The Elite Pictorial Barbara Cole

Readers of the first Rhodesian SAS book , the Story of the Rhodesian SAS were to comment how amazed they were that so few managed to achieve so much with so little loss to themselves. SAS men had the advantage of superior special force training and years of operational experience behind them, of course.

For with the Winds of Change gathering momentum and blowing down a turbulant Africa, the SAS, keen to prevent the storm clouds gathering over their own country, were hopping borders a good six years before the recognised start of the war in Rhodesia. By the time the hostilities intensified and the war began in earnest, the SAS were fully prepared. Their job: taking the war to the enemy, killing and wounding them at source before they could enter the country, smashing and disrupting their supply lines, keeping them at bay

Although this book and its predecessor, The Elite, traces the history of the SAS, the operators themselves are not glory seekers. Old habits die hard and most would have preferred to maintain a low profile and remain anonymous, keeping the details of their exploits a closely-guarded secret. But eventually now that the war, Rhodesia and the Official Secrets Act are no more they were convinced it was a story which had to be told.

Nevertheless, several faces are masked for security reasons. They were, after all SAS men, and Africa is Africa. Just as words capture the events and atmosphere, so pictures record the images, the action, the history in the making. For those who were there, these pictures will bring back special memories; and for those who were not, they provide a rare glimpse behind the scenes of this unique unit which successfully helped to keep the enemy at bay for so many years.