The Scottish Military Research Group - Commemorations Project

Keptie · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 9:33 pm Post subject: Long Range Desert Group / SAS

The Courier & Advertiser for 2 August 2014 reports :

Plan to honour who nurtured SAS:

A small Scottish village could become home to a new memorial honouring one of the most heroic groups of servicemen in British History.

The men of the LONG RANGE DESERT GROUP (LRDG) were key in helping the fledgling SAS flourish and transported the elite troops through the desert in daring raids in North Africa during the Second World War.
The group was founded by DAVID STIRLING , and the SAS Regimental Assoc wants Stirling Council to grant permission for a new memorial at the site of his statue in DOUNE, Perthshire .

A spokesman for Stirling firm Twenty Ten Architecture, which submitted the application on behalf of the SAS Regimental Assoc said, " Such a memorial is long overdue and is fitting at this time. Not only would it be paying tribute to their expertise in desert craft but also their pivotal role in helping the fledgling SAS in 1940.

"In North Africa the LRDG vehicle patrols transported the men of the SAS on raids against enemy airfields deep behind enemy lines . The SAS owes a great debt of gratitude to those men ." he added.

Currently , there is only one DESERT GROUP MEMORIAL in Great Britain , at the West Cloisters of Westminster Abbey.

The new Memorial in DOUNE would comprise three HUGE STONES near the path leading to the David Stirling statue .

The first stone , which would weigh 1.5 tonnes and stand more than 4ft high , would be inscribed with the words " THE LONG RANGE DESERT GROUP - They showed us the way ".

The second stone would have tracks along its length representing the long , arduous journeys made by the LRDS vehicles across the dangerous desert terrain.

The final stone would be made fro Corennie granite and be inscribed with the dates 1940 -1945 and the names of the fallen.

The stones are so large they would have to be installed by specialist crane operators .

Stirling's statue was erected in 2002 near his family Park of Keir estate .

His memorial , which carries the names of 307 SAS members killed in he WW2 was targeted by thieves earlier this year and two bronze plaques were stolen from its plinth .

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(Patrick W Anderson )

David McNay · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 9:40 pm Post subject:

I've moved this to the Memorials Discussion section - this is an article discussing a proposed memorial. As there is no actual memorial for the moment it would be incorrect to place it in the section for existing memorials.