The Ron Penhall Collection

The Second World War S.A.S. operations D.C.M., M.M. group of eleven awarded to Squadron Sergeant-Major A. R. “Reg” Seekings, a founder member of ‘L’ Detachment, Special Air Service, and one of the great “names” to emerge from the ranks of that elite corps in the desert war and beyond: a useful boxer, he did not suffer fools gladly and always spoke his mind

Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.VI.R. (5933155 L. Sjt. A. R. Seekings, Camb. R.); Military Medal, G.VI.R. (5933155 Sjt. A. R. Seekings, Suff. R.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star, clasp, 8th Army; Italy Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf; Efficiency Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue, Territorial (5933155 W.O. Cl. 2 A. R. Seekings, Para. Regt.); Rhodesia General Service Medal (11493B R./Insp. A. R. Seekings); Zimbabwe Independence Medal 1980, officially numbered ‘50304’, mounted as worn, generally good very fine or better (11) £25,000-30,000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Ron Penhall Collection.

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D.C.M. London Gazette 26 November 1942. The original recommendation - submitted by Lieutenant-Colonel David Stirling, D.S.O. - states:

‘This N.C.O. has taken an important part in ten raids. He has himself destroyed over 15 aircraft and by virtue of his accuracy with a tommy-gun at night, and through complete disregard of his personal safety, he has killed at least ten of the enemy. He particularly distinguished himself on the raid at Benina in June 1942. It is requested that no details should be published of these operations owing to their secrecy.’

M.M. London Gazette 18 November 1943. The original recommendation - submitted by Lieutenant-Colonel R. B. “Paddy” Mayne, D.S.O. - states:

‘During the attack on the Coastal Defence Battery on Cape Murro di Porco, the advance of No. 1 Troop was held up by an enemy pill-box which was enfilading their position. Sergeant R. Seekings was in charge of a sub-section which came under machine-gun fire from this pill-box, and also mortar fire from an adjacent enemy post. He appreciated the position and extricating his sub-section advanced on the pill-box from a flank. They were again engaged by the pill-box, but Sergeant Seekings himself rushed the pill-box and with grenades and finally his revolver, killed the occupants. He then collected his sub-section and advanced on, and wiped out, the mortar post, thus allowing the Troop to continue their advance. He continued to fight with determination and coolness, and was in the forefront of the final charge which captured the enemy guns.’

Mention in despatches London Gazette 8 November 1945.

Albert Reginald “Reg” Seekings was born at Stuntney, near Ely in Cambridgeshire in March 1920, and attended the local school until becoming a farm hand at the age of 14 years. Four years later he joined the Cambridgeshire Regiment (Territorials), in which unit he excelled as a boxer, winning a number of contests over East Anglia in the period leading upto the outbreak of hostilities.

‘L’ Detachment, S.A.S. - North Africa - early operations

In 1940, with his brother, Seekings volunteered for “Lay Force”, the Commando led by Lieutenant-Colonel Bob Laycock, and with whom he saw action in the Middle East. And it was when this unit was disbanded that David Stirling arrived on the scene to find recruits for his fledgling ‘L’ Detachment, Seekings being among the first to step forward - one of 64 men who became the founding members of the Special Air Service, and one who, by his positive and powerful influence, and undoubted courage, would quickly establish himself as one of the regiment’s all time “Greats”.

Intense training followed at Kabrit, in readiness for the unit’s first operation, and Seekings was among the 54 men chosen. Clambering aboard three aircraft on the night of 16-17 November 1941, Stirling’s force was parachuted into the desert in the vicinity of Tmimi, their objective to destroy nearby enemy aircraft and sheds. In the event, the operation was a complete disaster. Most of the men landed way off target and were unable to re-group due to a ferocious storm, added to which their explosives were ruined by rain. Several injured men had to be left where they had fallen and by the time the scattered remnants were picked up by the Long Range Desert Group (L.R.D.G.), only 21 men of the original force remained, a badly bruised and cut Seekings among them - on landing he had been dragged off across the desert at such speed that his face and arms were skinned, and he ended up in a thorn bush before he could bring his wayward canopy under control.

As a result of this unpromising and costly start, it was decided that future operations would be carried out with the assistance of the L.R.D.G., rather than risk the hit and miss potential of parachute descent. And one of the first of these operations was carried out that December, Seekings forming part of “Paddy” Mayne’s patrol - their objective the enemy airfield at Tamit. One of their number, Lance-Sergeant R. “Bob” Bennett, later described the outcome of events:

‘It went without a hitch. We didn’t meet anything on the way in and before we knew it we were groping around the airfield. Black as pitch it was, couldn’t see a thing. Then Paddy spotted a Nissen hut affair and sneaked up to it. He obviously heard something inside because the next thing we knew he’d dragged the bloody door open and was letting rip with his tommy-gun. Screams from inside and the lights went out ... The buggers inside soon started firing. Paddy put a couple of guys on the ground to keep the Krauts’ heads down and the rest of us went after the planes. We got through all our bombs pretty quick - brilliant those Lewes bombs. Quick and easy. Afterwards Reg [Seekings] said there wasn’t a bomb left for the last plane and Paddy got so pissed off that he climbed up to the cockpit and demolished it with his bare hands. What a feller ... We got moving fast, but even so the first bomb went off before we even cleared the airfield. We had to stop to look, didn’t we. What a sight, flames and muck all over the place. We headed straight out to the L.R.D.G. lads. There was a bit of a kerfuffle when the Krauts caught us using flashing lights to find the RV - they started flashing their own but we used our whistles as a back-up and we got back O.K.’

For no loss, Mayne’s party had destroyed 24 aircraft on the ground. Hereafter, however, Seekings teamed up with David Stirling and, in company with “Johnny” Cooper, a fellow stalwart of the fledgling S.A.S. who would become a lifelong friend, acted as semi-official bodyguard to his C.O. New Year 1942 brought no respite to the S.A.S’s operational agenda, one of the more notable patrols carried out that January being the raid on the port of Bouerat - a long and hazardous journey that encompassed descent of the steep, rock strewn defile at Wadi Tamit. Seekings takes up the story:

‘Two ropes were fastened to the back of each truck. The driver stayed in the vehicle, two men were in position to check the front wheels and the rest hung on to the tow ropes for dear life to try and slow it down. My vehicle hadn’t gone far when the back end started to swing. The driver didn’t bale out - he put his foot down hard. The vehicle straightened and he went down at a hell of a speed. He must have had a real nerve because he kept control and got it safely to the bottom. We got to the bottom none too soon. An Italian plane skimmed the wadi edge and it spotted us. I was behind some large rocks which suddenly became the size of peas. Our driver got into the truck to move it but a pair of pants had been hung over the radiator and got caught in the fan so he gave this up as a bad job and took shelter with the rest of us ... ’

The patrol subsequently endured five or six hours of blind bombing and strafing and it was not until just before first light that they were able to emerge from assorted caves and rocky outcrops to take stock of their position. And it was quickly apparent that they no longer had the company of their radio-truck and operators - none of whom were ever seen again. Nonetheless, Stirling decided to carry on, and, on reaching a point about 60 miles from the target, placed his 20-strong assault team on a single lorry for the final approach. One mile out, the assault force broke off into smaller groups, heading off into the darkness laden with bombs, and before too long assorted warehouses were festooned with explosives. Much to Stirling’s delight, too, Seekings spotted some petrol tankers, thereby adding to the fireworks to follow - the raiders felt the tremors of the explosions and watched the ‘desert sky turn red with flames of burning petrol turning to dense, black smoke as dawn broke’. Having then got back to their transport, and linked up with a S.B.S. team that had come along to blow-up the port’s radio station, the whole beat a hasty retreat, until, that is, Stirling decided to blow-up another petrol tanker they spotted on the side of the road. Sergeant C. G. G. “Pat” Riley takes up the story:

‘Major Stirling went forward with Reg [Seekings] to lay the bomb. The crazy beggar put it on a ten-second fuse. We all took cover but nothing happened. Then Major S. and Reg went back and picked the damned bomb up just as the time pencil decided to go into action. The bomb was dropped and they took great dives across the road and down the bank as the bomb went off with a ruddy great bang. It then got hilarious - out of the cab jumped this Eyetie driver. No boots and no trousers either. Somebody fired his gun, into the air I think, and the poor bugger saw us and ran forward to surrender to Reg. I’m surprised he didn’t die of fright. There wasn’t a man amongst us under six foot two, all with dirty, matted beards and bulging with warm clothes ... ’

A little further down the road matters became more serious, the patrol running into an Italian ambush, and but for Stirling’s driver, who sped through the gunfire without any hesitation, and for the withering return fire put down by Seekings and “Johnny” Cooper, all were agreed that it would have been their last mission.

In March, and having obtained what became known as the “Blitz Buggy” - a Ford shooting-brake converted into an open truck, painted in the drab olive grey of enemy vehicles, with twin-Vickers mounted at the rear and a single on the front - Stirling took Seekings, Cooper and a brace of S.B.S. men on a reconnaissance of Benghazi. With headlamps blazing, they simply drove straight into town and parked by the waterfront, but the water was too rough for the S.B.S. to carry out their side of the operation. By this stage the Stirling-Seekins-Cooper team had become virtually inseparable, and the former came to rely on them more than ever:

‘They were utterly dependable and there was an almost intuitive rapport between them. A marvellous team, they could laugh easily regardless of circumstances. I interrupted their rest on a number of occasions in Cairo. When I was using [his brother] Peter’s flat and needed things doing I’m afraid it was often Seekings and Cooper who were telephoned. Paddy Mayne and I would study the intelligence reports and photographs and decide our next jolly and then we’d hand over all the details to the pair of them.They would be left to calculate things like petrol, ammunition and ration requirements and then liaise with Riley to decide if any sort of ‘top-up’ training was necessary. As far as I know they never got it wrong ... ’ (David Stirling, the authorised biography by Alan Hoe, refers).

Recent new recruits to Stirling’s force about this time included Fitzroy Maclean, but less welcome were the advances of the Prime Minister’s son, Randolph Churchill, although Stirling did agree to take him along on a visit to Benghazi in May 1942, if only because he knew Winston would subsequently be the recipient of a favourable despatch from his son, thereby increasing the S.A.S’s reputation. Seekings, however, did not get as far as the target on this occasion, having injured his hand on a faulty detonator while fitting fuses to Lewes bombs at Jebel Akhdar - much to his disgust, Stirling asked him to stay behind. So, too, was the next mission aborted, when the “Blitz Buggy” ran over a mine, but Stirling, Seekings and Cooper emerged unscathed.

The raid on Benina

In June, however, the intrepid trio’s fortunes took a turn for the better, when they achieved outstanding success in a raid on the enemy’s airfield and main repair base at Benina:

‘They got to the field without difficulty in the middle of a bombing raid by the R.A.F. on Benghazi, and sat there while their leader gave them a lecture on deer-stalking in the Highlands. There was no reason for not talking, and the two young soldiers listened to the tall quietly spoken officer as he explained the skills of silent movement. Once the commotion had died down, he told them to break the time pencils and get to work. They placed the bombs on two isolated aircraft and then headed for the hangars where they expected to find some worthwhile booty. Creeping round from hangar to hangar and dodging patrolling sentries they successfully ensured the destruction of several more aircraft, brand-new crated engines and machinery. As a final gesture they came upon the guardroom. Stirling kicked open the door and threw in a grenade, apparently saying “Here, catch.” As the bombs in the hangars started to go off they beat a hasty retreat across the field.

Scrambling up the escarpment leading into the mountain ridge of the Jebel, David was forced to call a halt, saying that he was feeling unwell. The three of them sat down and watched the fantastic firework display on the airfield that they had caused. The ammunition in the burning aircraft went off, weaving patterns of coloured tracer against a massive fire caused by the burning fuel stores. Then the anti-aircraft guns opened up, firing into the air against an imagined air raid. Tiny figures in the distance, silhouetted against the flames, rushed about trying to extinguish the blazing hangars. Johnny Cooper thought it almost impossible that three men carrying only sixty small bombs between them had created such havoc’ (The S.A.S. at War 1941-1945, by Anthony Kemp, refers).

Stirling’s sudden halt was caused by of one of his migraine attacks, but he was in safe hands with Seekings and Cooper, who led him, staggering to the top of the ridge. At length, Seekings also found a disused well, the water from which did much to lessen his C.O’s discomfort. They laid up until dawn, when they made their way to a previously agreed rendezvous, for Paddy Mayne and his team had also been out that night. What followed was foolhardy, for Stirling decided to show Mayne the results of his handiwork at Benina, and, with a borrowed L.R.D.G. truck - which he promised to return intact to its understandably concerned officer - he set off down the road to Benghazi. Crammed in the back were Seekings and Cooper, two other S.A.S. men from Mayne’s party (Lilley and Storey), and a Palestian Jew by the name of Kahane, whose fluent German was intended to guide them through any roadblocks. Kemp’s definitive history continues:

‘At nightfall they set off down the escarpment and in holiday mood were soon bowling merrily along the coast road. Just as they got to Benina airfield, Lilley shouted out that there was trouble ahead - a string of red lights across the road. They came to a halt at a barrier, assuming it was manned by a few nervous Italians. The reality was a group of at least a dozen efficient-looking Germans armed with machine pistols. An N.C.O. clutching a grenade marched up to the barrier and Kahane told him that they were coming back from the front and were in a hurry. In the back, the rest of the group clutched their tommy-guns and eased pins out of grenades. The German N.C.O. demanded the password. Kahane gave him one for the previous month, explaining that they had been out in the desert for six weeks. He even embellished the story in a flood of fluent German, explaining that they had captured the British truck and had had a hard time of it at the front. Then, just as the sentry was starting to relax, Mayne cocked his Colt .45 automatic. This was followed by a series of similar clicks from the back. The sentry, faced with the prospect of instant death, ordered the barrier to be opened, and the Chevrolet drove through.

A few miles further down the road they came on a group of Italians with rifles waving at them to stop, obviously having been alerted by the German post. Mayne put his foot down and Seekings dispersed the enemy with a burst from the Vickers machine-gun in the back. It was clear that they were in a trap but still they went on until they reached a roadside filling station and a cafe. Men leaped from the back and swiftly placed bombs among the enemy transport parked there. Then as they roared away they machine-gunned the buildings. Lights were already showing back down the road along which they had come, and in the distance was the sound of shots being fired. It was time to depart.

They decided to cut across the coastal plain and head for a wadi that would provide a route back to the top of the escarpment. Driving fast, their truck jolted and lurched over the uneven desert towards safety. Dodging a motorized patrol sent out to cut them off, they made the crossing point and, just as dawn broke, managed to shove and coax the truck up the steep track. Just as they reached the top and comparative safety, Lilley yelled for everyone to bale out. He had smelt burning and realized that the time pencil in one of their bombs had activated. They had twenty seconds. Johnny Cooper still has vivid memories of that frightening moment. “I never left a vehicle more quickly in my life. I flew over Paddy’s shoulders, bounced off the bonnet and rushed away like a madman. The explosion, seconds later, bowled us all over. The truck was blown to kingdom come. Miraculously nobody was hurt. Once again, Allah had been generous.”

It was said afterwards that the remains of the truck could have been packed into a kitbag. Somewhat bruised, the raiding party made their way back to the rendezvous on foot, with David Stirling wondering how he was going to explain away the loss of the truck ... ’

The raid on Sidi Haneish

In the following month, Stirling’s force was to complete yet another highly successful attack on an enemy airfield at Sidi Haneish, near Fuka, but this time using specially adapted jeeps that were covered in an extraordinary array of military hardware, not least twin Vickers K machine-guns that put up a rate of fire of over 1,000 rounds per minute - a lethal mixture of incendiary, explosive and tracer rounds. Anthony Kemp’s history continues:

‘The jeep force set off in the late afternoon of 26 July, with about forty miles to cover to the coastal plain. They travelled in open formation, picking their way round obstacles and frequently having to stop to mend punctures. After about four and a half hours of driving, Sadler calculated that they were one mile away from the target, although there was absolutely nothing to see. Stirling ordered the crews to take up formation and, bumping over the rough ground in the moonlight, they headed for the airfield. Then suddenly the whole scene was illuminated as the runway lights were switched on. Above them they heard the drone of engines as a German bomber swept in to land. They had not been spotted after all. Without a moment’s hesitation Stirling’s jeep [with Seekings and Cooper] headed for the runway, the fighting formation behind him. The guns opened up with a deafening roar, and immediately the lights were switched off. That did not matter for soon burning aircraft lit the scene as though it was daylight. On down between the lines of parked aircraft they went, like Nelson’s battleships at Trafalgar, firing broadsides to left and right. The enemy opened up with machine-guns, but the glare of fires made it difficult for them to aim accurately. Stirling’s jeep came to a stop. Cooper leaped out and opened the bonnet, to discover that a round had penetrated the cylinder block. Sandy Scratcher’s jeep came past and picked them up. His rear gunner lay sprawled dead in the back.

In the midst of all this, Stirling calmly called a halt so that he could give orders for further targets. Then they were off again wheeling around the perimeter shooting up buildings and yet more aircraft. As they finally drove away from the scene, Paddy Mayne was observed to jump out of his jeep, run across to a parked aircraft and place a bomb on the wing.

Once off the airfield, Stirling gave orders for the jeeps to split up and make for the rendezvous separately, as he was sure the following morning the skies would be full of angry German fighters out looking for them. Casualties amounted to one man killed, a few flesh wounds and two jeeps destroyed. The S.A.S. claimed forty aircraft, many of them Junkers 52 transporters which Rommel relied on for bringing up supplies. The raid had been a triumphant vindication of Stirling’s theory that his unit could operate regardless of the phase of the moon and could get on to heavily defended targets ... ’

No such triumph emerged from the unit’s next raid on Benghazi that September, an action that commenced with Captain “Bill” Cumper - the unit’s engineer who was along for the ride - announcing to all and sundry, “Let battle commence”, and which ended in complete chaos as the waiting enemy replied in kind. Such was the rapidity of the enemy’s response that Cumper hurled himself into the back of Stirling’s jeep, telling Seekings, “If this is the bloody S.A.S. you can keep it, you crazy bastard!” By the time the patrol finally got back to British lines, after being subjected to two days of accurate strafing and bombing, six men had been killed, eighteen wounded and another five posted missing; moreover, 25 trucks and 20 jeeps had been abandoned or destroyed. Notwithstanding this unfortunate turn of events, and Middle East H.Q’s application of stronger powers to influence the movements of Stirling’s force, all were gratified to learn of official approval being granted for regimental status, the unit henceforth being titled “1st S.A.S. Regiment” and divided into four combat squadrons - ‘A’, ‘B’, the Free French (later ‘C’) and the Folboat Section (the S.B.S., later ‘D’).

As it transpired, these changes resulted in Seekings being posted to ‘B’ Squadron to train-up new recruits, but in due course - around late November, when his D.C.M. was gazetted - the whole went operational, Stirling having ordered them to carry out raids as far west as Tripoli. Divided up into eight patrols of three jeeps each, the Squadron ran into serious opposition, and within a few days most had been killed or captured. Just a few got away, all of them old desert hands, among them “Reg” Seekings, who was awarded some long overdue leave. Stirling, meanwhile, was less fortunate, being taken P.O.W. leading another patrol in the New Year.

Sicily and Italy

Command of 1st S.A.S. temporarily fell to Paddy Mayne but in April 1943, following further alterations made by Middle East H.Q., the force was reduced to a strength of 250 men (including Seekings) and re-designated the “Special Raiding Squadron” (S.R.S.).

Embarked for Palestine, the S.R.S. commenced training for the forthcoming invasion of Sicily, and it was on their very first operation, against the Italian gun-emplacements atop Cape Murro di Porco, that Seekings was recommended by Paddy Mayne for his immediate M.M. The force came ashore in the early morning hours, having been dropped off by L.C.A’s in a rough sea, and one of the first to scale the cliff from the beach was Seekings, who suddenly encountered and nearly shot one of our own Airborne officers - like so many of them dropped way off their appointed DZs. Thanks largely to Seekings, the enemy gun-emplacements were quickly taken and by the time the S.R.S. linked up with elements of the 5th Division at Syracuse on the following day, they had taken 500 Italians prisoners.

Just 24 hours later, after being re-embarked in the good ship Ulster Monarch, Mayne was ordered to ready his force to take the port of Augusta. The town was strongly defended and a lot of fire greeted their arrival in the L.C.As, but by dusk on 12 July 1943, Mayne was able to report that the objective had been taken - one account of the action states that Seekings was grazed on the throat by a sniper’s bullet but refused medical treatment.

But due to the Navy’s nervous disposition in respect of reported mines and traps, the S.R.S’s subsequent attack on Bagnara, on 3 September, nearly ended before it got started. Seekings, however, who was travelling in the leading L.C.A., saved the day - “I stuck my tommy-gun in the officer’s back and said, “Land us.” ’ That objective taken, at the cost of five killed and seventeen wounded, the S.R.S. were next ordered, in a multi-force operation in early October, to take Termoli. It was to be the unit’s last operation in this theatre of war, and a very costly one, for a day or two after the port had been taken, the Germans mounted a serious counter-attack. Ordering his men into a captured enemy truck, to make haste to the main trouble spot, Seekings was just fastening the tailboard when a shell landed right in the middle of the men in the back. He takes up the story:

‘We were smothered in bits of flesh. It was hanging on the ’phone wires, on the roof, a helluva a mess. There was a whole family that had been doing a bit of washing for us - they were just standing there waving us off. They were dead, lying in a heap. The woman must have been split open. The man was blown apart, disembowelled, and a young boy, about twelve years old. One of my men was burning. It was the first time I had seen a body burning and I didn’t realize how fast a body can burn. That was Skinner. He was dead. I was stepping over bodies to get to some water to pour on Skinner, and this young boy was lying on top. His guts were blown out like a huge balloon. He got up and ran away screaming. Terrible sight. I had to shoot him. There was absolutely no hope for him, and you couldn’t let anyone suffer like that.’

Eighteen men died.

Back in action, Seekings was ordered by Mayne to investigate a source of enemy fire and, to the astonishment of all present, he calmly walked out into the open - so shocked were the enemy that none of them opened fire, even though he was well within range: as one obituarist put it, ‘Seekings firm belief in himself was never more in evidence’ and this was fortuitous - for the challenges of North-West Europe still lay ahead.

North-West Europe

Again the subject of structural change, the S.R.S. re-emerged as 1st S.A.S., among other Brigade components, for the forthcoming Normandy invasion, and it was under the auspices of “Operation Houndsworth” that Seekings was parachuted into the Morvan Hills, west of Dijon, on the night of 5-6 June 1944, in the company of the newly commissioned “Johnny” Cooper, the pair of them forming part of ‘A’ Squadron’s advance team. Their immediate task was to establish a base, make contact with the Maquis and to locate a suitable DZ for the remainder of ‘A’ Squadron. Thereafter, assuming all went to plan, operations would commence in earnest against the enemy, their objective being to prevent reinforcements journeying north to Normandy: unlike sister initiative “Operation Bulbasket”, which ended with the murder of over 30 S.A.S. men, “Houndsworth” proved a complete success.

Two or three men had a pretty rough landing due to the foul weather that night, Cooper actually knocking himself out on a stone wall, but by dawn the parachutists had re-assembled in readiness for the release of their carrier-pigeons, each bearing a coded message that confirmed that the team had safely arrived. It proved a comical moment, for Seekings was swiftly moved to rage when the hapless birds refused to get airborne, ‘swore like hell and rushed after them, flapping his arms and shouting’, until, at length, they finally took off and headed over the horizon.

Later that day, contact was made with the Maquis, and a suitable DZ selected for their first supply drop, 24 containers arriving just 48 hours after “Operation Houndsworth” had commenced. And by mid-June the remainder of ‘A’ Squadron were in place, together with jeeps and other vital equipment, including mortars. Inevitably, too, the enemy arrived, such a large British and Maquis force being virtually impossible to conceal from prying eyes. As it transpired, many of them were Russians - ex-P.O.Ws who had volunteered to serve their captors - but very much under the command of German officers and N.C.Os. They launched their first attack on “Houndsworth” on a Sunday evening, Seekings being hit by a bullet in the back of the neck which narrowly missed his spine. Without anaesthetic a Maquis doctor dug around but could not locate it and there it remained for several long months before finally being removed in an operation back at Chelmsford Hospital: meanwhile, after being nursed for just a few days by the unit’s popular Padre, Fraser McLuskey, Seekings returned to an operational footing.

In July, the enemy moved into the area in greater strength and proceeded to take hostages and torch local houses and farms. One such target was the village of Montsauche, where they captured several members of the Maquis, and the S.A.S., assisted by the Resistance, set up an ambush to rescue them. Seekings, Cooper and another S.A.S. man hid in a field, Brens at the ready, to cover the ambush’s ‘killing ground’. Cooper takes up the story:

‘From my position I observed the two leading motorcyclists come up the slope and disappear around the bend to be clobbered by Wellsted. At the same moment the first three tonner crammed with soldiers drew level with the wood pile and over came the plastic bombs. One hit the bonnet and the other the rear of the vehicle. Pandemonium among the occupants. Many were killed by the fire from the Maquis as they fled across the road towards the open fields. Our brens opened up with devastating effect and many of the Russians retreated back to the ditch, which was in Reg’s sights. It was a massacre. Three trucks were set on fire and the hostages were released unharmed from two civilian cars.’

But there was a tragic twist to this incident, for the Germans returned to Montsauche, burnt it to the ground and shot 13 villagers, including the mayor and the parish priest. Indeed the pace of enemy activity and reprisals rarely slackened, the S.A.S. and Maquis headquarters being attacked in early August - luckily some well-sited mortars and 6-pounders sent them packing. Meanwhile, the S.A.S. had carried out a number of acts of sabotage, Seekings participating in one such operation against a petrol refinery at Autun - two jeeps covered the journey of 40 miles, one carrying a mortar team and the other Cooper and Seekings. The raid was a complete success and the refinery left ablaze, largely due to the mixture of incendiary, smoke and high-explosive bombs made up by Seekings.

It was about this time that “Houndsworth” were paid a visit by Paddy Mayne, who dropped in wearing his number one uniform, complete with medal ribands and Sam Browne belt - and with his gramophone strapped to his leg. At length, however, following further successful operations, ‘A’ Squadron was withdrawn to the U.K., its members exhausted after three months of constant strain and action - Seekings made his way to the U.S. lines in a ‘captured’ Ford V.8, the little convoy being waved off to cheers from the locals and protected by elements of newly arrived ‘C’ Squadron. During those three months, operating in an area covering 6,000 square miles, ‘A’ Squadron had cut 22 railway lines, killed or wounded over 200 enemy troops, and reported 30 valuable bombing targets.

Later, back on operations in Germany, when ‘A’ Squadron, 1st S.A.S., formed part of “Frankforce”, it was Seekings who became the first soldier of the Allied forces to step over the threshold of Belsen concentration camp - unable to cope with the scale of the problem within, the unit was compelled to move on, but not before Seekings had given the commandant appropriate orders. His great friend, “Johnny” Cooper, later recalled how the S.A.S. men had stood aghast at the gates, and how the effect on Seekings was one of ‘utter rage’.

Seekings, who had been advanced to Squadron Sergeant-Major back in September 1944, was mentioned in despatches.

When the S.A.S. was disbanded at the end of 1945, he returned to Cambridgeshire, where he became landlord of the “Rifleman Arms” in Ely, but in the mid-1950s he and his wife moved to Southern Rhodesia to take up farming.

Rhodesia: counter-insurgency operations with P.A.T.U.1966-80

It was here, as an Inspector in the Marlborough Police Field Reserve, that Seekings helped establish the Police Anti-Terrorist Unit (P.A.T.U.), a specialist B.S.A.P. unit trained in counter-insurgency, in the 1960s. And while his wartime experiences were crucial in developing what became known as “Reg’s P.T. Classes” - in point of fact a series of extremely tough and demanding qualification courses - his role was not solely limited to training. In fact he participated in numerous covert operations in the Zambezi valley, about which he later wrote:

‘You could have a flurry of contacts and then there would be long periods with no contact at all. That was the trouble. It was really ball-aching for the chaps going in and then there would be a new incursion with new groups coming into the country and all of a sudden the place would come alive. The plan was for us to be seen as often as possible on the river banks by the opposition, the idea being to stop them having a clear run. Instead of having a clear passage across the valley at night, if they saw us here, there and everywhere, they would never know where we were going to be and they had to proceed with caution. The longer it took them to cross the valley, the less liklihood there was of them being an active force when they reached the other side. They’d be physically buggered and short of food and water, and suffering. Mentally, too, they’d be in trouble and that was when we were able to pick them up ... However, these fighting groups would be anything from half a dozen to a dozen men and some of them were highly dangerous and very courageous.’

Having duly qualified for the Rhodesian General Service Medal - and the Zimbabwe Independence Medal - Seekings retired to Suffolk in 1982, where he died at Stanton in March 1999.

Sold with a quantity of original documentation and artefacts, including:

(i) The recipient’s Soldier’s Service and Pay Book and his Soldier’s Release Book (Class ‘A’).

(ii) Several exercise books containing his handwritten wartime reminiscences.

(iii) 1st S.A.S. Regiment certificate confirming active service from August 1941 to November 1945 (‘Western Desert, Italy and N.W. Europe’), dated 16 November 1945.

(iv) A selection of wartime period photographs (approximately 35 images), including disturbing scenes from Belsen.

(v) Original embroidered wartime “1st S.A.S.”, Airborne “Wings” and S.A.S. badges.

(vi) A series of certificates, documents and photographs appertaining to his time in Rhodesia and more specifically his service in the B.S.A.P. and P.A.T.U., including cloth uniform insignia for the latter; and his Rhodesian (1968) and British passports (1983).

(vii) A quantity of invitations and programmes, etc., appertaining to post-war S.A.S. reunions, and correspondence and scripts relating to B.B.C. and Thames Television projects, including arrangements for Seekings to appear on “This Is Your Life”, but with “Johnny” Cooper in the chair.

(viii) A modern oil painting depicting the action at Sidi Haneish, near Fuka, with Seekings in action on the twin-Vickers in Stirling’s leading jeep.

Provenance: direct purchase from the recipient.