Posted on 10/28/2010 12:33:43 PM PDT by the scotsman
The undercover British officer crept silently through the bushes, his tartan kilt a bizarre form of dress for a man who did not want to be conspicuous.
Then he stopped to take in the awesome might of the enemy. Through the gloom, he could make out the 15,000 battle-scarred men and 200 machines of the cruellest and most feared of all the SS forces in war-torn France in the summer of 1944.
Parked up for the night, their tanks, half-tracks and heavy guns stretched as far as his eyes could see. How could he and the tiny band of amateurish French Resistance fighters he commanded possibly take on these professional killers? Yet that, come what may, was his mission.
Tommy Macpherson was an exceptional warrior-hero, acknowledged by experts as one of the bravest, most determined and resourceful British soldiers of WW II The notorious Das Reich panzer division was on its way from southern France to Normandy to help repel the Allied armies that had landed there on D-Day.
Today, at 90, he is Britain’s most decorated former soldier.
His story — told in his forthcoming autobiography — is one of remarkable daring and danger, outstanding even in the annals of that unique generation, as he fought his very special war, almost entirely behind enemy lines.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
For later. Thanks.
Glè Mhath!!
Wow!
bflr.
Aye, that it is.
ping
That should make one helluva book, and movie.
Sadly today these same people surrender to Islam led by two Scotsman names Blair and Browne who are responsible to the Islamification of the UK.
They don’t make them like this anymore.
Indeed!
ping! :)
The man has stones!
Bumping for later. As a wearer of kilts, this should be good!
Must get this book! And will pass on to my progeny. This is the stuff heroes are made of !
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/spectrum/Interview-Tommy-Macpherson-Britain39s-most.5317553.jp
‘He went to Oxford, where he got a first in PPE while also being tutored by AL Rowse and sharing rooms or studying with the future head of the BBC Marmaduke Hussey, with James Ramsden, the minister of war in the first post-war Conservative government, and Dick Crossland, the legendary Labour minister.
The military figures who feature in his life include Charles de Gaulle, Tito, David Stirling, Blair Mayne and Churchill, while Montgomery (whose wartime aide-de-camp was Clement Freud) gave him his home in Paris for his honeymoon with wife Jean Butler-Wilson. He was best man at Michel de Bourbon’s wedding, at which Pope John Paul officiated, and the list of people he has hung around with include Neil Armstrong, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Norris McWhirter, the Queen and Prince Phillip (who he let bowl him first ball in a scratch game of cricket), Tony O’Reilly and conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent.
He enjoyed a stellar career in business, earning a knighthood for his services to British business and chairing the European Chamber of Commerce. As well as his long-term career, which saw him become chief executive of Mallinson-Denny plc, he became chairman or director of, among others, Scottish Mutual Assurance, TSB Scotland, Birmid Qualcast, Société-Generale merchant bank and the National Coal Board.
Yet if he has one disappointment, it’s in the sporting sphere. A talented athlete, he ran in the AAAs at White City, beat Roger Bannister over half a mile and ran against Sidney Wooderson in Dublin and Emile Zatopek in Paris, and is the only man alive who knew Chris Brasher, Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams. Yet when it came to the big stage, nothing seemed to go right. He was selected for the British team at the World University Games in Paris in 1947 but fell and twisted his ankle. He was invited to be in the 1948 Olympic squad as a miler, having been finalist in the AAAs championship, but simply could not spare the time from his new job.
His rugby was even more frustrating. In 1947 he played for Oxford University, then the best team in the country, against the All Blacks, but was moved to centre from fly-half and didn’t have a good game, injuring both thumbs, so missed the Varsity match. Despite playing stand-off for London Scottish until the age of 35, he was the only member of its back division never to play for Scotland, although he was twice a travelling reserve.’
My god.
What a life.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.