Editing David Stirling

{{short description|Scottish World War II officer, and founder of the Special Air Service}}
{{other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Sir David Stirling
| image         = The Special Air Service (sas) in North Africa during the Second World War E21340.jpg
| alt           = Head-and-shoulders photograph of a man in military uniform with an SAS peaked cap
| caption       = David Stirling in 1942
| birth_name    = Archibald David Stirling
| nickname      = "The Phantom Major"
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1915|11|15|df=yes}}
| birth_place   = [[Keir House]], [[Perthshire]], Scotland
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1990|11|4|1915|11|15|df=yes}}
| death_place   = [[Westminster]], [[London]], England
| placeofburial = St Cumin's Church, [[Loch Morar]], Scotland
| allegiance    = United Kingdom
| branch        = [[British Army]]
| serviceyears  = 1937–1965
| rank          = [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant colonel]]
| servicenumber = 72647
| unit          = [[Scots Guards]]<br />[[No. 8 (Guards) Commando]]
| commands      = [[Special Air Service]]
| battles       = {{Tree list}}
* [[Second World War]]
** [[North African campaign]]
** [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]]
{{Tree list/end}}
| awards        = [[Knight Bachelor]]<br />[[Distinguished Service Order]]<br />[[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]]<br />[[Mentioned in Despatches]]
| alma_mater    = [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]
| relations     = [[Archibald Stirling (British Army officer)|Archibald Stirling]] (father) <br /> [[Bill Stirling (British Army officer)|Bill Stirling]] (brother)
| laterwork     = 
}}
[[Lieutenant-Colonel]] '''Sir Archibald David Stirling''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100|sep=,|DSO|OBE}} (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the [[British Army]] and the founder and creator of the [[Special Air Service]] (SAS). Under his leadership, the SAS carried out [[hit-and-run tactics|hit-and-run]] raids behind the Axis lines of the [[North African campaign]]. He saw active service during the [[Second World War]] until he was captured in January 1943. He spent the rest of the war in captivity, despite making several attempts to escape.

Stirling left the Regular Army in 1947. He founded the [[Capricorn Africa Society]], which aimed to fight racial discrimination in Africa, but Stirling's preference to a limited, elitist voting franchise over universal suffrage limited the movement's appeal. He subsequently formed various [[Private military company|private military companies]] and was linked with a failed attempt to overthrow the Libyan leader [[Muammar Gaddafi]] in the early 1970s. He also attempted to organise efforts to undermine [[Trade union|trades unionism]] and to overthrow the British government, none of which made significant headway. He was made a [[Knight Bachelor]] in 1990, and died later the same year.

== Early life ==
The National Army Museum records that Stirling was born and raised in Keir House, Perthshire, into an aristocratic Scottish family with a proud military heritage.<ref>{{cite news |date= |title=David Stirling: The Phantom Major |url=https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/david-stirling |newspaper=National Army Museum}}</ref> However, ''The Scotsman'' newspaper of 20 November 1915<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Scotsman newspaper, British Newspaper Archives |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/19151120/475/0008|title=Births|date=20 November 1915}}</ref> and ''The Stirling Observer'' of 23 November 1915<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Stirling Observer, British Newspaper Archives|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000474/19151123/083/0004|title=Births|date=23 November 1915}}</ref> both published announcements that "The Hon Mrs Keir gave birth to a son on Monday 15th at 15 Cambridge Square, London".  His birth was recorded several months later, in 1916 [Apr-May-Jun Quarter] in Paddington (Registration district), London,<ref>http://www.freebmd.org.uk/search results for 'Stirling, Archibald' = Jun 1916 Stirling Archibald D [mother's maiden name Fraser] Vol 1a, Page 127.</ref> He was the son of Brigadier-General [[Archibald Stirling (British Army officer)|Archibald Stirling]], of Keir, and Margaret Fraser, daughter of [[Simon Fraser, 13th Lord Lovat|Simon Fraser]], the [[Lord Lovat]] (a descendant of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]). [[Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat]] was a first cousin. His paternal grandparents were [[Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9th Baronet]] and Lady Anna Maria Leslie-Melville.<ref>{{EB1911|wstitle=Stirling-Maxwell, Sir William}}</ref>

Stirling was educated in England at the Catholic boarding school [[Ampleforth College]] alongside his elder brother [[Bill Stirling (British Army officer)|Bill Stirling]].<ref>{{cite web |title=David & William Stirling |url=https://roughbounds.co.uk/blogs/journal/bill-stirling-and-david-stirling |website=Rough Bounds |access-date=15 December 2024 |language=en}}</ref> He was part of the Ampleforth [[Officer Training Corps]]. He briefly attended [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], before being "sent down" (i.e. expelled) for 28 transgressions of which the master of the college asked him to select three which would be the "least offensive to his mother".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jolliffe |first1=John |title=Derring-do in the desert |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/derring-do-in-the-desert/ |access-date=1 January 2025 |work=The Spectator |date=6 October 2016 |quote=David Stirling, had a record of complete allergy to discipline or serious work either at school at Ampleforth or later, briefly, at Cambridge, where the Master of his college sent him down after showing him a list of 28 transgressions and asking him to choose the three which ‘would be the least offensive to his mother’.}}</ref> He then went to [[Paris]] to unsuccessfully attempt to become an artist.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/18837232.back-day-sas--founder-quite-mad-david-stirling/|title=Back in the Day: SAS founder the 'quite mad' David Stirling|date=1 November 2020|newspaper=The National|access-date=28 October 2023}}</ref>

== Second World War ==
[[File:Colonel David Stirling, founder of the Special Air Service, with an SAS jeep patrol in North Africa, 18 January 1943. E21338.jpg|thumb|Lieutenant Colonel Stirling with Lieutenant Edward McDonald and other SAS soldiers in North Africa, 1943]]
Stirling was commissioned into the [[Scots Guards]] on 24 July 1937.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34420 |date=23 July 1937 |page=4740}}</ref> When the [[Second World War]] broke out in September 1939.<ref name="Ben" />{{rp|8–10}} Stirling was in Montana, USA, working as a cattle-rancher until returning to Britain on [[SS Manhattan (1931)|SS ''Manhattan'']], from [[New York City]] to [[Southampton]] on 16 September 1939.<ref>{{cite web|title=Archibald David Stirling Migration, United States Border Crossings from Canada to United States, 1895–1956. Manifests of Alien and Citizen Arrivals at Babb, Montana, June 1928 – October, 1956.|website=[[FamilySearch]] |date=5 August 1939|url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XP3F-GP6}}</ref>

===Founding of the SAS===
In June 1940, he volunteered for the new [[No. 8 (Guards) Commando]] under Lieutenant-Colonel [[Robert Laycock]], which became part of Force Z (later named "[[Layforce]]"). On 1 February 1941, Layforce sailed for the Middle East, in support of the capture of [[Rhodes]], but were soon disbanded after suffering heavy casualties in the [[Battle of Crete]] and the [[Battle of the Litani River]]. Stirling remained convinced that due to the mechanised nature of war, a small team of highly trained soldiers with the advantage of surprise could attack several targets from the desert in a single night.<ref name="Ben" />{{rp|7,12–13,23–24}}

Believing that taking his idea up the chain of command was unlikely to work, Stirling decided to go straight to the top. On crutches following a parachuting accident, he stealthily entered Middle East headquarters in [[Cairo]] (under, through, or over a fence) in an effort to see [[Commander-in-Chief]], [[Middle East Command]] General [[Claude Auchinleck|Sir Claude Auchinleck]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Connor |first=Ken |date=1998 |title=Ghost Force: The Secret History of the SAS |location=London |publisher=[[Orion Publishing Group|Cassell Military Paperbacks]] |page=10 |isbn=0-304-36367-7}}</ref> Spotted by guards, Stirling abandoned his crutches and entered the building, only to come face-to-face with an officer with whom he had previously fallen out. Retreating rapidly, he entered the office of the deputy chief of staff, Major General [[Neil Ritchie]]. Stirling explained his plan to Ritchie, immediately after which Ritchie persuaded Auchinleck to allow Stirling to form a new special operations unit. The unit was given the deliberately misleading name "L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade" to reinforce [[Dudley Clarke]]'s deception of a parachute brigade existing in [[North Africa]].<ref name="Ben" />{{rp|25–28}}

===SAS operations===
Stirling's new special operations unit was, at the outset, short of equipment (particularly tents and related gear) when the unit set up at [[Kibrit Air Base]]. The first operation of the new SAS was to steal from a nearby well-equipped New Zealand regiment various supplies including tents, bedding, tables, chairs and a piano. After at least four trips, they had a well-stocked camp.<ref name="Ben" />{{rp|34–35}}

After a brief period of training, an initial attempt at attacking a German airfield by parachute landing on 16 November 1941 in support of [[Operation Crusader]] proved to be disastrous for the unit. Of the original 55 men, some 34 were killed, wounded or captured far from the target, after being blown off course or landing in the wrong area, during one of the biggest storms to hit the region. Escaping only with the help of the [[Long Range Desert Group]] (LRDG) – who were designated to pick up the unit after the attack – Stirling agreed that approaching by land under the cover of night would be safer and more effective than parachuting. As quickly as possible he organised raids on ports using this simple method, bluffing through checkpoints at night using the language skills of some of his soldiers.<ref name="Ben" />{{rp|51–61,114–115,138}}

Under Stirling's leadership, the [[Lewes bomb]], the first hand-held dual explosive and incendiary device, was invented by [[Jock Lewes]]. American Jeeps, which were able to deal with the harsh desert terrain better than other transport, were cut down, adapted and fitted with [[Vickers K machine gun]]s fore and aft. Stirling also pioneered the use of small groups to escape detection. Finding it difficult to lead from the rear, Stirling often led from the front, his SAS units driving through enemy airfields in the Jeeps to shoot up aircraft and crew.<ref>{{cite book|first=Gavin |last=Mortimer|title=Stirling's Desert Triumph: The SAS Egyptian Airfield Raids 1942|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AECVCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA37|date=20 April 2015|publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4728-0764-9|page=37}}</ref>

[[File:French sas north africa 1943.jpg|thumb|Members of the '[[1st Airborne Marine Infantry Regiment|French Squadron SAS]]' (1ere Compagnie de Chasseurs Parachutistes) in [[French protectorate of Tunisia|Tunisia]]. 
Previously a company of [[Free France|Free French]] paratroopers, the French SAS squadron were the first of a range of units 'acquired' by Major Stirling as the SAS expanded.]]
The first Jeep-borne airfield raid occurred soon after acquiring the first batch of Jeeps in June 1942, when Stirling's SAS group attacked the Italian-held Bagush airfield along with two other Axis airfields all in the same night. After returning to Cairo, Stirling collected a consignment of more Jeeps for further airfield raids. His biggest success was on the night of 26–27 July 1942 when his SAS squadron, armed with 18 jeeps, [[Raid on Sidi Haneish Airfield|raided the Sidi Haneish]] landing strip and destroyed 37 Axis aircraft  (mostly bombers and heavy transport) for the loss of two men killed. After a drive through the desert, evading enemy patrols and aircraft, Stirling and his men reached the safety of their advance camp at Qaret Tartura on the edge of the [[Qattara Depression]].<ref name="Ben">{{cite book|last1=Macintyre|first1=Ben|title=Rogue Warriors|date=2016|publisher=Crown Publishing Group|location=New York|isbn=978-1-101-90416-9|pages=48–49,143–146,149–154}}</ref> He was promoted to [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|lieutenant-colonel]] in September 1942.<ref>{{cite book|last=[[Ben Macintyre|Macintyre]]|first=Ben|date=2016|title=SAS Rogue Heroes|publisher=[[Viking Books]]|page=167|isbn=9780241186626}}</ref>

In North Africa, in the 15 months before Stirling's capture, the SAS had destroyed over 250 aircraft on the ground, dozens of supply dumps, wrecked railways and telecommunications, and had put hundreds of enemy vehicles out of action.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1990/11/07/sir-david-stirling-74-dies/176edce1-adf2-4230-9bdc-483b64d04625/|title=Sir David Stirling dies|date=7 November 1990|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=15 October 2023}}</ref> 

Field Marshal [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Bernard Montgomery]] said ''"The boy Stirling is quite mad, quite, quite mad. However, in a war there is often a place for mad people."''.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/david-stirling|title=David Stirling: The Phantom Major &#124; National Army Museum|website=www.nam.ac.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/hair-raising-adventures-david-stirling-madman-behind-sas/|title=The hair-raising adventures of David Stirling, the madman behind the SAS|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=31 October 2022|access-date=14 November 2022}}</ref>

===Capture by Germans===
These [[Hit-and-run tactics|hit-and-run]] operations eventually proved Stirling's undoing; he was captured during one in Tunisia<ref name="auto"/> by the Germans in January 1943 having been dubbed "The Phantom Major" by Field Marshal [[Erwin Rommel]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Alleyne |first=Richard |date=19 February 2007 |title=SAS founder's life story to be made into a film |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1543115/SAS-founders-life-story-to-be-made-into-a-film.html |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=2 March 2017}}</ref> Although Stirling escaped from the Germans, he was subsequently re-captured by the Italian [[Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Monferrato" (13th)|III Armored Group "Cavalleggeri di Monferrato"]] and the Italians took great delight in the embarrassment this caused their German allies.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/06/obituaries/sir-david-stirling-74-the-founder-of-britain-s-elite-commando-unit.html |title=Sir David Stirling, 74, the Founder of Britain's Elite Commando Unit |last=Saxon |first=Wolfgang |date=6 November 1990 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=1 February 2017}}</ref><ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Stirling|title=Sir David Stirling {{!}} British officer|newspaper=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2017-02-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Stirling, Sir (Archibald) David (1915–1990)|last=Mclean|first=Fitzroy|encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004}}</ref> He made four further escape attempts, before he was sent to [[Colditz Castle]], where he remained as a prisoner for the rest of the war.<ref name="britannica.com" /> He arrived on 20 August 1944 and was given the task of setting up the Colditz British Intelligence Unit by a Stay-Behind Order ([[Stay-behind|SBO]]) which was in place in the area.<ref name="Colditz">{{cite book|last1= Reid |first1=P.R.|title=Colditz, The Full Story|date=1984 |pages=258–262 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-0-312-00578-8 | url=https://archive.org/details/colditzfullstory00reid}}</ref> Following Stirling's capture, [[Paddy Mayne]] took command of the SAS.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Mayne, Robert Blair (1915–1955)|last=Jellicoe|first=George|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography}}</ref>

== Post-war activities ==
Stirling transferred to the [[Regular Reserve (United Kingdom)|Regular Army Reserve of Officers]] in 1947. Stirling was granted the honorary rank of Lt. Col as a reservist, a rank that he retained on his retirement in 1965.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=38282 |date=4 May 1948 |page=2814 |supp=y}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=43814 |date=12 November 1965 |page=10656 |supp=y}}</ref> 

===In Africa===
Stirling was the founder of the [[Capricorn Africa Society]], promoting freedom from racial discrimination in Africa. Founded in 1949, while much of Africa was still under colonial rule, it had its high point at the 1956 conference at [[Salima, Malawi|Salima]], a social event which sought to enable whites "to relate to Africans on the basis of something approximating social equality".<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=llSECgAAQBAJ&pg=PA116   |title=
Manners Make a Nation Racial Etiquette in Southern Rhodesia, 1910–1963|first= Allison Kim|last= Shutt |year= 2015|publisher=University of Rochester Press|isbn=978-1580465205}}</ref> However, because of his opposition to universal suffrage, preferring a qualified and very elitist voting franchise, educated Africans were divided on it and it attracted insufficient support. Consequently, the society's attempt to deal with the problem of different levels of social development in a non-racial way was ineffective, although it received surprising validation when the [[South African Communist Party]] used Stirling's multi-racial elitist model for its 1955 "Congress Alliance" with the [[African National Congress]] of South Africa.<ref>Bernard Leeman. ''Mandela, Sobukwe, Leballo and Mokhehle'' (Azania Press 2008), p. 32.</ref> Stirling resigned as Chairman of the Society in 1959.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j5FDAQAAIAAJ|title=British Intelligence and Covert Action: Africa, Middle East and Europe Since 1945|first1= Jonathan|last1= Bloch|first2= Patrick |last2=Fitzgerald|year=1983|page=47|publisher=Brandon|isbn=978-0862451134}}</ref>

===Libel action===
In September 1967 [[Len Deighton]] wrote an article in ''[[The Sunday Times Magazine]]'' about [[Operation Snowdrop]], a raid led by Stirling. The following year Stirling was awarded "substantial [[damages]]" in a [[libel]] action about the article.<ref name=Herald>{{cite news  |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=24 May 1968 |title=Wartime Raid is Recalled in Leader's Libel Actions |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19680524&id=vm1AAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pqMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4137,4522948&hl=en |newspaper=[[The Glasgow Herald]] |location=Glasgow |page=9 |access-date=30 March 2015 }}</ref>

=== Mercenary and arms dealer ===
After the war, Stirling organised deals to provide British weapons and military personnel to other countries, such as [[Saudi Arabia]], for various privatised foreign policy operations.<ref name="archive.org">Adam Curtis, [[The Mayfair Set]] {{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/AdamCurtis_TheMayfairSet |title=Archived copy |access-date=12 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325163150/https://archive.org/details/AdamCurtis_TheMayfairSet |archive-date=25 March 2014 }}</ref> Along with several associates, Stirling formed Watchguard International Ltd, initially with offices in [[Sloane Street]] (where the Chelsea Hotel later opened), latterly in [[South Audley Street]] in [[Mayfair]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygxbDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT77|title=Operation Lock and the War on Rhino Poaching|first=John|last= Hanks |year= 2015|publisher=Penguin Random House|isbn=978-1770227309}}</ref>

Business was chiefly with the Gulf States. He was linked, along with Denys Rowley, to a failed attempt to overthrow the [[Libya]]n ruler [[Muammar Gaddafi]] in 1970 or 1971. Stirling was the founder of “[[private military company]]” KAS International, also known as KAS Enterprises.<ref name='rhino'>{{cite news|title=Pretoria inquiry confirms secret battle for the rhino|date=18 January 1996|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/pretoria-inquiry-confirms-secret-battle-for-the-rhino-1324553.html|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=13 February 2008|location=London}}</ref>

Watchguard International Ltd was a [[private military company]], registered in Jersey in 1965 by Stirling and [[John Woodhouse (British Army officer)|John Woodhouse]]. Woodhouse's first assignment was to go to Yemen to report on the state of the royalist forces when a cease-fire was declared. At the same time Stirling was cultivating his contacts in the Iranian government and exploring the chances of obtaining work in Africa. The company operated in [[Zambia]] and in [[Sierra Leone]], providing training teams and advising on security matters, but its founders' maverick ways of doing business caused its eventual downfall. Woodhouse resigned as Director of Operations after a series of disagreements and Stirling ceased to take an active part in 1972.<ref name="sas">''The SAS: Savage Wars of Peace: 1947 to the Present'', by Anthony Kemp, John Murray, 1994, pp. 88–89{{ISBN missing}}</ref>

=== Great Britain 75 ===
In mid-1970s, Stirling became increasingly worried that an "undemocratic event" would occur and decided to organise a private army to overthrow the government. He created an organisation called Great Britain 75 and recruited members from the aristocratic clubs in Mayfair; these were mainly ex-military men, and often former SAS members. The plan was that in the event of civil unrest resulting in the breakdown of normal Government operations, they would take over its running. He described this in detail in an interview from 1974, part of which is featured in [[Adam Curtis]]'s documentary ''[[The Mayfair Set]]'', episode 1: "Who Pays Wins".<ref name="archive.org" />

In August 1974, before Stirling was ready to go public with GB75, the pacifist magazine ''[[Peace News]]'' obtained and published his plans.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://peacenews.info/node/8557/year-peace-news-was-news|title=The year Peace News was the news|date=1 December 2016|newspaper=Peace News|access-date=14 November 2022}}</ref> His biographer Alan Hoe disputed the newspaper's disparaging portrayal of Stirling as a right-wing '[[Colonel Blimp]]'.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/book-review-a-place-for-mad-people-david-stirling-alan-hoe-little-brown-1750-1550898.html | title=BOOK REVIEW / A place for mad people: 'David Stirling' – Alan Hoe| website=[[Independent.co.uk]]| date=12 September 1992}}</ref>

=== Undermining trades unionism ===
During the mid to late 1970s, Stirling created a secret organisation designed to undermine [[Trade union|trades unionism]] from within. He recruited like-minded individuals from within the trade union movement, with the express intention that they should cause as much trouble during conferences as permissible. One such member was [[Kate Losinska]], who was Head of the [[Civil and Public Services Association]]. Funding for this "operation" came primarily from his friend Sir [[James Goldsmith]].<ref name="archive.org" />

== Honours ==
[[File:Wfm david stirling statue.jpg|thumbnail|Statue of David Stirling by [[Angela Conner]] near [[Doune]], Scotland]]
Stirling was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Order]] in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in the Middle East on 24 February 1942,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=35465 |date=20 February 1942 |page=893 |supp=y}}</ref> appointed an [[Order of the British Empire|Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in the field on 14 November 1946<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=37787 |date=12 November 1946 |page=5605 |supp=y}}</ref> and appointed a [[Knight Bachelor]] in the [[1990 New Year Honours]] for services to the military.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=51981 |date=30 December 1989 |page=2 |supp=y}}</ref>

in 1984 the new base of the SAS was renamed [[Stirling Lines]] (from Bradbury Lines) in his honour.<ref>{{cite news|last=Goodwin|first=Nicola|title=SAS: Troopers tell their stories|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/herefordandworcester/low/people_and_places/history/newsid_8638000/8638149.stm|work=[[BBC News]]|date=6 May 2010|access-date=23 June 2017}}</ref>

In 2002 the SAS memorial, a statue of Stirling standing on a rock, was unveiled on the [[Hill of Row]] near his family's estate at Park of Keir. Two bronze plaques were stolen from the statue sometime around the end of May 2014.<ref>{{cite news |title=Police probe after plaques stolen from SAS memorial |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-27716544 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=5 June 2014 |access-date=9 May 2018}}</ref> The current Laird of the Keir estate is his nephew [[Archie Stirling]], a millionaire businessman and former Scots Guards officer.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hattersley |first1=Giles |title=Playboy trying to keep the kingdom united |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/scotland-travel/playboy-trying-to-keep-the-kingdom-united-ldxdtv8gbhc |access-date=1 February 2021 |work=The Times |date=4 March 2007 |language=en |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
Stirling was depicted by [[Connor Swindells]] in the 2022 television historical drama ''[[SAS: Rogue Heroes]]''.<ref name="Grdn">{{cite news |last1=Nicholson |first1=Rebecca |title=SAS: Rogue Heroes review – is the follow up to Peaky Blinders fun? Does Arthur Shelby like a drink? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/oct/30/sas-rogue-heroes-review-is-the-follow-up-to-peaky-blinders-fun-does-arthur-shelby-like-a-drink |access-date=31 October 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=30 October 2022}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of French paratrooper units]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* [http://www.electricscotland.com/history/men/stirling.htm ''Significant Scots'': biography of Sir David Stirling]
* {{cite book
 | last = Cowles
 | first = Virginia
 | title = The Phantom Major: The Story of David Stirling and the SAS Regiment
 | publisher = Collins
 | year = 2011
 | orig-year = 1958
 | isbn = 978-1848843868
| author-link =Virginia Cowles
}}
*{{cite book
 | last = Mortimer
 | first = Gavin
 | title = Stirling's Men: The Inside History of the SAS in World War Two
 | publisher = Cassell
 | year = 2004
 | isbn=978-0304367061
| author-link=Gavin Mortimer
}}
* {{cite book
 | last = Mortimer
 | first = Gavin
 | title = Stirling's Desert Triumph: The SAS Egyptian Airfield Raids 1942
 | series = Osprey Raid Series
 | volume = 49
 | publisher = Osprey Publishing
 | year = 2015
 | isbn = 978-1472807632
| author-link=Gavin Mortimer
}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, David}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:Nobility from Stirling (council area)]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Stirling (council area)]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Scottish Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Prisoners of war held at Colditz Castle]]
[[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Scottish knights]]
[[Category:Lecropt]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People educated at Ampleforth College]]
[[Category:Scots Guards officers]]
[[Category:Special Air Service officers]]
[[Category:British Army Commandos officers]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]
[[Category:British World War II prisoners of war]]
[[Category:World War II prisoners of war held by Italy]]
[[Category:Clan Stirling|David]]