SAS Rogue Heroes - BBC

Lefty said:
The show doesn't get Mayne or Stirling quite right apparently, though the actors performances are good and draw the average viewer in, but it does get most other characters right and is pretty faithful to true events.

Payne was a big fella mind. Heavywieght boxer for his University, becoming Irish Universities Champion and lost in the final of the British Universities Championship on points.

Before the intervention of the war, Mayne was selected for the 1938 Lions Tour to South Africa despite only having a handful of Ireland caps to his name. Lasting over three months and including 24 matches, the Tour ended in a series defeat for the Lions as Mayne played in all three of the Tests and featured 20 times in total. That says a lot because those tours were brutal. At the time South Africa were hailed as the unofficial world champions as they had beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand the year before. Despite the Lions losing, the South Africans thought he was one of the greatest forwards they’d ever seen playing, he was hard, he was abrasive and not afraid of taking retribution. After the first Test a South African journalist described Mayne as ‘outstanding in the pack and stood up tirelessly to an unwinnable task'.

There are different accounts of Stirling's first meeting with Mayne, one of which has Mayne in prison for having struck his superior officer. It's probably not true but there are other accounts of him having beef's with officers and his off field antics with the Lions were apparently even more legendary than his performances on it, to the point the Lions skipper reckoned he spent almost every morning intervening and pleading with the Colonel managing the tour not to kick Mayne off it for his night before because he was too vital on the pitch.

So I think the show might not have got all the details right - Stirling never swore for instance - but they have got the spirit right. For instance Dudley Wrangel Clarke (the Dominic West) character did invent a fictitious SAS regiment and he was arrested as a spy in Madrid at one point, dressed as an unconvincing woman.

These SAS men were usually guardsmen who then joined the commandos and then joined the SAS. In short they were adrenaline junkies so tearing through a desert in a jeep while a punk rock song is blaring out seems to capture that to me.

Also, compared to a lot of shows they have actually got a lot of details right. On that first jump Stirling and Lewes really did tie their parachutes to the chair legs. The iconic photo jedi posted is almost indistinguishable from a still from the show.

What I like most is it brings home via drama the both the daring of the missions, but also you can appreciate how the blueprint for much of the SAS was laid down early. The small four or five man units, the premium put on intelligence, questioning, understanding the purpose of a mission and improvisation skills.
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I think you have about nailed it there Lefty.
 
Jedi boro said:
I’m not sure but I’ll certainly check it out ( as I say I’m somewhat obsessed with all this SAS), particularly early days and the Aden and Malaya campaigns.
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I first watched on either BBC3 or 4 as a short series and it was available until recently. My son, is also very interested in the SAS and I bought him the DVD for Christmas a few years back.

 
Jedi - This WW2 story about the Paras attacking Merville Battery is well worth a read - It is all part of Operation Tonga. I have searched online for the book I had but can't find it.

Anyway, I have added the Wiki link and also a link to the Merville Battery Museum. It is well worth a read and you will be again amazed at what these young men went through before moving on to support their fellow Paras at Pegasus Bridge.

I have visited Merville Battery and when you see the size of it, the fortification surrounding it, and what they achieved leaves you without words.

en.wikipedia.org

Battle of Merville Gun Battery - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

The Merville Gun Battery • A real immersion in the reality of history

The Eastern flank of the fighting on 6th June 1944 the Merville battery and museum form the Eastern portal to the battle of Normandy.
www.batterie-merville.com www.batterie-merville.com



Edit: I've found the book - it is called The Day the Devils Dropped In.

The Day the Devils Dropped in: The 9th Parachute Battalion in Normandy D-Day to D+6: Merville Battery to the Chateau St Come: Amazon.co.uk: Barber, Neil: 9781844150458: Books

Buy The Day the Devils Dropped in: The 9th Parachute Battalion in Normandy D-Day to D+6: Merville Battery to the Chateau St Come Illustrated by Barber, Neil (ISBN: 9781844150458) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk
 
I was really looking forward to it, for lots of reasons.

I've been interested in the history surrounding the North Africa campaign since I was a kid, and even lived in Marsa Brega for a few years - scene of one of the attacks.

Too stylized for me. A bit of a rip roaring cartoon romp across the Sahara. I don't buy into the cool warfare vibe.

The actual people deserve huge credit for what they did.

I used to know a battle of Britain Spitfire pilot. Never mentioned it. Different minerals.
 
My uncle who I am named after was badged SAS from 1981-1995, he was like getting blood out of a stone for a long time but he has some truly epic stories. He was part of the team in the Loughall police incident during the troubles. They really are superheroes and that’s what inspired me to join the forces years ago.
 
I thought it was excellent as entertainment. The soundtrack thing works for me (although I've not seen Peaky Blinders so I don't have that context).

I also thought the Paddy Mayne casting, from a physical POV, was odd but Jack O'Connell played the character he had brilliantly.

The only other problem I have with this is that we risk mythologising the people rather than the thing (if that makes sense).

I doubt many people would see Sterling in the same light if they did a biopic of his post-war activities, for instance.

Right men, right time - as with much of history - especially where war is involved.
 
Sexpom said:
My uncle who I am named after was badged SAS from 1981-1995, he was like getting blood out of a stone for a long time but he has some truly epic stories. He was part of the team in the Loughall police incident during the troubles. They really are superheroes and that’s what inspired me to join the forces years ago.
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Your uncle must have had a tough time in service, being called Sexpom.
 
I watched it and found it very enjoyable.
I took it as a tribute to the brave men who were there.
i don’t think I’d change anything.
 
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