• 10.00am - 5.30pm
  • FREE
  • Chelsea, London
  • 10.00am - 5.30pm
  • FREE
  • Chelsea, London

Special Forces: The originals

Talk

Date

23 March 2018

Audience

Adults

Location

National Army Museum

Admission

FREE
Online tickets are now sold out. Remaining available seats will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Subjects

Special Forces
Second World War

Series

Great Commanders

Soldiers planning a dessert operations, 1941
Join curator Justin Saddington to discover the stories of the individuals who founded the British Special Forces.

Justin Saddington will discuss the founding fathers of the UK special forces. He will explore the daring exploits of these intrepid mavericks and examine how they developed a new form of warfare.

Justin is one of the curators of the National Army Museum's Special Forces: In the Shadows exhibition.

Terms and conditions of ticket sales

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Major David Stirling, c1942
Story

David Stirling: The Phantom Major

Colonel David Stirling was a pioneer of British Special Forces. In 1941, he founded the Special Air Service (SAS) in Egypt to undertake small-scale raids behind enemy lines.

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Sergeant Herbert Chambers with fellow Special Boat Service soldiers in Athens, 1944
Story

Origins of the Special Forces

During the Second World War, Britain created a range of special units who undertook a variety of daring operations against the Axis Powers. The bravery and commitment of these forces has become the stuff of legend.

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Propaganda poster depicting a commando raid on a German-held port in Norway, 1940
Story

The Commandos

In 1940, the British established a new raiding and reconnaissance force. Well-trained and highly mobile, they were to carry on the war against the Axis after the evacuation from Dunkirk.

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Bagnold sun compass used by the LRDG, c1942
story

Desert innovator: Bagnold's sun-compass

The Long Range Desert Group were masters of navigation. They owed much of their success to the scientific talents of Major Ralph Bagnold, whose sun-compass invention revolutionised desert travel.

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"First time @NAM_London today. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thought the presentation & interpretation made the subject accessible..."

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