David Stirling Statue

Lieutenant Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling, DSO, OBE

15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990

This bronze resin statue is a replica of the statue that sits outside of the Regimental Headquarters of 22 Special Air Service.
There is also a full size statue of David Stirling on the family estate in Doune.

At the start of World War II Stirling enlisted in the Scots Guards. In June 1940 he volunteered for the newly formed No.8 Commando under Lt. Col. Robert Laycock. His unit was disbanded on 1 August 1941, leaving a frustrated Stirling convinced that there was an unrealised opportunity for a small, highly motivated and mobile force to cause considerable damage to the enemy. 

Stirling's determination led to the formation of a unit with the deliberately confusingly named, "L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade" to help bolster a deception that the British had a parachute brigade based in North Africa. In initial raids SAS troopers were dropped off near their targets by the Long Range Desert Group and then attacked at night on foot. In early 1942 Stirling acquired a number of heavily armed jeeps to allow the SAS to carry out attacks much more swiftly. His commander at the time, Field Marshal Montgomery, was quoted as saying: "The boy Stirling is quite mad, quite, quite mad. However, in a war there is often a place for mad people."