My father joined the 2 SAS in North Africa. As a guardsman he had been responsible for fitness training. At one point a party of SAS had been sent tohim for training. When they went off for a parachute drop as part of their induction into the SAS he simply joined in and thus joined the regiment.
This is part of my father's oral account which differs from the official written post operational report for Operation Pistol 1944. Other accounts by him appear in other threads on this site. This operation took place more or less at the same time as the more well known one called Loyton. At this time the German front lines were static - and this was a miscalculation on the part of the planners for both operations. The SAS operated with less hinderance when the front lines were more fluid.
My father's report from Operation Pistol (see previous threads) states that on the first night after landing he placed explosive charges on a railway line near Audviller in Alsace lorraine. This was very close to where they had landed. Perhaps not a wise decision? He blew a train and tender off the line late that night and moved off rather rapidly. I have never understood how when you read the various pistol reports that there is no mention of a large explosion heard by Corporal Hill's escape party that was a subdivision of my father's stick. Anyway he got away with it and moved south across open country but was blocked by a very wide and deep stream. He more or less retraced his steps but moved further to the south east.
As he headed back it became light as the sun was coming up so he hid in some pear trees in an orchard that was beside a road. During the following day he logs german troops passing along the road near the orchard he is hiding in. Children spot him so he moves away. They mistake the SAS for Russian soldiers, thinking they were deserters no doubt, and run off shouting as they went. My father and his party see a gap in the traffic and move off as they have been spotted. In moving he sees empty trenches dug and logs their location with a map reference. He provides many map references in his report, infact so many that I have been able to re-walk his 25 mile route almost exactly. The countryside is agricultural with crops in the low areas and the hills are dotted with thick pine forests.
It is easey to see how a small SAS group could move about unmolested. You also have to remember that during the day the Germans themselves kept off the roads for fear of air attack.
Later that night he and his three man party enter a farmyard and hide in a cow shed. In the morning a servant girl enters the shed; she screams on seeing the men. She is grabbed by one of my father's party and told to be quiet. My father and his men take the girl to the main farmhouse and luckily the farmer if friendly and he allows them in. The farm is called Ferme Feriendal and the farmer is called Mr Konige. He speaks German and French fluently. The following morning the SS call at the house to requisition horses. The farmer refuses saying he cannot spare them. All the while my fathe'rs party are ready in case they enter the hiouse. The Germans leave without the horses.
All of this is his oral story and you will not find them in the official Pistol reports which are on Wikipedia now.
For me Operation Pistol is unique because the men were on foot operating in what then was German national territory. They SAS were told/advised not to contact the locals. But infact, luckily perhaps, my father had lots of help.
In 1945 my father was awarded the Croixe De Guerre but I am not sure if it was for his part in this operation or one later. In 1956 he took part in the Suez parachute drop as RSM to 3 Para when the airfirld at El Gamil was assaulted.
This is part of my father's oral account which differs from the official written post operational report for Operation Pistol 1944. Other accounts by him appear in other threads on this site. This operation took place more or less at the same time as the more well known one called Loyton. At this time the German front lines were static - and this was a miscalculation on the part of the planners for both operations. The SAS operated with less hinderance when the front lines were more fluid.
My father's report from Operation Pistol (see previous threads) states that on the first night after landing he placed explosive charges on a railway line near Audviller in Alsace lorraine. This was very close to where they had landed. Perhaps not a wise decision? He blew a train and tender off the line late that night and moved off rather rapidly. I have never understood how when you read the various pistol reports that there is no mention of a large explosion heard by Corporal Hill's escape party that was a subdivision of my father's stick. Anyway he got away with it and moved south across open country but was blocked by a very wide and deep stream. He more or less retraced his steps but moved further to the south east.
As he headed back it became light as the sun was coming up so he hid in some pear trees in an orchard that was beside a road. During the following day he logs german troops passing along the road near the orchard he is hiding in. Children spot him so he moves away. They mistake the SAS for Russian soldiers, thinking they were deserters no doubt, and run off shouting as they went. My father and his party see a gap in the traffic and move off as they have been spotted. In moving he sees empty trenches dug and logs their location with a map reference. He provides many map references in his report, infact so many that I have been able to re-walk his 25 mile route almost exactly. The countryside is agricultural with crops in the low areas and the hills are dotted with thick pine forests.
It is easey to see how a small SAS group could move about unmolested. You also have to remember that during the day the Germans themselves kept off the roads for fear of air attack.
Later that night he and his three man party enter a farmyard and hide in a cow shed. In the morning a servant girl enters the shed; she screams on seeing the men. She is grabbed by one of my father's party and told to be quiet. My father and his men take the girl to the main farmhouse and luckily the farmer if friendly and he allows them in. The farm is called Ferme Feriendal and the farmer is called Mr Konige. He speaks German and French fluently. The following morning the SS call at the house to requisition horses. The farmer refuses saying he cannot spare them. All the while my fathe'rs party are ready in case they enter the hiouse. The Germans leave without the horses.
All of this is his oral story and you will not find them in the official Pistol reports which are on Wikipedia now.
For me Operation Pistol is unique because the men were on foot operating in what then was German national territory. They SAS were told/advised not to contact the locals. But infact, luckily perhaps, my father had lots of help.
In 1945 my father was awarded the Croixe De Guerre but I am not sure if it was for his part in this operation or one later. In 1956 he took part in the Suez parachute drop as RSM to 3 Para when the airfirld at El Gamil was assaulted.
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