UK ‘Special Forces’

When I was at Basra our section was right next door to the SF compound.. It was a ballache to go back to the mess for lunch so we always got packed rations... they usually had a hard boiled egg in them and we took great delight in firing them over the fence into the SF compound with a Cheetah.. a tool that used compressed air to seat HGV tyres... They'd rant and rave until eventually one of them would drive over in their Land Rover and give us grief... I was the Sgt in charge of the section we were in so I never had the finger of blame pointed at me..

I was at one of the bars on Christmas Eve and had a City Santa hat on... One of the SF guys asked if he could buy it for his mate, a blue.. He eventually offered me $100 US but I thought fuck it, it's Christmas so took $50.. It bought a few rounds and the hat was only £5 anyway... There was a 2 can rule at the time so it's a bloody good job we didn't get attacked that night (we were a few times in my 4 months there)
 
When in the Royal Navy did plenty of exersises with the Special Boat Service at Portland but never met any of them
When serving on HMS Devonshire in the 70s we were the first British Warship to go to the USSR (Odessa in the Ukraine) for donkey's years
Four extra "officers" joined us before we went but they didnt come back on board .
lots of speculation what they were up to but its anyones guess
 
DenisLawBackHeel74 said:
Yeah that’s the thing I think there’s a lot of sad individuals out there.

In my case, he’s definitely ex para with commando training....no question. It’s just speculation whether there was anything more...
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I'm not doubting your mate. It certainly sounds as though he went on to something more secretive and covert.

I've read loads of military history stuff, including Special Forces. It seems the sort of person they (Special Forces) recruit is someone who doesn't go shouting their mouth off the minute they are on leave, and someone who doesn't seek out trouble. They just blend in. The grey man. You probably wouldn't know if you met one.
 
Not sure if he was ever SF so it's a little off topic but I went to school in Stockport with a lad called Merrick McDonald.. We were both trying to get into the RM and RN at the same time.. I was accepted as an Artificer Apprentice (Engineer) but there were no courses starting because of the Falklands Conflict kicking off.. He joined the Marines but I gave up waiting after a year and joined the Royal Air Force....

Years later I heard that he'd been killed in Iraq while working in close protection.. He made the news because he went to Iraq after working for some years as one of the Beckham's bodyguards.. Sad as he was only doing a short contract in Iraq I heard to earn enough to pay off the villa in Cyprus where he'd settled with the family.....
 
cyberblue said:
When in the Royal Navy did plenty of exersises with the Special Boat Service at Portland but never met any of them
When serving on HMS Devonshire in the 70s we were the first British Warship to go to the USSR (Odessa in the Ukraine) for donkey's years
Four extra "officers" joined us before we went but they didnt come back on board .
lots of speculation what they were up to but its anyones guess
Click to expand...
Similar story from HMS Ocean in 2000 when 4 'well equipped' gentlemen spent a night down in 7G. They packed up early the next day and were never seen again.
 
lonestay said:
I used to work with a couple of guys that were on the Iranian embassy siege ,one was a helicopter pilot and the other went in through the balcony window and neither knew the other had been there. someone mentioned earlier that they were "grey" wouldn't take notice of them in public type guys and that is so true. The guy who went through the window could literally disappear in an almost empty room, you would just forget he was there!
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The Iranian embassy seige is a bit like York away in military terms. I'm not doubting your mate in particular, but let's just say it must have been a bloody big balcony :-)
 
cyberblue said:
I could be wrong but am sure Lee Bradbury was an infantryman in the Army
Lee Crooks when finished with football defiently did join the RAF Regiment
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I felt sure he was in the Army every time he came onto the pitch I thought he ain't gunner score BOOM
cyberblue said:
I could be wrong but am sure Lee Bradbury was an infantryman in the Army
Lee Crooks when finished with football defiently did join the RAF Regiment
Click to expand...
 
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