£100,000 FOR SAS MEDALS
Founder member Bob Tait was on elite unit’s first raid
BRAVERY medals awarded to a Scots founder member of the SAS have sold for more than £100,000.
Warrant Officer Bob Tait designed the elite unit’s famous insignia and was involved in one of their most daring early raids.
Bob was invited to join when the legendary David Stirling set up the SAS while fighting in north Africa in World War II.
He was involved in the very first SAS mission in Libya in November 1941, when 22 out of 60 men were killed or captured.
The second mission was far more successful.
Bob was one of five commandos who sneaked into a German aerodrome and laid explosives that destroyed 37 aircraft.
The raid secured the future of the SAS as it convinced military chiefs of the need for a specially trained unit that could operate behind enemy lines.
In between the raids, the newly formed unit held an informal competition to create an insignia. Bob’s winning design of King Arthur’s sword Excalibur – not a dagger as commonly thought – with wings either side is still in use today.
Bob, from Greenock, was awarded two Military Medals – one for a heroic escape from capture in Syria in 1941 and the second for the aerodrome raid.
He died in 1975 and his medals have now sold for £84,000 at auction. With fees, the total was £108,600.
Bernard Pass, of auctioneers Bosleys, said: “Within military circles, Bob Tait is a very important chap. This archive ticked a lot of boxes.”