An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 27 aft, turning the vehicles into mobile fire platforms. Mayne continued to wreak havoc amongst Axis forces in North Africa before moving on to Sicily and Italy. With the capture of Stirling in Libya in January 1943, Mayne took over the Special Raiding Section of the SAS after the unit was split in two, before later being promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed commanding officer of the reformed 1st SAS Regiment in January 1944. After the D-Day Landings the SAS were to the fore in collecting intelligence and reporting troop movements to the advancing Allies. Mayne's daring exploits won him three bars to his DSO, the second official citation reading: 'On 8th August 1944, he was dropped to operation Houndsworth Base, located west of Dijon, in order to co-ordinate and take charge of the available detachments of his Regiment and co-ordinate their activities with a major Airborne landing which was then envisaged near Paris. He then proceeded in a jeep in daylight to motor to the GAIN Base making the complete journey in one day. On the approach of the Allied forces, he passed through the lines in his jeep to contact American Forces and to lead back through the lines his detachment of twenty jeeps landed for Operation Wallace. During the first few weeks, he successfully penetrated the German and American lines on four occasions in order to lead parties of reinforcements. It was entirely due to Lt Col Mayne's fine leadership and example, and his utter disregard for danger, that the unit was able to achieve such striking successes.' The SAS continued to operate under Mayne in the closing stages of the war, car- rying out missions in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Norway. During the course of the war Mayne was to become one of the most highly decorated soldiers in the British Army. However controversy was never far behind him and the Victoria Cross he was awarded for actions on the 9th April 1945, at Oldenburg in north-west Germany, was downgraded six months later to a third bar on his DSO. It is believed that Mayne's reputation as a fighter, both on and off the battlefield, may have prejudiced his award. Reputed to be a heavy drinker, some soldiers were wary of him and his violent outbursts, while others describe him as courageous and fearless, with the ability to lead men into and out of battle. After the war, Mayne returned to his pre-war occupation as a solicitor and returned home to practise in Newtownards. On the night of 13th December 1955, Mayne, having met friends for a drink, left for the drive home. His car reportedly collided with a stationary farm vehicle and he was killed outright. At his funeral hundreds of mourners attended to pay their respects and to see him interred in the family plot at the old Movilla Abbey graveyard. A life-size bronze statue of Blair Mayne stands in Conway Square, Newtow- nards, and the western bypass of the town is also named in his honour. A campaign is ongoing to see that Mayne is posthumously awarded the Vic- toria Cross for his actions during the war and that the exploits of this extraor- dinary soldier are not forgotten. Modern Special Forces utilise the latest weapon systems and military tech- nologies on the battlefield in order to carry out their operations. However, still today, as throughout history, the common denominator amongst Special Forces is that the ranks of these groups consist of extraordinary men carrying out extraordinary missions; hitting the enemy hard and fast, and paving the way for others to follow. A heavily-armed patrol of 'L' Detachment SAS in their jeeps, wearing 'Arab-style' headdress, January 1943. © IWM (E 21337) Lt Col David Stirling DSO, SAS, in North Africa during the Second World War. © IWM (E 21340) Col David Stirling, with an SAS jeep patrol in North Africa, 18th January 1943. © IWM (E 21338) Two members of 1 SAS, Capt D C Mather MC, Welsh Guards and Capt G Alston, Royal Artillery (nearest camera) in a heavily loaded jeep. © IWM (E 20084)

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