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David Stirling

David Stirling

1915–1990

Nationality
United Kingdom
Occupation
military officer

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British Army and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS).

Incarceration history

Facilities

  1. Oflag IV-C
    Dates unknown

Biography

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British Army and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). Under his leadership, the SAS carried out hit-and-run raids behind the Axis lines of the North African campaign. He saw active service during the Second World War until he was captured in January 1943. He spent the rest of the war in captivity, despite making several attempts to escape. Stirling left the Regular Army in 1947. He settled in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and founded the Capricorn Africa Society, which aimed to fight racial discrimination in Africa, but Stirling's preference for a limited, elitist voting franchise over universal suffrage limited the movement's appeal. He subsequently formed various private military companies and was linked with a failed attempt to overthrow the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the early 1970s. He also attempted to organise efforts to undermine trades unionism and to overthrow the British government, none of which made significant headway. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1990, and died later the same year.

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External references