Jaw-dropping heroics of SAS legend Paddy Mayne’s do-or-die mission dubbed ‘bravest of WW2’ – before he was denied a VC

CAUGHT successful a Nazi ambush, the trapped SAS men’s plight seemed desperate.

Patrol person Major Dick Bond and his driver, Trooper Max Levinsohn, laic dormant successful the ditch, each having been changeable successful the forehead by a German sniper.

Others, immoderate severely injured, were trapped further on the water-filled drain, pinned down by force fire.

Their 4 Willys Jeeps, abandoned connected the constrictive roadway wherever the trap had been sprung, offered nary salvation arsenic they were raked by dense machine-gun fire, anti-tank missiles and a tiny arms barrage from the ample German unit successful workplace buildings.

Legendary SAS commandant Lt- Colonel Blair “Paddy” Mayne — portrayed by Jack O’Connell successful BBC’s World War Two blockbuster SAS Rogue Heroes — was incandescent with rage erstwhile helium learned by vigor what had befallen his men.

He ordered his ain Jeep driver, Trooper Billy Hull, to thrust similar huffy to the country of the action, extracurricular a colony of Lorup successful the German authorities of Lower Saxony.

What followed was 1 of the bravest actions of the Second World War, yet Mayne was denied the highest grant for gallantry to the astonishment of each who knew of it — including King George VI.

Now a caller publication delves into the injustice of that denied Victoria Cross.

In Lorup, 30-year-old Mayne grabbed a Bren weapon and went unsocial to cheque retired a farmhouse from wherever immoderate of the force had been firing.

Finding they had either been killed oregon moved out, Mayne enactment Hull, 22, connected the apical level to springiness covering occurrence portion helium headed connected ft towards the Germans.

As Hull opened up with his Tommy gun, Mayne stepped into wide show of the force and, spotting a sniper among those present targeting Hull, changeable the marksman dead.

Single-handedly, and nether dense fire, helium past cleared retired a ample barn packed with German soldiers — “firing burst aft burst from the shoulder, sidesplitting oregon wounding all”.

But a torrent of instrumentality weapon bullets and anti-tank missiles was inactive coming from the adjacent barn and the woodlands beyond, aimed not conscionable astatine Mayne and Hull but astatine the SAS successful the ditch.

Mayne decided lone a do-or-die onslaught would prevention his trapped men, truthful helium called for a unpaid to antheral the duplicate Vickers-K guns connected the backmost of his Jeep arsenic helium jumped into the driving seat.

Several survivors from Major Bond’s patrol stepped guardant and Mayne chose Lieutenant John Scott.

Then helium drove hell-for-leather on the bullet-raked road, urging Scott to occurrence into the woodlands wherever astir of the German soldiers were, by then, entrenched and returning a tempest of fire.

Such was the strength of the rounds peppering the lone Jeep that those watching could not judge neither Mayne nor Scott had been hit.

Drawing level with wherever his men were pinned down, Mayne yelled that helium would get them connected his adjacent pass.

Mayne spun the Jeep astir and headed back, the roadworthy inactive being torn up by force occurrence and Scott inactive hammering distant astatine force positions.

Stopping by the trapped men past would person been suicidal — but Mayne reached his starting constituent and turned astir for a 3rd run.

‘BRAZEN THING TO DO’

By now, Hull’s presumption was good alight from force incendiary rounds truthful Mayne got the remainder of the SAS patrol to springiness covering occurrence arsenic helium drove again into the force gunfire.

This time, level with the ditch, Mayne jumped retired and began dragging the wounded 1 by 1 backmost to the jeep and, with each his men connected board, helium thundered backmost to safety.

Sergeant Albert Youngman, 1 of those saved from the ditch, would report: “It was specified a brazen happening to do.

"They were throwing everything backmost astatine him. God knows however they didn’t deed him.

"Finest enactment of bravery I person ever seen successful my life.”

The ambush was a setback for SAS troops who had been the vanguard of Allied forces pushing into Germany successful April 1945 arsenic portion of Operation Howard.

Their Jeeps — regarded arsenic “mechanised messiness tins” by the Canadian 4th Armoured Division for whom they were pathfinders — offered the SAS small extortion successful this benignant of warfare.

Already awarded the Distinguished Service Order and 2 bars (meaning helium had won the DSO 3 times), Mayne was recommended for the Victoria Cross, supported by Lieutenant Scott — himself awarded the Military Medal — who said: “Colonel Mayne showed a idiosyncratic courageousness that it has ne'er earlier been my privilege to witness.”

The citation was backed by SAS Captain David Surrey-Dane who had been there, and by Canadian Major-General Christopher Volkes, and signed disconnected by SAS main Brigadier Mike Calvert and adjacent Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Commander-in-Chief of British forces successful Germany.

But, down the scenes, immoderate faceless Whitehall bureaucrat struck done the VC proposal and scrawled: “3rd Bar to DSO”.

Major General Bob Laycock, Britain’s Chief of Combined Operations, wrote to Mayne successful August 1945, telling him: “In my opinion, the due authorities bash not truly cognize their job.

"If they did they would person fixed you a VC.”

George VI asked Winston Churchill to intervene, but by past the erstwhile PM was retired of bureau and it was deemed excessively late.

A VC would person been a fitting mode of marking Mayne’s travel from sports leader to warfare hero.

He was the sixth of 7 children calved to a affluent Protestant household with respective retail businesses successful Newtownards, present successful Northern Ireland.

Mayne studied instrumentality astatine Queen’s University, Belfast, wherever helium excelled astatine rugby and play and took up boxing, becoming Irish Universities Heavyweight Champion.

Earning a full of six Rugby Union caps for Ireland, successful 1938 helium was selected for the British and Irish Lions circuit of South Africa — and relaxed off-pitch by “smashing up hotels and warring dockers”.

‘GRAVE INJUSTICE’

Mayne was the stand-out subordinate successful 17 of 30 provincial games and each 3 tests.

He joined a steadfast of solicitors successful 1939 but erstwhile warfare broke retired helium signed up to the Royal Artillery, past the Royal Ulster Rifles.

After a stint successful a commando unit, helium soon came to the attraction of Colonel David Stirling and was an aboriginal unpaid to his SAS successful North Africa.

In December 1955, helium spent the nighttime drinking with a person earlier driving location — and astatine astir 4am helium was recovered dormant successful his car successful Newtownards, Co Down, having reportedly collided with a farmer’s vehicle.

After Mayne’s decease aged 40, respective attempts were made to person the VC awarded retrospectively, including a 2002 petition to the Queen.

There person been respective Early Day Motions successful the Commons, astir precocious successful 2005 erstwhile the effort to recognise a “grave injustice” was signed by 105 MPs.

Late Labour MP Ian Gibson astatine the clip slammed the “small-mindedness” of the determination not to grant Mayne the VC.

Military historiographer Damien Lewis, whose latest publication SAS Daggers Drawn tells the singular stories of Mayne and his men successful 1944 and 1945, believes the VC should beryllium posthumously awarded.

He said: “The French are inactive giving Croix de Guerre and assorted different medals to British servicemen 80 years on.

"It’s not arsenic if you can’t springiness decorations agelong aft the events.”

He argues those who objected to Mayne’s VC due to the fact that they said Lt Scott was progressive and the medal was lone for “single” acts of gallantry were incorrect arsenic it was ever for “signal” acts of bravery.

Lewis said: “What it boils down to is 2 things: First, Paddy Mayne was not nationalist schoolhouse and helium wasn’t English.

"He wasn’t from the close constitution background.

“Secondly, the SAS was profoundly unpopular.

“No 1 was going to springiness a VC to the SAS, particularly erstwhile they were astir to disband them.

The commando portion was disbanded successful 1945 and reformed 2 years later.

In spite of Special Forces missions re- quiring the benignant of bonzer bravery for which the VC was created, the medal has ne'er been awarded to a British subordinate of the SAS.

Anders Lassen did triumph the VC with the British SAS but was Danish.

Lewis said VCs had been awarded successful the past for cumulative actions, and Mayne’s persistent acts of bravery would qualify.

But helium added: “His enactment astatine Lorup was worthy successful itself.

'REMARKABLE INDIVIDUAL'

"It was not adjacent bordering connected suicidal. It was suicidal.

"When you work the accounts, I don’t cognize however helium survived.”

So wherefore did Mayne enactment himself successful mortal danger?

“It was attraction for his men, arsenic elemental arsenic that,” said Lewis.

“He couldn’t carnivore losing immoderate of them and helium felt each nonaccomplishment precise personally.

"That’s 1 crushed wherefore helium ended up being truthful traumatised astatine the extremity of the war.”

After George VI had presented him with his 4th DSO, and expressed astonishment that it had not been a VC, Mayne said: “I served to my best, my King and Queen, and nary tin instrumentality that honour distant from me.”

Lewis said: “That’s 1 of the reasons wherefore helium was specified a singular individual.

“His rule information was redeeming his men, vanquishing the force and doing the close thing.

"That’s wherefore helium was truthful revered by those nether his command.”

• SAS Daggers Drawn by Damien Lewis is published by Quercus astatine £22. For Damien Lewis circuit events spot geni.us/Damien-AutumnEvents.