Jock Lewes - Co-Founder of the SAS - Hardcover

Lewes, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0850527430 ISBN 13: 9780850527438

Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 2000

Synopsis

Jock Lewes was a dashing young Welsh Guards officer who created a new approach to modern warfare in the SAS with less than two year's experience as a soldier. By the age of twenty-seven Jock co-founded the SAS with David Stirling. Jock was in reality the trainer and 'brains' behind this now legendary fighting force and this stunning biography describes the extent of his contribution. Jock was brought up in Australia during the Depression and later educated at Oxford. Life was rarely dull and he packed it with action and achievement. His Presidency of the Oxford University Boat Club saw Oxford breaking Cambridge University's succession of thirteen wins. Preparing for a job at the Foreign Office, Jock spent several seasons in Berlin. The record of his passion for two women, one a Nazi, the other a young linguist at Somerville College, Oxford, are part of a teeming richness of writing which he left in letters, journals and poems. His death was no less dramatic than his life: after successful raids on enemy aerodromes with his invention of Lewes Bombs, he was hunted down by a Messerschmitt 110 fighter. i?? A highly important addition to ever popular SAS literature. i?? Jock Lewes was the brain behind the formation of the Special Air Service.i?? A rich biography of an exceptional 'driven' man, scholar, sportsman and soldier.i?? The author has had the fullest possible access to the private papers of his subject.

About this title

From the Author

A complete revision of the earliest SAS history
Credit for the formation in 1941 of the Special Air Service, today the World's most respected special force unit, has traditionally been given to David Stirling. This, as those 'in the know' acknowledge, is only part of the truth. Jock Lewes, a young Welsh Guards officer, was at least equally responsible and yet, until now, his character and contribution have never been closely studied.

Drawing on hitherto unpublished personal journals, this account of Lewes's life, tragically cut short on 31 December 1941 during an SAS deep penetration patrol, makes for compelling reading. Brought up in the Australian outback where he learnt self-discipline and self-reliance, he went on to have a brilliant career at Oxford University; as President of the Boat Club he was instrumental in the dramatic 1937 victory against Cambridge. Thereafter he spent time in pre-war Berlin where he was at first seduced by Hitler's socialist policies and by a young Nazi supporter, one of the two loves of his life, but soon became disillusioned, establishing links with opposition factions.

Despite his lack of military experience, Jock quickly proved himself a radical tactical thinker and brilliant leader and trainer of men, a rare combination. He also developed, and gave his name to, the lethally effective Lewes Bomb. His exceptional talents found expression in the development of the SAS concept and ethos. Without his and David Stirling's partnership there would have been no Special Air Service; as Sitrling later chivalrously admitted, 'Jock Lewes could far more genuinely claim to be the founder of the SAS than I'.

As well as being the long overdue biography of this highly gifted and complex individual, Jock Lewes, Co-Founder of the SAS, is a major contribution to the bibliography of British Special Forces.

Lord Jellicoe's Foreword fully endorses this biography: "It is described with skill and authority".

About the Author

John Lewes is the nephew and biographer of Lt. Jock Lewes (Jock Lewes Co-Founder of the SAS, published by Pen & Sword Books, 2000) and has completed a novel on love, betrayal, fanaticism and loyalty at the start of World War 2. The inspiration for the story is based upon the author's uncle, Lt. Jock Lewes. The hero of the story, Jock Steel, is recruited by MI6 while a team of traitors are monitoring him from within both MI6 and MI5. A fictional account of the inception of the SAS will be part of the story, strongly based upon fact and the unpublished archive of the first SAS records made by Lt. Jock Lewes (see notebook below). The novel, 'A Spy After All', is a great adventure story based on truth, and will be published in 2017. Registering interest in these two SAS books will soon be possible on www.jocklewes.co.uk and on www.aspyafterall.co.uk In 2012, John Lewes opened the new SAS War Diary Display at Airborne Assault at IWM Duxford. The author still holds the very first SAS notebook which is currently unpublished. See a picture of the front cover of the first notebook with the first SAS plans and jottings by Lt. Jock Lewes. A few years before, the author spoke at the Unveiling of the Jock Lewes Memorial at an army base in Hereford. His Royal Highness Prince William unveiled the magnificent bronze statue of Lieutenant Jock Lewes. The author was a Flying Officer in the RAF Volunteer Reserve (VRT) and is an Honorary Member of the Welsh Guards Association.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0850527430
• ISBN 13: 9780850527438
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 286