Product Description

Geordie Doran ranks as one of the most remarkable fighting soldiers of the twentieth century. After growing up in Jarrow in the 1930s, Geordie quit the local factory where he worked in 1946, to sign up as a private soldier. It was the first step in a career spanning 40 years during which he served in the infantry, the Parachute Regiment and the SAS. Geordie saw active service in Germany, Cyprus, the Korean War and Suez; he became an expert in jungle warfare in Malaya and in Borneo, as well as special operations in the deserts of Oman and Yemen. Returning to England in the early 1970s, Geordie was interrogated by Special Branch about his secret activities in Yemen. Not long after, a serious road accident put paid to his frontline soldiering career, but he found a new and vital role in the SAS, as a permanent staff instructor with 23 SAS (TA) training new recruits. He left the SAS in 1972, but could not settle to civilian life. He found himself a job as a Storeman in the SAS Quartermaster's Stores - a job which lasted another 12 years until ill health kept him from marching to the nearest barracks to join up once more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42534 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

About the Author
GEORDIE DORAN was born Francis William Joseph Doran. He had a tough working class upbringing in Jarrow before joining the Army in 1946. In a career spanning 40 years he saw active service in the infantry, the Parachute Regiment and the SAS. MIKE MORGAN is a senior journalist with the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette. He is a winner of the government's national Race in the Media Award for Campaigning Journalism and a former Yorkshire Press Awards News Reporter and News Feature Writer of the Year. Mike is the author of Sting of the Scorpion (2000), Daggers Drawn (2000) and D-Day Hero (2004) for Sutton. He lives in South Yorkshire.

Customer Reviews

MEN LIKE GEORDIE MADE THE SAS LEGENDARY!
As a Special Forces operator I have served with and read the exploits of extraordinary warriors and can tell you the story of Geordie is the benchmark all operators the world over should strive to be or be compared to. Geordie in his long history within the British 22 Special Air Service (SAS) has set the standard and shows us why the SAS is world respected in the special operations community. Before getting into the Geordies exploits with the SAS, Morgan gives the reader some insights of the times covering the early Cold War and the various brush fire conflicts fleering up all over the globe like the Malayan and Kenya Emergences, which leads the reader into Geordies service with the PARAs in Cyprus. All of which sets the tone of the writing and sets up Geordies desire to serve with the SAS. This book covers some of the known exploits of the SAS but with way more vivid insight then must historical works. This book covers some minor details about Para training and SAS selection course not seen in other works. I really enjoyed chapter seven on selection with its detail on the "Fan Dance." Following chapter covers Malaya. Again I enjoyed reading the detail used to explain counter-tracking methods and the patrol routine for jungle living in the hostile rain forest they operated in for weeks on end. The remainder of the book covers little known details involving SAS actions in Oman, Kenya, Borneo, Yemen and the world famous Iranian Embassy seizure that put the SAS in the public eye. As well the there is some extensive information on SAS parachute and driving training and employment from conception of the employment of high altitude parachuting to the adoption of the first modern SAS mobility vehicle (modified Landrover) with its direct linage to the LRDG "pink panthers." Over all I found this work to be a must read for historians, military personnel and the leisure reader looking to elevate their respiration and heart rate from the safety of their home. I look forward to reading more work from Mike Morgan and can also vouch for his early works that also hold the high standard I found in this title. Finally Geordie dared and Morgan won with an outstanding story to tell.

Another fantastic true account of the SAS from Mike Morgan
Mike Morgan again captures the essence of a soldier's account during his time in the SAS. This book takes the reader from the North East to the Far East and beyond in a gripping account of adventure, courage, bravery and sheer determination in extreme conditions to get the job done. A witty and honest account of a true Soldier. This is a must for anyone interested in the factual accounts of the Legendary SAS.

A BOOK WORTH BUYING FOR ANY MILITARY MANS COLLECTION
Knowing Mike Morgan as i do. I know that this book will go down with the rest of he's books written on the subject of the Special Air Service .
as a Classic. Geordie Doran has picked the best writer to write down the story of he's time in the regiment .Mike not only know men in the regiment but had a father that served with the 2SAS

I can think of no one better to write this story i salute both men and hope this is a sucess