The fighting Irish Lion Lt. Colonel Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne DSO and 3 Bars, 1 SAS Regiment, was a courageous and brilliant special forces soldier, and one of the most outstanding leaders of the Second World War.
From the Royal Ulster Rifles, he volunteered for the Commandos and saw action in Syria, before joining David Stirling’s fledgling unit Special Air Service Brigade.
Paddy Mayne’s achievements from Troop Commander to Commanding Officer of 1 SAS Regiment reads like something from a Boy’s Own comic. In North Africa the raids he led on Axis airfields destroyed over one hundred aircraft on the ground. In Sicily and Italy, he and his men were first into the fray destroying coastal defences and artillery positions in advance of the main assaults. In France, they operated ruthlessly behind enemy lines, and in Germany they were at the tip of the spear that led the armoured charge into the Nazi heartland.
For his leadership, courage and complete disregard for danger Lt. Col. Mayne was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) four times. The first for the raid on the Tamet airfield in Libya. The second for two operations in Sicily for which the citation read:
‘In both operations it was Mayne’s courage, determination and superb leadership which proved the key to the success. He personally led the men from the landing-craft, in the face of heavy machine-gun fire, and in the case of the Augusta raid mortar fire. By this action he succeeded in forcing his way to ground, where it was possible to form up and sum up enemy defences.’
His third DSO came for operations in France, and the fourth, which was downgraded from the initial recommendation for the Victoria Cross, in Germany. Its citation describes Mayne’s actions:
‘The following is a detailed account of the Lt Col’s individual action which called for both unsurpassed heroism and cool clear sighted military knowledge. Lt Col Mayne on receiving a wireless message from the leading squadron reporting that it was heavily engaged by enemy fire, and that the squadron commander had been killed, immediately drove forward to the scene of the action.
From the time of his arrival until the end of the action Lt Col Mayne was in full view of the enemy and exposed to fire from small arms, machine guns, sniper rifles and Panzerfausts. On arrival he summed up the situation in a matter of seconds and entered the nearest house alone and ensured the enemy here had either withdrawn or been killed. He then seized a Bren gun and magazines and single-handedly fired burst after burst into a second house, killing or wounding the enemy there.’
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