| Lest we forget - Jack Byrne | |
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Jack the Invincible: SAS medals hero was shot,
bayoneted and hit by shrapnel... and still broke out of a PoW camp to
carry on fighting
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The story of Sgt Byrne, who
fought on D-Day and at Dunkirk, in North Africa and at the Battle of
the Bulge, has emerged after his medals were put up for sale. He was
bayoneted at Dunkirk and given up for dead before being rescued and
evacuated to England. In March 1942, he was shot in the face at close
range by a German officer after spending five days behind enemy lines
wandering alone through the blistering Libyan desert with little
water. Miraculously, the bullet only brushed his cheek and nose. With,
in his own words, ‘blood spurting from nose and temple’, Sgt Byrne
was captured and sent to the notorious Stalag Luft III camp in Poland.
But the following year he escaped while in transit to another camp by
crawling through a latrine drain, breaking through a fence with his
bare hands and stowing away on a Sweden-bound ship to re-join the war. Sgt Byrne was
awarded eight medals for his service, including the Distinguished
Conduct Medal – then the second highest award for gallantry in
action after the Victoria Cross – for his escape. Medal man: Sgt Byrne's eight medals were bought by a private collector years ago and they are expected to make upwards of £50,000
Decorated: Hero Jack Byrne is shown here receiving his Distinguished Conduct Medal after he escaped a German PoW camp. He then took part in the D-Day landings The medals have been put up for sale by a private
collector and are expected to fetch at least £50,000 at auction in
London on Thursday. David Erskine-Hill, of auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb, said: ‘He was exceptionally brave and exceptionally lucky to the point that he was almost invincible. This is a man who just didn’t know when to give up.’
While fighting at Dunkirk (left) he was bayoneted but still made it to England. On recovering, he was one of 60 commandos selected to form part of the original SAS detachment. He took part in several raids on German airfields in Libya (right). He was captured after walking for five days through the desert
He escaped a PoW camp in Germany and eventually made
his way back to Britain and took part in D-Day
After the war he served as a policeman during the Malayan Emergency
Soldier boy: Jack Byrne is pictured here (second left) with his Army pals. He stormed Sword beach on D-Day before being wounded in the knee and sent back to England Born in Preston, Sgt Byrne enlisted with the Gordon Highlanders in 1939, aged 19, and fought until Dunkirk in May 1940. Sgt Byrne was one of 60
commandos chosen to form the SAS by legendary Capt David Stirling,
The regiment formed a rearguard action during the withdrawal and Sgt
Byrne was first wounded by shrapnel and then bayoneted. He was found by two French civilians who carried him to the beaches to be evacuated. After he recovered, he was selected as one of the original recruits to L Detachment, 1st Special Service Brigade, the unit formed by Sir David Stirling which subsequently became 1st SAS Regiment. In November 1941 Sgt Byrne was part of a raid on enemy fighter bases in Libya. Of the 64 men who set out, he was among only 22 who returned. He was captured by the Nazis in 1942, shot in the face and sent to various PoW camps before making his audacious escape. After returning to Britain, he joined 6 Commando and stormed Sword beach on D-Day before being wounded in the knee. As soon as he had recovered, he joined in the Battle of the Bulge and endured more ‘ferocious fighting’ over four months as his regiment pushed into Germany. Sgt Byrne went on to serve as a policeman during the Malayan Emergency where he was shot in the stomach by a terrorist in 1953 – but again he survived. After retiring from the military police he married
Mary Hayes and had three daughters. He built up a drapery business in Shropshire and died in 2007 aged 85.
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