SAS Founder: Warrior or Phoney?

SAS Founder: Warrior or Phoney?

David Stirling was an aristocrat, innovator and special forces legend that earned him the nickname 'The Phantom Major'. His formation of the Special Air Service in the summer of 1941 led to a new form of warfare and Stirling is remembered as the father of special forces soldiering. But was he really a military genius or in fact a shameless self-publicist who manipulated people, and the truth?


For his new book 'David Stirling: The Phoney Major' military historian Gavin Mortimer extensively interviewed SAS veterans who fought and worked with him and poured over declassified government files that paint a very different picture of the glittering legacy Stirling has secured.


In this episode, he gives Dan an explosive analysis of Stirling's complex character: the childhood speech impediment that shaped his formative years, the pressure from his overbearing mother, his fraught relationship with his brother, Bill, and the jealousy and inferiority he felt in the presence of his SAS second-in-command, the cold-blooded killer Paddy Mayne.


Produced by Mariana Des Forges

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore


If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(1493)

A History of Christmas Food

A History of Christmas Food

Porpoises, beaver tails, boar's head and puffins were just some of the exquisite dishes on medieval tables during the festive season. In this episode, food historian Annie Gray joins Dan in his kitche...

18 Des 202531min

The Origins of the Royal Navy

The Origins of the Royal Navy

Henry VIII wanted to have the most powerful Navy in Europe; he also didn't want to have to travel very far to get it. Around 1512, he built a colossal Naval dockyard on the southern banks of the Thame...

15 Des 202542min

How America Invaded Canada

How America Invaded Canada

Dan narrates the remarkable story of how George Washington's newly established Continental Army tried to conquer Canada in the brutal winter of 1775. The American Revolutionary forces believed their n...

11 Des 20251h 5min

The Bombing of Guernica

The Bombing of Guernica

The aerial bombardment that rained down on the Spanish city of Guernica in 1937 was one of the most shocking atrocities of the Spanish Civil War. Dan and David Brydan - historian of Modern Spain at Ki...

8 Des 202529min

Sitting Bull and the Battle of Little Bighorn

Sitting Bull and the Battle of Little Bighorn

The Battle of the Little Bighorn - also known as the Battle of the Greasy Grass - was one of the most dramatic and important clashes in American history. In June 1876, on the rolling plains of Montana...

4 Des 202553min

How to Survive the Age of Sail

How to Survive the Age of Sail

What was life really like aboard the great wooden ships of the Age of Sail? Dan joins After Dark hosts Anthony and Maddy to step aboard these creaking vessels and uncover who served at sea, what drove...

1 Des 202538min

The Assassination of JFK

The Assassination of JFK

Anyone alive at the time remembers the day President John F. Kennedy was shot dead in Dallas, Texas, on November 22 1963. In this episode, Dan provides a moment-by-moment account of the day that shock...

27 Nov 202527min

John F. Kennedy: Myths vs Reality

John F. Kennedy: Myths vs Reality

John F. Kennedy was a man of charm, power, and contradictions. Behind the public image of the heroic president lay a figure plagued by pain, haunted by his past, and driven by desire.Dan is joined by ...

24 Nov 202543min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-katastrofe
historier-som-endret-norge
henrettelsespodden
historier-som-endret-verden
sektledere
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
aftenposten-historie
rss-benadet
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
rss-frontkjemperne
rss-historiske-romanser
med-egne-oyne
historiepodden
rss-gamle-greier
vare-historier
liberal-halvtime
historiepodden-ww2
sannhet-eller-konspirasjon
rss-historiepodden-ww2