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In 1943, and with Allied victory in North Africa imminent, 1st Special Air Service Regiment was in danger of being disbanded. However, with the timely and vital intervention of Major Robert Blair Mayne, the unit was saved and replaced by an organisation known as HQ Raiding Forces, and Mayne was appointed to command the Special Raiding Squadron.

The heroic spirit of 1st SAS Regiment continued to thrive in the squadron, and Paddy Mayne – as he was known to his soldiers – was an inspiration to those he commanded. Through action in Sicily in July 1943, undertaking distraction missions in Bagnara and finally aiding the Eighth Army in Termoli before being recalled to the UK to aid the SAS with the invasion of France, Paddy’s Men worked as a well-oiled, dangerous and fiercely loyal unit, performing skilfully under the immense pressure of war.

In this book Stewart McClean provides an illustrated history of the Special Raiding Squadron, detailing the formation of the unit, the lives of the men and their operations during the Sicilian and Italian campaigns, and the extraordinary man who commanded the squadron: Robert Blair Mayne DSO, or Colonel Paddy Mayne as he became famously known throughout the world.

Stewart McClean is a former TA Warrant Officer who served in 102 (Ulster) AD Regiment (V). This unit was the successor to a number of Northern Ireland-based Gunner regiments, including 8th (Belfast) HAA Regiment into which Robert Blair Mayne was first commissioned in 1939. Mayne was appointed to 5 Light AA Battery which was raised in Newtownards, the author’s home town. These facts have contributed to Stewart McClean’s long-time interest in the wartime career of Blair Mayne, known as ‘Paddy’ to all who served with him. In 1997 a memorial was dedicated in Newtownards and the author was a member of the group that campaigned for this tribute to a local hero. As he explains in his introduction, this was also the occasion that sparked his interest in the Special Raiding Squadron, an SAS unit whose members were proud to call themselves ‘Paddy’s Men’. He currently lives in Northern Ireland.