heroes and deserve every accolade, but allow me introduce you to an another of the brave men of WW2, Jon's dad, Alf, who, in this early selfie, is every bit as gorgeous as Jack O'Connell, the actor who plays Paddy Mayne in the BBC drama. 

During WW2, Alf served as a Commando. The Commandos, like the SAS, were a special operations unit specialising in unconventional military action, the main difference being that the Commandos were known for their large scale offensives and the SAS for their small-team operations. 

 

Like most of his generation, Alf never spoke of his exploits but being a keen amateur photographer, the years he spent serving as a Commando live on in his albums and fortunately for us, he even went to the trouble of labelling them so we know he was based in both Camp Fayid & Camp Tahag in Egypt and spent time in Valetta, Fanara, Nahariya, Gibraltar, Jerusalem, Hebron, Hadera, Port Said, Tel Aviv, Tiberias, Gaza and Lebanon. 

Can you imagine how exotic these places must have seemed to a working class lad from Walsall?

Swimming in the Dead Sea.

Bananas in Tel Aviv!

Chilling out in Egypt.

Alf was an athlete before the war and was in charge of PT (physical training) during his time in the camps.  

Oranges, another treat unavailable back at home!

Alf's discharge papers describe him as a Quiet, sober and hard-working man, proving himself to be efficient and capable. His commanding officer writes that He would prove a useful employee in any trade requiring a steady worker. Alf worked as a gardener for Walsall Council for the rest of his life. 

Thanks for reading!