SAS War Diary 1941-1945 (Leather / fine binding, Originals ed)

Signed by Sgt. Jimmy Storie the last surviving member of the "Originals", those 22 men out of 65, who survived Operation Number One and who went on to become the backbone of the wartime SAS. Jimmy Storie was the last surviving member of "The Originals", the handful of men with David Stirling at the birth of the SAS, and who survived the first disastrous SAS operation. In late 1941, in the desert war of North Africa, Storie was one of 65 men and officers recruited by David Stirling for his infant Special Air Service. The first operation, on the night of November 17/18 1941 was revolutionary - parachute behind the lines in small groups, take out the enemy aircraft that threatened an Allied push, then make their way back across the desert to a rendezvous with the Long Range Desert Group. On the night of the operation, a massive storm blew up. At the forward air base from which they would take off, Stirling addressed his men. Middle East Headquarters had given him the opportunity of postponing the mission. Stirling and the SAS had never been popular with the middle ranks at MEHQ. Postpone - which effectively meant cancel - he now told his men, and his enemies would kill off the SAS before it had begun. Jump in to the storm, he also told them, and many of them would not survive. No one backed down. Stirling and the 65 men parachuted into the storm; their equipment, weapons and explosives were lost; then a massive rainstorm swept the desert. Of the 65, only 22 made it out to the RV with LRDG. Jimmy Storie was one of them. It should have been the end of the SAS. In fact, it was the beginning. Stirling hid his men, ordered them to somehow acquire more weapons and explosives, then, without telling anyone, and carried by the LRDG, the 22 went back into the desert and finished the job. Jimmy Storie was the last survivor of those 22 men. He went on to serve throughout the desert campaign, Sicily, Italy, behind the lines in France for D-Day, and in the push through Germany. Sadly Jimmy passed away on January 8th 2012, truly the end of an era. Bound over extra thick boards and with a leather closing flap replicating the one on the original Diary, this version comes in a sandblasted presentation "ammunition box" which converts to a lectern for reading and display purposes [illustrated] Limited to 100 copies at GBP2500 each. There are four different signed versions of the War Diary available for collectors. The SAS War Diary is released in a special limited Anniversary Edition to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the birth of the Special Air Service and to raise funds for the welfare work of the Regimental Association. Based on the original Diary held by the Regimental Association, The SAS War Diary is augmented with material from their archive, very little of which has ever been seen before. The SAS War Diary is extremely impressive, measuring some 17 x 12 x 4 inches and weighing over 28lbs. Each copy is bound by hand in full leather over wood composite boards in the style of the original, with three brass posts and finished with a new blocking design featuring the Regimental badge and wings. The individual copies are then numbered and the limitation page is embossed with the seal of the Regimental Association, as are the signature pages on the signed copies.