SOLDIER HERO
‘I’
THE STORY OF AN SAS
Our resident bookworm gets stuck in to SAS soldier Pete Winner’s memoirs
O
n April 30, 1980,
six armed Iranian
terrorists stormed
the Iranian embassy
in London capturing
26 hostages. Peter Winner was
among the SAS soldiers called in
to rescue the hostages. Soldier
I is a memoir of Staff Sergeant
Peter Winner’s remarkable 18
years in the elite special force.
The books tells the full story
of operations in which Winner
was involved: from the arduous
training and selection process,
through the Embassy siege
when Winner led the assault
on the rear of the building, to
parachuting into the freezing
waters of the Falklands.
Soldier I also tells of lesserknown SAS activities: the
grueling Operation Jaguar
and the terrifying battle of
Mirbat where a handful of
SAS held back thousands of
Yemeni tribesmen; undercover
surveillance and raids of the
IRA in Belfast; a trail of physical
endurance in Hong Kong; and extreme
danger underwater off the coast of
Sudan. As well as describing the
action, Winner tells of the pleasures
and pressures of daily life in the SAS.
Originally ghostwritten by Michael
Kennedy the narrative is at once
involved and accessible. The memoirs
will obviously appeal most to those
with an interest in the workings of the
British special forces. Happily though
the story is powerful and intriguing
enough to hold the attention of
readers lacking this interest, though
at times it can get bogged down with
military terms and acronyms.
The Iranian Embassy siege is
clearly the ‘highlight’ of Peter’s time
084
November 2011
Extract: The Battle of Mirbat
(Chapter Nine)
in the SAS – the televised SAS raid
brought the service into mainstream
consciousness – but it’s the battle of
Mirbat that brings home the nature of
the life of an SAS hero. Outnumbered
by the Adoo tribesmen by 30 to one,
and hugely outgunned, the SAS faced
an enemy desperate for success, with
numerical and firepower advantages
that should have been great enough
to guarantee success. However, as
the book states: “Gentleman, the boy
Stirling [founder of the SAS] is mad.
Quite, quite mad. But in war, there is a
place for mad people.”
For those that consider McNab the
foremost authority on SAS operations,
the short foreword should prove quite
interesting reading too. n
The first ranging rounds from
the Adoo mortars were already
impacting just outside the
perimeter wire as I leapt out of
bed, pushed past Fuzz, Laba
and Tak and scrambled up the
half-pyramid of ammunition
boxes that served as a ladder up
to the roof. When I reached the
top I threw myself behind the
.50-calibre Browning, my standto position in the command-post
sangar built on the flat roof of
the Batt House. One moment
fast asleep, the next under
attack, I drew a sharp breath
and cursed softly, my left hand
closing instinctively on the first
incendiary round protruding
from the ammunition box. I
snapped open the top cover of
the .50-calibre and positioned
the ammunition belt on the feed
tray... With the links uppermost
I manoeuvred the belt into
position with my left hand. With
my right hand I closed the hinged
cover and cocked the action with a
single practised twist of the wrist,
feeding an incendiary round into the
breech. The cold metal of the trigger
felt comforting to the touch as I took
up the first pressure, released the
safety-catch and stared in disbelief at
the scene unfolding before me.
Soldier I: The Story of an SAS Hero
Published by: Osprey Publishing
Paperback; 408 pages; ISBN9781846039959
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