Hoe Alan - Keystone of 22 SAS

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the Woodhouse family and in particular to the grandchildren, Lucinda, Alexander, John and Karianne whom Jock loved so much.

May it give them both pleasure and pride in knowing a little more about the man who was a dedicated officer who led by example; a proud and loyal Briton and the keystone in the development of the post-war Special Air Service regiments.

Keystone: A central stone at the summit of an arch, locking the whole together.

The Life and Times of

Lieutenant Colonel J M (Jock)

Woodhouse MBE MC

Alan Hoe

First published in Great Britain in 2019 by

Pen & Sword Military

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire Philadelphia

Copyright Alan Hoe 2019

ISBN 978 1 52674 505 7

eISBN 978 1 52674 506 4

Mobi ISBN 978 1 52674 507 1

The right of Alan Hoe to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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The Master of the Caravan

But who are ye in rags and rotten shoes,

You dirty-bearded, blocking up the way?

The Pilgrims

We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go

Always a little further; it may be

Beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow,

Across that angry or that glimmering sea,

White on a throne or guarded in a cave

There lives a prophet who can understand

Why men were born; but surely we are brave,

Who make the Golden Journey to Samarkand.

James Elroy Flecker, 1884-1915

T his book has taken far too long to produce. Illness, among other things, caused many a false start in the early stages. It would not be possible to list all of the people I have interviewed over the years, sometimes for purposes other than this book, as I trawled for information from the Regimental Archives. At reunions and other more casual meetings I have informally talked to many people. My twenty-odd years in the SAS left me with many friends and acquaintances; some of them my peers and some of an earlier vintage. During those occasions it was quite likely that reminiscences would include tales of John Woodhouse. As word of the forthcoming book did the rounds I received many telephone calls and letters from veterans who had served with John. Sadly, since the time frame of writing has been so drawn out, many of those people have passed on to wherever we old soldiers go for our final rendezvous.

Of those who are no longer with us I would like to give belated thanks to the following: Colonel Sir David Stirling, Major Dare Newell, Sergeant Paddy Finn, Warrant Officer Bill Lofty Ross, Lieutenant Colonel Terry Hardy, General Sir Mike Wilkes, General Sir Johnny Watts, Brigadier Mike Wingate Gray, Sergeant Tim Holt, Major Tony Greville-Bell, Warrant Officer Bob Bennett, Warrant Officer Lawrence Smith, Warrant Officer Philip Gypsy Smith, Warrant Officer Bob Turnbull, Lieutenant General Peter Walls, Major General Tony Deane-Drummond, Lieutenant Colonel Bob Walker-Brown, Major Mike Jones, Major General Dare Wilson and Lieutenant Colonel Joe Schofield. From all of those well-known warriors came warm recollections of John Woodhouse.

I owe very special thanks to Major General John Sutherell and Colonel the Viscount John Slim for their interest in the project and their wise counsel. Thanks also to General Sir Peter de la Billire, Vic Steyerman, Mike Dillon, Major Stuart Perry, Major Donald Hobbs, Colonel John Waddy, Colonel Peter Walter, Colonel Ian Cartwright, Colonel Richard Lea and the many other ex-SAS soldiers who have passed on their tales (some of which I am sure are apocryphal).

Particular thanks must also go to members of Johns family: his sister, Ann Sutton, for her warm recollections of early family life; his cousin, Mark Woodhouse, of the Hall and Woodhouse Brewery; and especially to Johns son, Michael, for his support and kind permission to explore his fathers documents and the family photograph albums. Of course there was also John Woodhouse himself, who chatted to me for many hours during the last few years of his life. I hope I have done him justice.

Unless otherwise stated, quotations are from John Woodhouses personal memoirs and private papers or my own collection of notes and interview recordings.

All photographs displayed in the plate section are taken from and reproduced here with the kind permission of the Woodhouse family collection, apart from numbers 30, 32, 36, 38, 42 and 52, which are from my own collection.

I first met John Woodhouse in 1950 in Hong Kong when adjutant of my regiment. He was quietly impressive and factual with no embellishments. He was off to Kuala Lumpur to join the Malayan Scouts (SAS), then being formed by Mike Calvert, the wartime brigadier who had been a column commander in the Chindits, and he thought the challenge would interest me. The idea greatly appealed, but I knew I had to complete my present job; then I would volunteer. I liked John Woodhouse (or JW, as he was known).

A few months later, in North Korea just short of the Yalu River, John Sloane, our second-in-command and an outstanding soldier who had commanded a battalion in Burma, asked me if I knew anything about the Malayan Scouts (SAS). He had never heard of them but had just been ordered to leave immediately for Malaya to take command. I asked if he would let me join him. He said he would send for me once we had returned to Hong Kong. This he did, and on the train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, travelling to join the unit, I luckily found myself next to Dare Newell who had also volunteered. Dare was another wartime soldier who had served with the SOE (in Albania and Malaya).

It is sensible to write a biography of John Woodhouse as it contains some of the early history and formation of what was to become the postSecond World War Special Air Service Group (one regular and two territorial regiments). JW was in at the very beginning, made a major contribution throughout his service, and in the process gave up what could have been a successful normal regular military career. There is no doubt that his early meetings with Mike Calvert stimulated in him a new interest in the development of insurgency and terrorism throughout the world, and the need for a few special units to help combat these major new threats.