Statue of David Stirling, founder of the S.A.S. This is located atop the Hill o’ Rou along the B824 towards the village of Doune in central Scotland. The statue is positioned in a rural landscape about 8 miles NW of the city of Stirling.

Introduction

I am writing about David Stirling today following reports that a second BBC drama, ‘SAS Rogue Heroes’ will be screened in Britain on New Year’s Day.

Information on the drama sequel

The BBC first produced ‘SAS Rogue Heroes’ in 2022 which was based on a book by the same name. This drama is focused on SAS operations in North Africa from 1941-1943. During this campaign Lieutenant Colonel David Stirling became a legend in the desert.

The sequel drama will focus on Spring 1943 and the Allied invasion of Sicily. At this time the SAS is under threat of being disbanded. David Stirling is a prisoner of war, after being captured in Tunisia. This leaves David’s brother Bill and firebrand commander, Paddy Mayne to save the SAS.

Under operation Husky, the SAS were involved in the early landings on the Sicilian beaches. These began on the night of July 9th, 1943 and resulted in some ‘harrowing’ scenes.

In the sequel Connor Swindells reprises his role as David Stirling. Jack O’Connell returns as Paddy Mayne with Gwilym Lee playing Bill Stirling.

Filming for the second series took place in Croatia, a stand in for Sicily. Locations around the U.K. were also used including the mountainous landscapes of the Cairngorms (Scotland).

For the record, SAS stands for ‘Special Air Service’ and remains Britain’s elite special forces unit.

Landscape image of the David Stirling statue.

More information

The publication Visitors’ Guide to Scotland contains sections on selected battle sites plus a wide range of information for the tourist. ISBN is 978-1-9161332-0-4. This book is also available via Kindle.