Sir David Stirling | |
|---|---|
_in_North_Africa_during_the_Second_World_War_E21340.jpg) David Stirling in 1942 | |
| Birth name | Archibald David Stirling |
| Nickname(s) | "The Phantom Major" |
| Born | 15 November 1915 Keir House, Perthshire, Scotland |
| Died | 4 November 1990 (aged 74) Westminster, London, England |
| Buried | St Cumin's Church, Loch Morar, Scotland |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1937–1965 |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
| Service number | 72647 |
| Unit | Scots Guards No. 8 (Guards) Commando |
| Commands | Special Air Service |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Knight Bachelor Distinguished Service Order Officer of the Order of the British Empire Mentioned in Despatches |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Relations | Archibald Stirling (father) |
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling, DSO, OBE (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British Army and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). Under his leadership, the SAS carried out hit-and-run raids behind the Axis lines of the North African campaign. He saw active service during the Second World War until he was captured in January 1943. He spent the rest of the war in captivity, despite making several attempts to escape.
Stirling left the Regular Army in 1947. He founded the Capricorn Africa Society, which aimed to fight racial discrimination in Africa, but Stirling's preference to a limited, elitist voting franchise over universal suffrage limited the movement's appeal. He subsequently formed various private military companies and was linked with a failed attempt to overthrow the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the early 1970s. He also attempted to organise efforts to undermine trades unionism and to overthrow the British government, none of which made significant headway. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1990, and died later the same year.