Congratulations to Reg Fowle, Mrs T Boylin, James Cockburn and David Comerford who won the competition we ran to win tickets to see Pete Scholey's talk at the National Army Museum on the 15th March at 2.30. Remember, if you didn't win, you can still pick up a discounted ticket here.
Last Wednesday we held the official launch for SAS Heroes - which was a great opportunity to meet up with Pete and some of his colleagues. With uniform displays showing the evolution of SAS kit, a genuine Pink Panther, and a demonstration of the tactics used to end the Iranian Embassy siege the day went off brilliantly.
This is a photo of Pete, flanked by his 'security detail' sitting in the fabulous Pink Panther outside the National Army Museum. The security detail was made up of Colin Wallace, Bob Podesta and Pete Winner, all of whom were great sports - walking around in full gear for over 4 hours despite the heat.
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A shot of the whole display - overwhelming, especially with the radio playing recordings of real morse code transmissions.
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SAS kit used during the First Gulf War - this is the kind of stuff worn by the men on the Bravo Two Zero mission. There was the whole range of kit on show, and it is really interesting to see what has changed, and how similar some of the kit is to stuff that was used in the jungle in the 60s!
It also shows just how much kit these guys had to carry around - in some terrible conditions...I could barely shift it let alone carry it for miles!
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The best bit...hearing how the siege of the Iranian embassy was broken, as told by a soldier who was there! Thanks very much soldier "I" - a great story, and a fascinating insight into the planning, manpower and skill behind the raid that first brought the SAS into the public eye.
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All in all, I think a good time was had by everyone - but the launch was not solely about the book. Rather it was a chance for Pete to say an emotional 'thank-you' to the people who inspired him, the 20 heroes in the book and their families and friends. It also provided an opportunity to remember the men in the book who were killed in action, or who have passed away since leaving the SAS. They will not be forgotten.