SAS Rogue Heroes had some surprising twists in store for viewers in its second season finale, one of which was the resignation of Lieutenant Colonel William “Bill” Stirling as leader of 2SAS after being all but blackmailed into doing so.
The BBC show sees Dominic West’s Dudley Wrangle Clarke ask to meet with Bill (Gwilym Lee), Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell) and French spy Eve Mansour (Sofia Boutella) at the Ritz to discuss the next phase of the war, and the Allied Forces’ invasion of France. There Clarke implies there’s rumours of Bill and Eve having a secret affair, and that Allied Forces HQ want to open an inquiry into what happened between them in Italy.
Even if Bill says that he and Eve arere not in a relationship, and the French spy says the same, the Lieutenant Colonel decides to quit and tells Clarke he “suspect [he] knew [he] would” in order to avoid an “unnecessary and embarrassing inquiry”. He described it as an act of “revenge” for questioning orders about the SAS’s entrance into France and being proved right, thus exposing the failings of his superiors.
For those wondering about Lee’s real-life counterpart and what happened to him during the war, here is what you need to know.
Did Bill Stirling really quit the SAS?
In 1944, just two days before D-Day, Stirling was removed from his position as commander of 2SAS, however this was not for the reason that is given in the BBC TV show.
In reality, Stirling was ousted from command after arguing with Frederik “Boy” Browning, Commander 1Airborne Corps, over the best way of managing the SAS. He accused Browning of not knowing how to lead the unit, and the clash between them resulted in Stirling being sacked on the spot by him.
Read more:
What happened to Paddy Mayne?
What happened to John Tonkin after his escape?
What happened to David Stirling?
It is important to note that Eve Mansour is a character that has been entirely made up for the purposes of the war drama. So Stirling, and his brother David who is shown having a relationship with her, did not have a connection to a female French spy in reality.
What happened to Bill Stirling after he left the SAS?
Stirling continued to work in the army, but he was made a member of the Regular Army Reserve of Officers after he was sacked from 2SAS.
During his time with the Regular Army Reserve of Officers, Stirling was promoted from lieutenant to major in 1949, and was given the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in 1961.
In 1931 Stirling succeeded his father as laird of Keir, and he continued to run the family estate at Keir House in the years during and after the war. The lieutenant colonel chose to sell Keir House in 1975 for £2m to Arab millionaire Mahdi Al-Tajir, the house had been passed down for 570 to members of the Stirling family for generations.
Stirling was married to Susan Rachel Bligh and they had four children together, their eldest son Archibald was a Scottish theatre producer who was once married to actor Diana Rigg. Stirling died in January 1983 at the age of 71 shortly after falling in his home and breaking his leg.
SAS Rogue Heroes is out now in full on BBC iPlayer.
