Eighteen-year-old Johnny Cooper volunteered for the SAS in 1941. He therefore became one of the original soldiers who, by trial and error, built the service up to the effective force it is today. In this book Cooper recalls the experimental sorties in North Africa, collaborating with the Maquis, his first horrifying glimpse of Belsen and organizing guerilla-type operations in Malaya. Lieutenant-Colonel John Cooper served with the SAS in North Africa and France throughout World War II, returning to work alongside his old comrades in Malaya after a brief interlude. In 1962 he left the army to work for the Sultan of Oman's armed forces where he served until his retirement.