Jonathan Anderson

Mark Barber sends me an appeal for information about WW2 paratrooper Wilfred 'Chick' Hennon (pictured, prior to his jump into Arnhem with 4Bde Defence Platoon). Please share widely and post any leads or info. Huge thanks: "Dear Mr Lewis, I'm currently researching the wartime service of my wife's grandfather, Wilfred Hennon (known as Chick), Army Service Number 6913125, and wondered whether his name might have cropped up during your research into the wartime SAS. I have managed to establish a fairly comprehensive picture of his earlier service with the Rifle Brigade and his subsequent service with the Parachute Regiment, including his involvement at Arnhem, where he was captured on 19th September 1944. However, there is a missing chapter in his military history concerning his time with 1 SAS, (possibly B Squadron). From the information I have been able to piece together, I believe he may have served with 1 SAS approximately between late 1942 and early 1943, in Egypt and the Nile Delta. His own recollections suggest that, following the fighting at El Alamein, he returned to the Nile Delta rather than continuing with the advance towards Tunisia and Tripoli. Unfortunately, the only information I have been able to find specifically confirming his association with 1 SAS comes from the Cornelius questionnaire. I have not yet managed to locate any independent documentary evidence confirming his posting or establishing the exact dates. Given your extensive research and published work on the wartime SAS, I wondered whether you had ever encountered Wilfred Hennon's name, or whether you might be able to point me in the right direction as to where I could find further information. I appreciate that this is a rather specific enquiry, but any advice, suggestions or possible avenues of research would be greatly appreciated. Even a small lead could help me fill an important gap in his story. Many thanks for your time, and for the work you have done documenting the history of these men. Kind regards, Mark Barber."

Carol Cronshaw messages me about the Poppy of Honour initiative. Do share widely and support if you can: "Morning Damien. Do you know about the Poppy of Honour. This Poppy shaped memorial holds 1,117,635 individual poppies. Over 250000 people from 37 countries hand wrote the name, rank and date on someone who died in WW1. I am tasked with fundraising to build a pavilion to house it permanently at Maidenbrook Country Park. There will be a plaque for Paddy Mayne near the pavilion. We are a small parish council but with a big heart. At Maidenbrook Country Park we are developing a Memorial Walk. Starting with a 40 Commando stone we have a WW11 Memorial then a Falklands Momorial a Wrens tree and at the top of the hill will be the Poppy of Honour. At the four corners of the Pavilion will stand 4 Sentinels in reverse arms position. We have been donated 3.5million poppy seeds so in May and June when the poppies are out the Sentinels will look like they are floating on a bed of poppies. My take is that it will give the Tower of London a run for its money. My background I come from an army background. One of my relatives served in Hereford and both my brothers joined up in the boys service as indeed my father did. He ended up in the Royal Corps of Signals. We are seeking donations either individually or corporate. Once the Poppy is installed we can apply for Commonwealth status and it will be the only Memorial to hold both titles. If people wish to donate they can google Operation Tribute or this is the link collectcheckout.com/r/j6wbd collectcheckout.com

Todays papers: fantastic coverage of the ceremony to honour Newtownards - and Britain's? - most famous frontline soldier. Do please share widely and spread the word.

Jason Gillard messages me about the AMAZING initiative. If you could share that would be Amazing. "I actually auctioned off watch number 001 Darren George at the NI Veterans awards and went for £15,000. The 457 Watch Project is a veteran-led initiative commemorating the 457 British service personnel who lost their lives during Operation Herrick in Afghanistan. Nomadic Watches in Belfast is crafting a strictly limited edition of 457 individually numbered watches (available in 41mm men's and 36mm women's sizes). Each watch is dedicated to one of the fallen service members, numbered in order of the date they died. Every watch comes paired with a dedicated tribute artwork created by military artist Kev Wills MBE and a permanent commemorative book entry detailing the individual's story. The watch caseback features space for 30 characters of custom engraving (such as service numbers, tour dates, or personal inscriptions). The watches are priced at £1,457 each. Of that amount, £457 per watch goes directly to two charities, split equally: Walking With The Wounded & Scotty’s – The Military Bereavement Charity. If all 457 watches are allocated, the project will raise £208,849 for the charities. Developed by Jason Gillard (founder of the Northern Ireland Veterans Awards) through his organisation Connect Through Service (CTS)." The website is the457.co.uk

HUSH - MOST SECRET: the thrill of getting deep into some new WW2 research files ...

Many Second World War units are remembered at the National Memorial Arboretum. The Long Range Desert Group is not yet among them. Help us change all that. Please share widely. Thanks. lrdgmemorialfund.org/

What more needs to be said? Today's Rugby Post. Please share widely. Thanks.

Sadly, the last known surviving WW2 veteran of the SAS, Matthew "Matt/Jock" Mackinnon-Pattison died on Thursday 5th November aged 102years. We remember Matthew. Here is a summary of Matthew's wartime service. Please share widely: Matt MacKinnon Pattison was among hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers who fought Germans in Italy in the spring of 1944. Sometimes remembered as the "D-Day Dodgers", in reference to their role away from Normandy, men in Italy faced brutal conditions as they battled to take Monte Cassino and dislodge enemy soldiers. "We came back from Italy having flogged ourselves to pieces, nervous wrecks, and people say 'where were you on D-Day?'" said Matt, from Penrith, Cumbria. "We just say we were busy bloody well fighting." British Prime Minister Winston Churchill thought of Italy as the "soft underbelly" of Nazi-dominated Europe, but the campaign there proved difficult and costly. With perhaps typical military irony, the men in Italy adopted the "D-Day Dodgers" moniker, even creating a song to the tune of Lili Marleen, a famous wartime melody. "We are the D-Day Dodgers in sunny Italy," rang the chorus. But this was no sojourn in the sun and the Allied forces knew it. Enemy soldiers were dug in on defensive lines across the country, and at Monte Cassino it took four separate attacks from US, British, Polish and Commonwealth forces to destroy and take the hilltop monastery. Matt still has razor-sharp memories of the battles he fought, and the comrades he lost. He fled agricultural service in Kilmarnock as a teenager to get to Glasgow to enlist as an infantryman before ending up "right in the forefront" of the battle for Monte Cassino. Advancing up the slopes amid the fog of deadly artillery bomb blasts and the continual crackle of gunfire, the soldier saw many of his comrades fall. But, he said, there was no time to be frightened. "You don’t look upon it as bravery, you just look at it as part of your life," he told the BBC. "When the officers told you to advance, that was what you had to do. "Every battle is the same. You get pounded to death, whether it was Normandy, Burma or anywhere." Matt was recruited for the SAS after being injured and taken to a Naples hospital to recover. From 100 candidates, he was just one of 10 that made it. He was dropped behind enemy lines near Genoa, tasked with finding Italian dictator Mussolini who by then had been captured by partisans. Once the war was over, he was sent to Germany as part of the War Crimes Unit to find Nazi suspects who had executed captured members of the SAS. There, he said, he saw a broken nation, but people "just like us". Eight decades on, he can clearly recall the claustrophobic horror of war, from German soldiers playing dead to entice Allied soldiers into shooting range, to landmines and enormous loss. "I lost a lot of my mates, especially one called Ginger," he said. "And when he died he was sitting in a trench with his head down. There was a smile on his face." "Still a smile on his face that marked the place where he and his maker met. "And that was Ginger. He was a good lad." Dodging D-Day was no pass, and so many thousands paid the ultimate price in Italy. In his flat, Matt still has his SAS beret, his medals and his memories. He also has his nation’s thanks. (Source: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce99…)

A new sign has been erected at Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne’s statue, in Newtownards. Please share if you agree!

Today's papers: Churchill’s SAS was never meant to be gentlemanly - my article on the potency of our wartime special forces, and how all that is under threat today ... Do please share if you agree. telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/11…

Huge thanks to all the 565 subscribers to Damien Lewis - Special Forces Heroes. We've only been running a matter of weeks, so bravo to you all. I can't achieve all that I'm planning without your support, so do sign up and get involved. Coming soon amongst lots of prime content - the 'lost chapters' from my new book, BEHIND ENEMY LINES, which will give you fantastic insight into Lewis Archie Gibson and his special forces patrol. Thanks - and do help spread the word, so we can celebrate of Special Forces Heroes. damienlewisspecialforcesclub…