SAS: Band of Brothers

Join bestselling military historian Damien Lewis in this online talk, and discover the triumphs and tragedies of a group of elite soldiers in the Second World War.

• To watch this event for free online, register on Crowdcast

In June 1944, 12 soldiers of the Special Air Service (SAS) were parachuted into occupied France. Led by Captain Patrick Garstin MC, this elite band destroyed scores of enemy targets, before executing one of the most daring escapes of the war.

But they fell victim to an entrapment; the Gestapo used fake radio signals to lure them into an ambush. Captured, imprisoned and tortured at the Gestapo’s headquarters in Paris, they faced execution on the order of Hitler.

Miraculously, two escaped, triggering one of the most-extraordinary Nazi-hunting operations, in an unrelenting bid to seek out those responsible for the deaths of their comrades.

In 1945, although the SAS was officially being disbanded, a top-secret Nazi-hunting operation backed by Winston Churchill was launched. As the hunted became the hunters, they would uncover some of Nazi Germany’s darkest crimes.

Damien Lewis, in this online event, will tell the tale of behind these group of soldiers in a story of courage, betrayal and the quest for justice. Breathtaking and exhaustively researched, ‘SAS Band of Brothers’ is based upon a raft of new and unseen material provided by the families of those who were there.

Damien Lewis is a ‘Sunday Times’ no.1 bestselling author. For 20 years Damien worked as a war and conflict reporter for the world’s major broadcasters, reporting across Africa, South America, the Middle East and Far East. Several of his books are being made into feature films.