SAS SBS Aegean RaidingForces 1943-45

Discussion in 'Special Forces' started by winkBow, May 16, 2013.

  1. winkBow

    winkBow New Member

    I have a 58 page document from my father which has the title Raiding Forces The story of an Independant (that's the original spelling) Command in the Aegean 1943-1945 edited by Captain G.Read. It is complete but being 70 years old it is quite frail with some tears of top corner pages so it is very difficult to photograph or scan. Is there anyone who has the full text of this document or knows where that may be available?
    It has reports and stories about SAS and SBS operations;
    part 1 covers the Birth of Raiding Forces as from 9 Sept.1943,
    part 2 gives stories of Raiders at Work,
    part 3 details the escalation of Raids
    then there are tributes followed by appendixes including maps of the appropriate Greek islands.
    (I have attached the best photos I can process of the pages but have found it easier to have them in an xl document which allows the picture to be enlarged many times without distortion, so I have saved xl spreadsheets of the pages that can be downloaded from a personal website : )
    https://sites.google.com/site/benquevillage/aegean-sas-raiding-force
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Hi and thanks for sharing the booklet - I suspect there will be a few interested in that. I suspect there may be further documentation at the National Archives but without a specific unit it may be difficult to find the right ones.
     
    brithm likes this.
  3. RemeDesertRat

    RemeDesertRat Very Senior Member

    Interesting document, thanks for taking the time to share it with us.
     
  4. Oldman

    Oldman Very Senior Member

    Thanks for the post
     
  5. winkBow

    winkBow New Member

    Glad that the report was of interest. One of the Unit references that Dad had for the period Drew was a certificate for being part of the Greek Sacred Regiment. He also has their sword with laurel leaves metal badge as well as the SAS and parachute with wings fabric sew on badges, which you might have seen on the website link I gave.
    I have not had a chance to scan the photographs which do have some locations/unit references written on the back of them. I shall do so though and post them.
     
  6. gmyles

    gmyles Senior Member

    Good read thanks.

    By co-incidence, I was only this morning trying (unsucessfully) to figure out what S1 or S2 Patrols of the LRDG were up to in the Aegean on the 02/10/44 resulting in the death of Sgt J.D. Van Rensberg of the Rhodesian LRDG.

    I think that he might have been with FOXFORCE which was the combined ops raiding force mopping up the Aegean islands prior to the second British Landings in Greece on 15 Oct 44.

    Gus
     
  7. MiddleEastone

    MiddleEastone New Member

    A very interesting document!

    I wonder whether you have any further information on the Indian? Army Garrison Units? I am attempting to find more information about the fire on Castelorrrizo on July 6, 1944 and would like to trace a War Diary for that date.
     
  8. MiddleEastone

    MiddleEastone New Member

  9. BLyon82

    BLyon82 Member

    Hi, this an amazing document, I've been transcribing this into word format for clarification from the images you have posted. I've been doing some digging myself and when I started to compose a reimagining of the front cover on Microsoft Publisher and search for images of The SAS Wings, the Parachute Wing and Greek Sacred Squadron Badge to use I stumbled across the following publication,

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073SH9PKZ/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb

    I believe this is the same document, that has been published in book form, During my work transcribing I managed to get 22 pages into the document and have noticed striking similiraties to the document you have posted with the pages I can look at for free in the Amazon , the preface is pretty much verbatim of this document. As is the stating that this document is compiled from No.1 Public relations Office Service M.E.F.

    For anyone insterested in a sypnosis of the Aegean Raiding Force, the document and book are a corner stone of research, hope this help's anyone researching the Aegean Theatre in 43-44
     

Share This Page