Rogue Warrior of the SAS. Lt-Col ‘Paddy’ Blair Mayne DSO (3 Bars), Croix de Guerre, Légion d’Honneur

by Martin Dillon

Half a century after his death, Lt Col. Robert Blair Mayne is still regarded as one of the greatest soldiers in the history of military special operations. He was the most decorated British soldier of the Second World War, receiving four DSOs, the Croix de Guerre and the Légion d'honneur, and he pioneered tactics used today by the SAS and other special operations units worldwide. Rogue Warrior of the SAS tells the remarkable life story of "Colonel Paddy," whose exceptional physical strength and uniquely swift reflexes made him a fearsome opponent. But his unorthodox rules of war and his resentment of authority would deny him the ultimate accolade of the Victoria Cross. Drawing on personal letters and family papers, declassified SAS files and records, together with the Official SAS Diary compiled in wartime and eyewitness accounts from many who served with him, the picture emerges of a soldier who, although a flawed hero, was unquestionably one of the most distinctive combatants of the campaigns in the Western Desert and Europe.

Genres: Biography, History, War, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, World War II, Autobiography

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 1987

About the author

Martin Dillon has won international acclaim for his unique, investigative works on the Ireland conflict. Dr. Conor Cruise O’Brien, the renowned historian and scholar, described him as “our Virgil to that inferno.” The Irish Times hailed him as one of the most creative writers of our time and the Guardian compared him to John Le Carrie and Len Deighton. Martin Dillon’s trilogy, The Shankill Butchers, The Dirty War & God and the Gun, sold over a quarter of a million copies in the British Isles. His twelve non-fiction works are considered definitive accounts of the conflict. He began his distinguished career as a newspaper reporter and later became a programme editor with the BBC and a writer/producer with its award winning Timewatch. Throughout his BBC career he campaigned against its flawed interpretations of what constituted balance. He has been a terrorism expert for news outlets in Europe and North America. His play The Squad was one of the first about The Troubles and was produced on BBC radio and television by the late Ronald Mason, the esteemed Head of BBC Radio Three Drama. Dillon’s books include The Enemy Within, an account of the IRA’s terror campaigns in Britain, starting at the outbreak of World War II. Stone Cold was a portrait of a natural born killer and in The Trigger Men he delved into the lives of the most notorious assassins. Dillon exposed the IRA’s secret burials, the use of State-sponsored assassins and the phenomenon of sadistic torture by paramilitaries. He helped prepare the way for peace in Ireland by bringing together Nobel Prize winner, John Hume, and Gerry Adams, the IRA’s political leader. His help and advice were sought by the Margaret Thatcher and John Major governments. As a journalist and writer his life has been intertwined with the history of the Irish Troubles and its darkest days. He is often described as one of the most important voices of the conflict.
His latest book is his the memoir, Crossing the Line- My Life on the Edge.
According to Irish Times, the memoir “details a life that’s involved many incredible moments: witnessing the horrors of the Troubles; encounters with major political figures and paramilitaries; rubbing shoulders with Irish literary greats; a successful broadcasting career, but one where he butted heads with BBC management; and having to leave Northern Ireland because of death threats.
Henry McDonald; author, journalist and Ireland correspondent for The Guardian says the memoir is replete with such colourful stories involving the politicians, terrorists, artists and writers he met while covering the conflict in Northern Ireland”.
Readers of this book, and of Dillon’s other works, will agree that “He has that unique knack of combining forensic historical fact-based research with the art of thriller-like writing. His books have accurately chartered the terror and the horror of recent Northern Irish history but always in a tone of compassion for the innocent victims caught up in conflict. Works like his 'The Shankill Butchers' and 'The Dirty War' stand the test of time and will be essential reading for generations to come for those trying to make sense out of the madness that was 'The Troubles'.
Author and journalist, Hugh Jordan, had this to say about Martin Dillon in 2017:
Martin Dillon is a renowned world expert on terrorism. He has written and spoken extensively on this modern day phenomenon, which continues to hit the headlines on a daily basis.

As a journalist, he came well-equipped to cope with the subject. Born in Belfast – the citadel of Ulster unionism at the heart of the divided society that is Northern Ireland - Martin Dillon understood from an early age, the causes of political conflict which if left unaddressed manifests itself in violence.

And as young reporter he stood out among his peers, because he quickly identified the line where politics ended and terrorism began.

Martin’s professional life began on a leading Irish newspaper in 1968.

Reviews

[Amanda Sheridan]

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair Mayne was born in Newtownards in 1915. I was born in Newtownards nearly five decades later and all my life I’ve heard about him. About his life, his military career, and his death in a car crash in 1955 at Mill Street in Newtownards, a few hundred yards from his home. He was capped six times for Ireland and toured with the British Lions in 1938. There is a road and a leisure centre named after him. A statute of him stands proud in Conway Square in Newtownards town centre. He is buried in Movilla cemetery on the outskirts of the town.
As for Blair Mayne the man, he definitely had anger issues and he was a hard drinker. Yet he was a highly respected soldier who fought with bravery. Along with David Stirling, he founded the SAS. He served with distinction, was mentioned in dispatches and among other honours was awarded the DSO and three bars, the Legion of Honour (France) and the Croix de Guerre (France).
One of the founders of the SAS, along with Stirling, he served in the Western desert campaign, Sicily and Italy. In 1944 he was appointed commanding officer of the SAS and served in France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway.
Readjusting to civilian life was hard—as it was for many—and Mayne couldn’t settle into his job as Secretary of the Law Society. As a result, and compounded by bouts of depression as well as pain from a back injury that surgery couldn’t repair, he was drinking more and fighting more, too. And it was this that took him in the end.
This book has been well researched using historical records and accounts of former SAS members who served with ‘Colonel Paddy.’
Highly recommended.

[Ray]

My family is from the same small town in Northern Ireland. I remember my father telling me many stories about Blair Mayne, before I read my first book about him. When I first read this book what can I say... A tremendously good read. So much so that reading about Blair Mayne, inspired me to join the military in the first place. Not that I was ambitious enough to have wanted to serve with the SAS.

[Bruce Graham]

When Churchill quoted Lord Byron's line about David Stirling, the founder of the SAS, ‘the mildest manner’d man that ever scuttled ship or cut a throat,’ he may just as well have been talking about a sober 'Paddy' Blair Mayne.
Stirling created the SAS to break-up the 'fossilized shit' the military was. Blair Mayne made the SAS into fearsome fighting machine it became. Once Stirling became a POW in 1943, the SAS became Paddy's baby.

‘Paddy was the best professional killer I have ever seen,’ says Chalky White. He adds: ‘The best thing that happened to the regiment was when David Stirling was captured. He was too much of a gentleman – in our job you needed a killer. You knew not to mess with Paddy. It was not that he was menacing, but people knew there was a line never to cross.' Martin Dillon, Rogue Warrior of the SAS, (Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing, 2012),135–136.

The poetry loving killer was a major enigma, but he got the job done.

Major-General David Lloyd Owen clearly remembers greeting Paddy at the rendezvous after a raid on Fuka. He asked ‘How were things tonight?’ ‘A bit trickier tonight,’ replied Paddy. ‘They had posted a sentry on nearly every bloody plane. I had to knife the sentries before I could place the bombs.’ ‘And he had, too,’ adds Lloyd Owen. ‘He must have knifed about seventeen of them.’ Martin Dillon, Rogue Warrior of the SAS, (Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing, 2012), 50

[Jonathan]

Enjoyed reading the background story of the SAS in WW2 and many of the anecdotes were engaging- especially towards the second half of the book.

I guess I was spoilt by reading Band of Brothers and this one didn't flow or stack up as well. A shame really, as while Rogue Warrior happily didn't have the same nationalistic triumphalism, Easy Company was definitely easier company. It is probably wrong of me to compare Blair Mayne with Dick Winters anyway. Winters, for me, is still my top war hero. They were two different people.

I'd probably say a modern Achilles would be a better comparison for Paddy. (This sort of analogy worked well for Clint Eastwood's American Sniper). It even finishes with questions on whether there was a Patroclus. The main difference is, Achilles is known throughout the centuries and barely anyone knows this man, despite him being the most decorated soldier in the war!

Douglas Bader, Fighting Jack Churchill and even David Stirling I'd heard of. A lot more of the bestsellers seem to gravitate towards the behind the scenes characters more in recent years, I've noticed, with the likes of Alan Turing's Enigma group or even Ian Fleming's role in Operation Mincemeat.

In a way, I'm not surprised. I left this book thinking about what a terrifying and disturbing character this man was as well as a hero. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have wanted to meet him.

[Joseph Raborg]

This was a decent biography of one of the most decorated British soldiers of WWII. It’s pretty readable. The battle accounts and anecdotes from the war tended to be exciting or quite humorous.

It just feels as though something is missing from this book. Perhaps, the interviews of SAS veterans interspersed throughout the book bothered me. I prefer a different narrative style. Also, it never feels as though we’re inside Blair Mayne’s head.

Should you read it? Maybe, but I might search for a different biography or even a history of the SAS in WWII over this book.

[peter david mitchell]

A legendary hero.

An easy give star read. Blair Mayne is remembered warts and all in truly memorable style. It is incredible to read his exploits and know he never got a Victoria cross. His epic bouts of drinking are as well documented as his acts of heroism. Overall the book does ample justice to a memorable dedicated individual.

[Tore]

Very interesting account, of a brilliant commando, probably not very well known outside the UK, if there. What he did, probably measures up to the best of soldiers in the war, and his tale deserves to be better known. A TV-series akin to Band of Brothers would be a good idea.

[Philip Anderson]

Fascinating Account From WWII

In depth story of the role of the SAS in WWII from Africa through the end of the war .

[Mike]

Could not put it down.

[Trevor Gill]

Easy to read. A warts and all account. Not a bloke I’d like to have met when he has drink in him.

[Henry Phillips]

great sample

Can't wait to read the rest of the book he must have been one hell of a man and a great soldier

[Iain]

A solid read for those interested in Blair Mayne and the early SAS. Other books, like Sterling's have better coverage of the North African actions. This book fares better in its coverage of actions in France and into Germany where the authors had more primary sources. Yet the result can be disjointed and awkwardly written at times. The biographical coverage of Mayne and his life is decently done. Bottom line, a good read for those interested in the topic but neither the best on the early SAS nor for general audience readers.

[Al Lock]

A well-written and interesting account of one of the founders of the SAS and a true warrior - the man who, to a great extent, ran the SAS once David Stirling was captured.