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SAS War Diary – 1941-45: Veteran's Edition signed by Major A.J. Schofield MBE - Signed Edition
£1,865.00
Available
Product Ref. (e.g. ISBN, SKU)
X5032077916524-V
Format:
Hardback
Author:
Hand Signed by Major A.J. Schofield MBE
Hardback Veteran's Edition
Please Note: These Editions are big and heavy; there will be an additional shipping charge of approximately £35.00 for UK deliveries. For overseas customers, we will contact you after you have placed your order with the shipping options that are open to us. Please complete your purchase in the normal manner and we will be in touch with you shortly. Typically, books are shipped within 10 days of ordering.
SAS Diary – 1941-45: Veteran's Edition signed by Major A.J. Schofield MBE - Signed Edition
Hand Signed by Major A.J. Schofield MBE
Hardback Veteran's Edition
New & Unread
THE VETERAN’S EDITION:
- Signed by Major A.J. Schofield MBE, the longest serving member of the Regiment, who fought through occupied Europe with Paddy Mayne
- Bound over extra thick boards and with a leather closing flap replicating the one on the original Diary.
- Limited to 150 copies
- Contains an additional 24-page chapter detailing the immediate post war activity of the Regiment when, despite having been disbanded, the SAS ran a War Crimes Investigation Team.
In early 1946, a former SAS soldier tasked himself with one final mission. The SAS had been disbanded and there were no plans to resurrect it. The soldier’s self-appointed mission was simple: to find and preserve whatever documentation he could before the SAS was forgotten and its story lost for ever.
The soldier tracked down the Top Secret order authorising the first ever SAS operation; he sought out photographs of the original members of 1 SAS, including men lost on that first operation; he somehow acquired the after-action reports from the few who survived. Then with more photographs, operational orders and reports (all Top Secret), and a handful of newspaper articles from Britain and even America, he traced the story of the SAS through North Africa, Sicily, Italy and France, on to the drive through Europe for Berlin, until the final march past when the SAS was stood down.
By mission end, the soldier had produced something unique – the first ever history of the SAS, collated by an SAS man. Not only that, in the event of the SAS being consigned to a footnote in history, and with many of the documents he had copied either destroyed or lost forever, he had saved the story of the SAS during World War 2. But the soldier did something else. He collated his work in a single massive war diary, measuring 17” x 12” x 4” and weighing over 25 lbs, and bound it a in leather binder “liberated” from Nazi Germany. Without knowing it, the soldier had created an icon. Shortly before his death, he visited the SAS Regimental Association, and gave them … The SAS War Diary. The Association locked The Diary away in its archives … and its existence remained a secret …. Until now.
Each copy of the SAS War Diary 1941-1945 replicates the original Diary, but with one important difference. When the soldier collated his Diary in 1946, he used the first 281 pages to record the history of 1 SAS, and for some reason, perhaps aware there was another mission that might follow his; he retained the remaining pages but left them blank.
In the published editions, these pages are filled with specially cleared material from The Association’s own highly confidential archives to include the history of 2 SAS and an abridged history of the wartime SBS. This completes the mission the soldier began at war’s end, and gives for the first time ever the full picture of the SAS in World War 2.
At the time, most of these documents were Top Secret – they include:
- The actual order authorising the first ever SAS operation.
- Operational reports including: L Detachment SAS through the Western Desert; David Stirling’s capture; SRS operations in Sicily and Italy; 1 SAS in France for D Day, NW Europe and Germany; 2 SAS operations in Sicily, Italy, France for D Day; Northern Italy post-D Day.
- Over 25 maps and 300 photographs, many of them taken on operations and behind-the-lines.
- David Stirling’s personal confidential memorandum on how he created the SAS.
- Secret correspondence discussing the future of Special Forces in the Middle East.
- Top Secret correspondence between Stirling and Prime Minister Winston Churchill on the future and importance of the SAS.
- The order assigning SAS regimental status.
About the Author: Major A.J. Schofield MBE was the longest serving member of the Regiment, who fought through occupied Europe with Paddy Mayne.
Format: Hardback Edition
ISBN: 5032077916524-V
All our signed books include a 'Signed Copy' gift tag, supplied free of charge.
Please Note: By their very nature, all signed books will have been handled several times before they get to you. This may result in small marks to the dustjacket and title page, please also bear in mind that each signature will be a little different from the one we show here.
We use courier and signed for delivery services, so please use an address at which your parcel can be signed for during the normal working day.
We will despatch your order as quickly as we can. If, for whatever reason, a product is out of stock we will contact you to discuss the likely delivery time or an alternative product.
| First Item | 2 Items & Over | |
|---|---|---|
| UK | £3.75 | £5.00 |
| EU | £15.00 | £30.00 |
| USA & Canada | £30.00 | £50.00 |
| Rest of the World | £45.00 | £60.00 |
| Collect in Store | free | free |
Additional Delivery Information (and some really important bits):
UK Delivery
Orders for delivery in the UK are normally despatched by Royal Mail, using the RM 48 Tracked Service with most orders delivered to you within a few days of placing your order with us. For larger parcels, Courier and Signed For delivery services may be used. Signed Books are shipped in our specially made book mailing cartons, with the books themselves wrapped in paper to protect them. Sometimes we may ship your order in several parts, particularly if you have 'Pre-Order' titles in your order or titles which are held in stock with our publishing partners.
The Really Important Bit: Because we use tracked, courier and signed for delivery services, please use an address at which your parcel can be received during the normal working day, for example, you may want to have your order delivered to your work address if you're not at home during the day.
First Item @ £3.75 (sometimes a shipping supplement may be added for particularly heavy books or specific postcodes*)
2 Items & over @ £5.00 in total
Another Really Important Bit: There are a number of Postcodes in the UK for which we will need to charge a shipping supplement, this will be calculated once we know the size and weight of the shipment. For these orders we will contact customers to agree a suitable and economic method of shipping. There may also be additional time required for delivery to some areas of the United Kingdom. Where possible, we will ship book orders (under 2kg) by Royal Mail to all UK postcodes. Large multiple book orders and books over 2kg are often shipped via APC Overnight or similar, regardless of Postcode.
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Shipments to EU countries:
First Item @ £15.00 (sometimes a shipping supplement will be added for particularly heavy books)
2 Items & over @ £30.00 in total
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Shipments to the USA & Canada:
First Item @ £30.00
2 Items & over @ £50.00 in total
Shipments to the Rest of the World:
First Item @ £45.00
2 Items & over @ £60.00 in total
All overseas orders are shipped using a 'signed for' courier service - please provide an address at which your parcel can be signed for on receipt. We use the same packaging materials for our overseas deliveries as we do those in the UK. In some cases, particularly large and heavy books, or books being shipped to remote areas, may incur an additional shipping charge - if this is the case with your order, we'll notify you as quickly as possible of these charges and to arrange the additional payment. You can of course cancel your order with an immediate refund should you not wish to accept these additional costs. Shipments to overseas territories may incur additional Duty & Tax costs which could be requested by Fed Ex at the time of delivery. These costs may vary from country to country and are not within our control and will be in addition to the costs paid to us for your delivery. If in any doubt, please check with your local Fed Ex office what, if any, additional Tax & Duty costs will be applicable to your order - https://www.fedex.com
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