Almonds-Windmill, Lorna SAS Rogue Hero Gentleman Jim the Sequel

Operations 1945-2005

Having survived the mortal perils of World War II as a member of the 1st SAS Regiment, "Gentleman Jim" Almonds still felt the urge for active military service and dangerous adventure in 1945. After training Emperor Haile Selassies army in Ethiopia, Almonds volunteered as deputy commander of a new unit tasked with combating bandits in the "Wild West" of Eritrea. Even in peacetime, killing was part of daily military life. Yet the British authorities acted swiftlyin a race against timeto bring the widespread terror under control, a prerequisite for implementing the UN resolution to federate Eritrea with Ethiopia under the Ethiopian crown. When the SAS was reformed for deployment during the Malayan Emergency, Almonds volunteered once more, this time as commander of "B" Squadron, 22 SAS Regiment. He parachuted into the jungle to fight communist terrorists, devised improvised methods for landing in the tree canopy and for close-quarters combat, and led his men on grueling marches back to civilization. This successful British operation has remained largely overlooked to this day. In Singapore, Almonds designed and built boats, which he sailed on the Straits of Johor with his childrenall of whom went on to pursue military careers. During his time as a major on the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana), he built a 32-foot ketchentirely without power toolsbased on plans he had originally drafted while in an Italian prisoner-of-war camp. He sailed it across the Atlantic back to Englandwithout modern navigation aids, safety equipment, or a radio, but with an extraordinary sense of direction. His account provides a detailed description of the many countries he visited during his three-month, 5,000-nautical-mile intercontinental journey. The narrative is set within a meticulously researched historical context and is comprehensively supplemented by an index, maps, and glossaries.