Tour Scotland Travel Video David Stirling Memorial Statue Hill of Row

Tour Scotland travel video of the David Stirling Memorial Statue on ancestry visit to Hill of Row near Doune, Scotland. The memorial is to Lieutenant Colonel Sir David Stirling OBE DSO, also known as the " Phantom Major, " who founded the Special Air Service at the height of WWII. Field Marshall Montgomery, who commanded the Allied forces in North Africa at the time, said, " The boy Stirling is quite mad, quite, quite mad. However, in a war there is often a place for mad people. " In 1943, Stirling was captured by the Germans, then escaped, but was captured by the Italians and became a prisoner of war. Hitler had ordered that all members of the SAS and other special forces should be executed but to his credit Field Marshall Rommel was the only German commander to ignore the order. During his time as a POW, he escaped four times and was eventually sent to the famous Colditz Castle where he remained for the rest of the war. In the meantime, his brother had taken over as commander of an SAS Brigade. The SAS expanded and became involved in escapades in many parts of Europe. The principles established led to the creation of the crack SAS Regiment which today forms the UK's premier special forces unit. David Stirling was awarded the OBE and DSO for his actions in war and was knighted in 1990 but died a few months later. The B824, from Doune to Junction 11 on the M9 motorway runs past it, and as a result it is easy to find and visit

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