Stirling readily agreed to name his force “L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade.” The letter “L” was selected to imply that detachments A to K were already in existence; Stirling later joked that it stood for “Learner.” Clarke was “delighted to have some flesh and blood parachutists instead of totally bogus ones.” In return he promised to use his extensive network of contacts to spread the word that Stirling was looking for recruits.
