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!
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.
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!
What a handsome man he was. Jon looks like his dad! What fun adventures he had. Cali
ReplyDeleteI was amazed when I first saw those photos, the likeness is so strong. I'm glad those men had fun inbetween the horrors. xxx
DeleteI actually thought of you as I was watching 'SA RH's '' and forgot to ask you whether you'd been watching too. Handsome chap was Jon's dad. I bet he loved his gardening job after what he must have experienced in action. My Dad did National Service in Port Said. Hated the heat! Jack O'Connell is another handsome chap!!(not forgetting His Lordship of course! Couldn't leave him out!).
ReplyDeleteFancy your dad being in Port Said a few years later! What a contrast being a gardener was after seeing all that action. It's interesting that he never went abroad again, Jon's family holidays were always spent on narrowboats going up and down canals!
DeleteJon wanted to watch SAS RH all in one go but insisted we did an episode a night to prolong it a bit longer. Might have to rewatch season 1 now! xxx
*SAS!
ReplyDeleteGotcha! xxx
DeleteSuch wonderful photographs Vix - Lord Jon and yourself must feel so proud of his Father - and they look so alike too xx
ReplyDeleteHe was really excited to unearth those photos after his mum died, he didn't know they existed! xxx
DeleteFabulous photographs. Looked like they also had fun.. What an opportunity too.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see that these brave men had fun and enjoyed their exotic surroundings, isn't it? xxx
DeleteHe's a looker!!! What an exciting piece of historical evidence to be in possession of! It must have been such a thrilling contrast to life in Walsall although maybe , a bit overwhelming at times perhaps? Kx
ReplyDeleteYou can't get your head around how life must have seemed to these young, working class men can you? I love seeing them enjoying oranges and bananas, something we take for granted these days but to them so exotic and exciting! xxx
DeleteWhat a handsome guy! There seems to be a code from that time, things were not talked about and these brave guys just got on with their lives. I don't know if that's good or bad, but there must have been some heads filled with horror. Reading Spike Milligans war memories really opened my eyes to how ordinary men were treated. Total respect to them all.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if that silence was a good thing? I can't imagine having seen as much as those young men had and never mentioning it again. My Dad loved Spike Milligan's War, I must read it! xxx
DeleteWe watched it too - brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI grew up surrounded by men like that. A lot of the SAS who were discharged at the end either went to the US or Africa to train soldiers there. 'Our' SAS in Southern Africa were called Selous Scouts and looked just like the ones portrayed in the tv series and my dad in his youth looked very like William Stirling ( Gwilym Lee) and the uniforms were familar too.
Hello Kate! After reading your comment I had to delve into the Selous Scouts, I'd not come across them before and you're right, the uniforms are remarkably similar to those of the SAS. What a handsome young man your dad must have been! xxx
DeleteWow, that is so special and to have all the pictures and memorabilia is wonderful! I think Jon looks like his dad.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Claudia. They were a great find, Jon has his Dad's commando knife but didn't know about the photos until he discovered them clearing the parental home. xxx
DeleteAmazing photos! You are so lucky to have them! Jon and his Dad are so alike.
ReplyDeleteWe love SAS Rogue Heroes too. We're savouring the episodes, because we don't want it to end! I'd love to know if Paddy was as charismatic in real life! xxx
You're both very disciplined by saving the episodes! Jon wanted to binge watch the lot, I had to persuade him to watch one a night instead! We'll have to rewatch series 1 now.
DeleteI read that, during his rugby playing days, Paddy Mayne liked to relax by wrecking hotels and fighting dockers! I think we need to track down the book that Miss Magpie mentions in her comment, written by his girlfriend! xxx
When you look at Jon, you also see Alf.
ReplyDeleteI think it's the eyes most of all.
This is a very nice post today, touching.
xxx
Thanks, Andrea! xxx
DeleteCan't wait to look at these on the laptop with a magnifying glass! I do hope there's a picture of Jon's father and mine. That would just be too cool. Mind you, you seem to have many more pictures that I have found of my dad's time away! Zxx ❤️❤️
ReplyDeleteI'd love it if your Dad and Jon's served together! xxx
DeleteYour Jon really looks like his Dad. It's amazing what treasures family albums hide. My husband is the double of his Grandfather.
ReplyDeleteMy father in law served on UBoats during WW2. He couldn't return home after the war due to the Soviet occupation. He then joined the French Foreign Legion. He served in Afrika and indo Chine (as he called Viet Nam). There were pictures of him in Tunis, in dugout canoes in the Congo. He was in Hanoi. He rarely spoke of his times in uniform.
Heck, we joked that we weren't even sure if my husband's last name is real due to the FFL's policy of offering new identities to their men back then.
Treasure those pictures. We don't know hat happened to those albums as my husband's brothers were quite evasive as to what they did with them. We think it may have to do with a few pictures involving a wedding and a full dress Wehrmacht officer.
My side was in the Gordon Highlanders and the Royal Navy. So our son's have a very strange mixture in the family history.
Two fantastic family histories there what with the French Foreign Legion and the Gordon Highlanders/ Royal Navy. I wonder of he did have an assumed name? I've heard that happened quite often, too. We are lucky to have those photos, we keep meaning to forward copies to the Commandos for their archives. xxx
DeleteFascinating post. They're really great photos too. Jon's dad had a good eye.
ReplyDelete-Goody
Thanks, Goody! xxx
DeleteJon and Alf are twins! I love looking at old photos like this. X
ReplyDeleteAren't they alike? Thanks, Jess! xxx
DeleteSo many untold stories from World War ! and 2. My stepfather lied about his age and went to war in his mid teens. From the slums of Glasgow, and poverty, he, like Jon's dad, went to places that he didn't even know existed. He returned to Glasgow afterwards. A few years later, he went to buy a pound of butter for his mum. She caught up with him in New Zealand, more than thirty years later. She made a comment about the butter......
ReplyDeleteThat's an incredible story, Jon and I were giggling about it when we were out walking yesterday. Your stepfather's experience obviously kickstarted a passion for travel whereas as Alf never left the island when he came home. xxx
DeleteHow amazing. Jon looks so like his Dad. What adventures and so great to have so many photos. Thank you for a very interesting post. Hope you don't freeze today, real brass monkey weather here in Sussex. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteHello Sue. they are so alike, aren't they? I'd unearthed those photos when i was tidying on Friday, it was sol cold I had to resort to housework! Hope its a bit warmer with you today. It's hit the heady heights of 3°C today, the warmest its been in over a week! xxx
DeleteGosh! Jon looks so much like his dad. And it's incredible that you have all those photographs that document his time in the Commandos. X
ReplyDeleteI couldn't get over the similarity the first time I saw those photos! xxx
DeleteDoesn't Job looks like his dad? Such a fascinating post and how lucky to have all his photos, Jon must be very proud of his dad. Amazing that these men went through so much and just came home and never spoke of it all. Admirable men. Carole R.
ReplyDeleteThe likeness is uncanny, isn't it Carole? Its incredible to think that these experiences were never spoken of again. What a brave generation they were. xxx
DeleteThanks for sharing the photos. I love seeing WW2 pictures and reading about it. My Dad was a tail gunner in the Army Air corps and they were shot down three times. One time over the Adriatic Sea where a Russian (or British, not really sure) ship picked them up and supposedly the captain taught my Dad how to play chess. A lot of the fictional books I read are about women working for the Resistance. They were all heroes.
ReplyDeleteHello Carol. Shot down three times? How on earth must your dad must have felt each time he got into a plane after each experience, its beyond comprehension. I love those books about the female resistance, Charlotte Grey's one of my favourite. xxx
DeleteJon definitely looks like his Dad! It's really special to have his albums recording his exploits.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing his story! xxx
Thanks, Ann! I'm glad you liked the photos. xxx
DeleteAlf's photographs are amazing!
ReplyDeleteSo great to see him and the other young men having fun in those desperate times. I think such moment of innocent fun can really help one stay sane during war and active service.
Alf looks very fit and healthy. It's cool that he was in charge of Physical training. Today men are too obsessed with gaining specific muscle mass and it's more about appearance of being in shape then actually being in shape.
Thank you for the bbc special recommendation too!
I love the light-hearted photos showing these young men having fun and enjoying the camaraderie and staying fit. It must have been so tempting to retreat into oneself and dwell on the terrible things they faced. xxx
DeleteI loved reading about Alf, what a handsome man he was! he must have had some stories to tell but like many men of his generation - as you said - they don't talk about it!
ReplyDeleteI can't get over how alike ha and Jon were, peas in a pod! It must have been such a difficult thing to talk about with anyone who didn't see active warfare, he must have seen some real horrors. xxx
DeleteVery interesting post Vix!
ReplyDeleteVery nice that after the intensity of the war he became a gardener!!
Beautiful photos!!
I love the old photos, they are great!!
Thanks, Katerina! How soothing being a gardener must have been after a few years of warfare! xxx
DeleteOh wow this sounds SO good and so interesting. I was a big fan of Peaky Blinders. And just LOVING these photos of Alf and his military buddies. What a wonderful keepsake of a bygone area. The photos are so clear and love how they capture the moment. And indeed a selfie for sure. What wonderful post.
ReplyDeleteAllie of
www.allienyc.com
Thanks, Allie! Peaky Blinders is so god, I can't wait for the film to come out! xxx
DeletePaddy Mayne's then girlfriend and later wife featured in one of the books I read last year, Women in War by Lucy Fisher. Annoyingly I took it to the Oxfam book shop in December otherwise I could have sent it to you.
ReplyDeleteI shall look out for that book, Paddy Mayne seems a fascinating character, I bet it was hard work being in a relationship with him. xxx
DeleteSeems like a massive change to go from such adventures to gardening, but he probably enjoyed the peace of plants after the horrors of war. (Who knows, maybe he crossed paths with my grandfather as he was also in Egypt/North Africa during the war.)
ReplyDeleteI wonder of their paths did cross, wouldn't that be amazing? xxx
DeleteWonderful to see all these pics, Vix, thank you for sharing them! Wow, Jon does look a lot like his dad (and a very handsome dad he was!).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sheila! X
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