Desmond Peter Middleton
1921 to 1980
and the Middleton family from Wellingborough and Sheffield and the Harris family from
Mynyddislwyn, Monmouthshire
Desmond Peter Middleton was born at the George IV on Infirmary Road in Sheffield. He was a member of the 1st Special Air Service, serving as a Sabotage Agent in A Squadron under Colonal Paddy Mayne. He served from 30 June 1942 to16 November 1945. He took part in the Western Desert, Italy and North West Europe Campaigns and was posted temporarily to the Special Boat Squadron before returning to the SAS.
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He is mentioned in the following books
Peter and Roy, a German Shepherd dog he acquired in Germany and brought back to the U.K
Peter "Mid" Middleton was Ian Wellsted's driver.
In With the SAS Across the Rhine Appendix II
Schneeren, Order of March on 8 April
(these jeep numbers are used on all three sketch maps)
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Troop HQ
No.1 Jeep Captain Ian Wellsted
Trooper Peter Middleton
Trooper Owen
Page 17 "Peter Middleton was probably the most experienced soldier of us all. He had received his first wound in a skirmish near the Corinth Canal during the abortive British expedition to help the Greeks in 1941. After further active service, he joined the SAS and I came to know him well when he nursed me through my "Baptism of Fire" in the Morvan" (Ian Wellsted)
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These were ordinary boys who were called upon to do extraordinary things. Peter would have been 18 in 1939. He may have had a rough, tough exterior but he was really quite shy and very kind and thoughtful to the needs of others. He would always give a lift or helping hand to a stranger. He had planned for a religious life and always remembered his fallen comrades in his prayers.
When he became a Teacher (Maths and Science) he considered his class an extension of his family
WWII 1st SAS veteran Alec Borrie
said of Colonal Blair Paddy Mayne
"He was an absolute gentleman.
We'd follow him anywhere"
Words of Mike Sadler, Navigator 1st SAS
on Paddy Mayne.
"He was "an action man" but "on the whole a quiet, nice man". "A great one for a party"
Lieutenant Colonal Robert Blair "Paddy" Mayne, DSO & Three Bars,
Legion d'Honneur, Croix de Guerre from Newtownards was capped for Ireland and the British Lions at rugby union. He was a lawyer, amateur boxer, and a founding member of the Special Air Service. He was recommended for the Victoria Cross but this was later downgraded to a Distinguished Service Order. However when added to the three other DSOs he had won in Africa, Sicily and France, this made Mayne one of the most highly decorated soldiers of the war. After the war he eventually became Secretary to the Law Society of Northern Ireland.
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Author Damien Lewis advises Mayne was "an extraordinary individual, skilled & respected on the rugby field and battlefield... softly spoken, intelligent.... He wasn't a two dimensional action hero. A lot of people cant get to grips with that kind of complexity"
Courtesy of https://www.historynet.com
/robert-blair-paddy-
Paddy Mayne has been portrayed in
SAS Rogue Heroes on BBC1, however this depiction is questionable. Damien Lewis has written a book with the co-operation of the Mayne family who gave him access to Paddy's war chest and papers and
Fiona Ferguson (nee Mayne) advised "So many stories have been written about Blair getting ever more and more embellished. I have met several of the Originals, so know the high regard in which Blair was held. Thank you for taking the time to look at the man behind the stories"
Highly recommended biography by Hamish Ross
"An impressive leader"
