The SAS and the Long Range Desert Group. An overview of Special Forces in North Africa 1940-43.

The exploits of the SAS in North Africa in the early years of the Second World War are well known; attacks behind enemy lines, destruction of hundreds of German aircraft on the ground and generally creating mayhem for the Afrika Korps. But little of this would have been possible without the Long Range Desert Group. Experts in desert navigation, the LRDG was formed to carry out deep penetration, covert reconnaissance patrols and intelligence missions behind Axis lines. As the commando tactics of the SAS developed, a reliable mode of transport to and from targets, often across hundreds of miles of desert, was provided by the LRDG to the SAS, using their ubiquitous 30 cwt Chevrolet trucks.

Our speaker is Richard Pinches, whose father, Peter Pinches, served in North Africa with the 7th Armoured Division. Richard is a Second World War re-enactor and historian, specialising in the North African campaign and the LRDG. His talk covers the vital but often overlooked role of this uniquely skilled and capable unit of the Desert Rats.

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