Three former defence secretaries last night called for legendary SAS commander Paddy Mayne to be posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross – as the BBC was condemned for depicting him as a ‘drunken Irishman’.
The second series of SAS Rogue Heroes details the exploits of Lieutenant Colonel Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne as he leads the Special Raiding Squadron, a renamed SAS unit, in the bloody invasions of Sicily and Italy in 1943.
Military experts have described Mayne, a founder of the SAS, as possibly the UK’s greatest-ever front-line soldier. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order four times during the Second World War for a series of extraordinary acts of bravery.
But he was denied a Victoria Cross after an unknown Whitehall bureaucrat downgraded a recommendation for him to receive the medal, despite him saving the lives of comrades pinned down in a Nazi ambush in Germany in 1945.
Last year, a plaque mysteriously appeared at the foot of a statue of Mayne in his hometown of Newtownards, Northern Ireland, that read: ‘When will this man receive his Victoria Cross?’
No UK member of the SAS has ever won the VC. For decades the Government refused to review the decision on Mayne’s medal on the basis it does not make awards retrospectively.
Now, almost 80 years since the battle which led to his VC nomination, The Mail On Sunday can reveal that hopes are rising that Mayne could posthumously receive the award.
Historian and SAS expert Damien Lewis believes a precedent was set in November when Private Richard Norden, an Australian soldier, posthumously received a VC for rescuing a wounded soldier amid enemy fire in Vietnam in 1968. Norden died in a road accident in 1972. Similarly, Mayne survived the war but died in an accident in 1955.
Lieutenant Colonel Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne was described by military experts as possibly the UK’s greatest ever frontline soldier
A statue of Mayne in Conway Square, Newtonards in Northern Ireland. Hopes are rising that the lieutenant could receive a posthumous Victoria Cross
‘It sets a precedent,’ Lewis said. ‘The heroics are very similar. All the efforts before were to get the original case reconsidered, but a posthumous VC… might give the Ministry of Defence the excuse to say yes.
‘They have always said no because they don’t revisit historical cases. This would be assessing a new case.’
Last night, calls for Mayne to be awarded the VC won the support of three former defence secretaries – Tories Ben Wallace and Grant Shapps and Labour’s John Hutton.
Mr Shapps said Mayne’s ‘extraordinary bravery’ during the war is ‘beyond dispute’, adding: ‘Even at the time, it was considered odd – reportedly even by the King – that Mayne’s nomination for the VC was denied. Now, having served as defence secretary, I feel even more strongly that this injustice must be corrected.’
Sir Ben said: ‘It seems in these woke days, governments are prepared to rewrite history when it suits them. They should do something that actually corrects a genuine wrong. Paddy Mayne deserves the appropriate recognition.’
Lord Hutton added: ‘I can’t see why on earth this hasn’t been sorted out. I am quite happy to lend my support to the campaign to get this rectified.’
Jim Shannon, the Democratic Unionist MP for Newtonards, vowed to table a parliamentary motion in Westminster to pile further pressure on the Government.
But historian Lord Ashcroft warned that it would be ‘impractical’ to review awards decades on, adding that Mayne may be ‘destined to be the bravest man’ never to receive the VC.
The growing campaign comes amid criticism that SAS Rogue Heroes, written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, is trashing Mayne’s reputation by portraying him as a volatile thug.
The opening episode of the six-part series shows a drunken Mayne, played by Jack O’Connell, beating up a squad of military policemen. The second episode shows him desecrating a church by hanging his machine gun on a statue of Christ.
Jack O’Connell as Paddy Mayne in the second BBC series of SAS Rogue Heroes
A now removed plaque in situ on Remembrance Sunday last year calling for Mayne to receive the Victoria Cross
A BBC insider said the show, based on a book by journalist Ben Macintyre, conveyed Mayne’s immense bravery.
But his niece, Fiona Ferguson, said the portrayal of her uncle as a ‘drunken Irishman’ was ‘disrespectful’, adding: ‘When you talk, as I have done, to the “originals” (the first members of the SAS who fought in North Africa) everybody respected him, followed him and doted on him.’
Mayne was nominated for the VC for blasting through a Nazi ambush in April 1945 near Lorup, Lower Saxony. His nomination was signed off by Field Marshal Montgomery, commander in chief of British forces in Germany, but later downgraded in Whitehall.
A letter outlining the decision claimed Mayne’s bravery was not a ‘single act of heroism’ as he had another soldier with him. Experts say nowhere in the warrant for the VC is it stipulated that this has to be the case. It stipulates only a ‘signal act of bravery’. King George VI asked Winston Churchill to intervene, but it was too late.
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