NETFLIX UK DARK TOURIST ATTRACTION. ‘WHERE GOOD & EVIL COLLIDE, WHERE FANTASY MEETS A BRUTAL REALITY’…. WITH THE BIRTH OF ISIS. IT’S ALL HERE AND MUCH MORE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION, LITTLEDEAN JAIL, UK … A DISTURBINGLY VOLATILE MIX OF MYTH AND REALITY AS THE DARK SIDE AWAKENS IN THE FOREST OF DEAN.

ABOVE: OIL PAINTING BY LITTLEDEAN JAIL’S IN-HOUSE ARTIST PAUL BRIDGMAN HERE ON DISPLAY WITHIN OUR DARK TOURIST ART GALLERY .

PLEASE BE WARNED … THIS EXHIBITION ALONG WITH THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION, HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL IS NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN OR THOSE EASILY DISTURBED OR OF A SENSITIVE NATURE ….

With some of the scenes from the new Star Wars film ” The Force Awakens” having been filmed at Puzzlewood here in Coleford ( not too far from Littledean Jail) , we have ourselves now  added an intriguing and volatile mix of myth and reality with our own insight into THE FEDAYEEN SADDAM ( Saddam Hussein’s “Men of Sacrifice”) . This was an Iraqi paramilitary militia and personal bodyguard division formed by Saddam’s equally brutal dictator son Uday, who were  accountable only to Saddam and Uday .

THE FEDAYEEN SADDAM ENFORCERS wore a helmet that was designed by Uday  to mirror the helmet worn by Star Wars villain Darth Vader. Also the all black uniform , though without the “Darth Vader” cape .

Both Saddam and his son Uday were keen fans of  Star Wars films . Even Saddams infamous “Hands of Victory ” monuments at the gateways to Baghdad, to celebrate the defeat of Iran in the Iran – Iraq War…  were based on the “Empire Strikes Back ” film poster image (see below) depicting Darth Vader holding  crossed Lightsabers .

Here on display at The Crime Through Time Collection , Littledean Jail , and new for 2016 … we have pieced together ” The Dark Side of the Fedayeen”exhibition, This to compliment Saddam and Uday’s fascination and interest  with Star Wars phenomena . This being alongside various other Star Wars signed memorabilia , action figures and also on a more serious note, the brutal acts of the Fedayeen and the Iraqi regime .

NOT FORGETTING OF COURSE THAT AFTER THE FALL OF SADDAM’S REGIME IN 2003 , THE FEDAYEEN AND SOME 100 OR SO OF SADDAM’S CHIEF COMMANDERS BECAME THE FOUNDERS AND LEADERS OF THE ISLAMIC STATE (ISIS), FOR WHICH IS STILL VERY MUCH  CONTROLLED   BY SADDAM HUSSEIN’S FORMER  CHIEFS SOME 13 YEARS OR SO LATER .

 

THE VIEW OF MANY IS THAT WE SHOULD HAVE LEFT SADDAM HUSSAIN’S IRAQI REGIME TO RULE IT’S OWN COUNTRY AS THEY FELT FIT TO DO SO . . 

TO A GREAT MANY ….A SEEMINGLY COSTLY AND POINTLESS WAR AGAINST A CULTURE AND RELIGION THAT MOST OF THE WESTERN WORLD DO NOT UNDERSTAND AND YET HAVE SEEMED FIT TO INTERFERE IN.

THIS HAVING RESULTED IN A TRAGIC LOSS OF A GREAT  MANY LIVES ON ALL SIDES. MANY ARGUE THAT WE SHOULD NEVER HAVE GOT INVOLVED IN THIS EQUALLY SEEMINGLY NEVER ENDING WAR? 

 Above  from left: ORIGINAL STAR WARS FILM POSTER ADVERITISING “THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK” PICTURED HERE ALONGSIDE SADDAM HUSSEIN’S INFAMOUS “HANDS OF VICTORY ” MONUMENTS AT THE GATEWAYS TO BAGHDAD , IRAQ

Fedayeen Saddam (فدائيي صدام) was a paramilitary organization loyal to the Ba’athist government of Saddam Hussein. The name was chosen to mean “Saddam’s Men of Sacrifice”. At its height, the group had 30,000-40,000 members. 

BELOW: THE ORIGINAL STAR WARS DARTH VADER HELMET ALONG SIDE AN ORIGINAL FEDAYEEN SADDAM ( SADDAM’S MEN OF SACRIFICE ) HELMET . THEY CERTAINLY MIRROR EACH OTHER AS  WAS UDAY HUSSEIN’S WISH

  BELOW ARE VARIOUS INFORMATIVE AND INTERACTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS AS FEATURED HERE ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL , UK 

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ABOVE IS A SLIDESHOW OF SOME OF THE FEDAYEEN SADDAM ( SADDAM’S “MEN OF SACRIFCE”) UNIFORM AND OTHER ASSOCIATED EXHIBIT ITEMS ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL .

The Fedayeen Saddam was not part of Iraq‘s regular armed forces but rather operated as a paramilitary unit of irregular forces. As a result of this, the Fedayeen reported directly to the Presidential Palace, rather than through the military chain of command. Whilst paramilitary the Fedayeen were not an elite military force, often receiving just basic training and operating without heavy weapons. In this they were somewhat similar to the Basij of Iran or Shabbiha militia of Syria.

Much like other paramilitaries, the Fedayeen was volunteer based and the units were never given an official salary. As a result, most of the members resorted to extortion and theft of property from the general population, even though the members had access to sanction-evading trade and high quality services (i.e. new cars, hospitals reserved for officials, expensive electronics) and a general standard of living considerably higher than that of the average Iraqi of the time.However, they were ordered not to threaten or harm any government officials. This group wasn’t religious or anything so it had a mix of sunni and Shia minority.

ORIGINAL FEDAYEEN SADDAM UNIFORM ON DISPLAY AT THE JAIL

ORIGINAL FEDAYEEN SADDAM UNIFORM ON DISPLAY AT THE JAIL

The Fedayeen were among the most loyal organizations to the government of Saddam Hussein and were a politically reliable force against domestic opponents. The Fedayeen played a role in the 2003 war, resisting the American invasion.

BELOW: An original oil painting depicting notorious ISIS Executioner “Jihadi John” unmasked .

BELOW: An original oil painting depicting notorious ISIS Executioner “The Bulldozer ” unmasked .

The secret to ISIS’s success: Over 100 former Saddam Hussein-era officers run jihadi group’s military and intelligence operations in Iraq and Syria

• Intelligence source said 100 to 160 former Iraqi army officers with ISIS 
• The 2003 US led invasion of Iraq led Saddam Hussein to allow foreign fighters to join the resistance against the invaders 
• ISIS’s deputy leader Abu Muslim al-Turkmani was an Iraqi army major 

Once part of one of the most brutal dictator’s army in the Middle East, over 100 former members of Saddam Hussein’s military and intelligence officers are now part of ISIS.

Now they make up the complex network of ISIS’s leadership, helping to build the military strategies which have led the brutal jihadi group to their military gains in Syria and Iraq.

The officers gave ISIS the organization and discipline it needed to weld together jihadi fighters drawn from across the globe, integrating terror tactics like suicide bombings with military operations.

Self-appointed caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the formation of an Islamic Caliphate in June 2014

 

While attending the Iraqi army’s artillery school nearly 20 years ago, Ali Omran remembers one major well. An Islamic hard-liner, he once chided Omran for wearing an Iraqi flag pin into the bathroom because it included the words ‘God is great.’

‘It is forbidden by religion to bring the name of the Almighty into a defiled place like this,’ Omran recalled being told by Maj. Taha Taher al-Ani.

Omran didn’t see al-Ani again until years later, in 2003. The Americans had invaded Iraq and were storming toward Baghdad. Saddam Hussein’s fall was imminent.

At a sprawling military base north of the capital, al-Ani was directing the loading of weapons, ammunition and ordnance into trucks to spirit away. He took those weapons with him when he joined Tawhid wa’l-Jihad, a forerunner of al-Qaida’s branch in Iraq.

Now al-Ani is a commander in the Islamic State group, said Omran, who rose to become a major general in the Iraqi army and now commands its 5th Division fighting IS.

He kept track of his former comrade through Iraq’s tribal networks and intelligence gathered by the government’s main counter terrorism service, of which he is a member.

Surrounding al-Baghdadi, ex-Baathists continue to drive forward the group’s military strategy in Iraq and Syria

One of the most prominent former Iraqi Army generals within ISIS was Abu Muslim al-Turkmani (left) who led the terrorists’ operations in Iraq until he was killed in an American airstrike last November. Abu Ayman al-Iraqi (right), a former colonel in Iraqi Air Force intelligence now plays a leading role in ISIS’ military council

Tyrant: Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein built his regime and cult of personality through his use of fear

Deadly: Foreign fighters have flocked from around the world, attracted by the brutal group’s propaganda

They have been put in charge of intelligence-gathering, spying on the Iraqi forces as well as maintaining and upgrading weapons and trying to develop a chemical weapons program.

Patrick Skinner, a former CIA case officer who has served in Iraq, said Saddam-era military and intelligence officers were a ‘necessary ingredient’ in the Islamic State group’s stunning battlefield successes last year, accounting for its transformation from a ‘terrorist organization to a proto-state.’

‘Their military successes last year were not terrorist, they were military successes,’ said Skinner, now director of special projects for The Soufan Group, a private strategic intelligence services firm.

The group’s second-in-command, al-Baghdadi’s deputy, is a former Saddam-era army major, Saud Mohsen Hassan, known by the pseudonyms Abu Mutazz and Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, according to the intelligence chief.

Hassan also goes by Fadel al-Hayali, a fake name he used before the fall of Saddam, the intelligence chief, who spoke under the condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

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Targeted: Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi (left) – who had been the head of Baghdadi’s four man military council – was killed by a coalition warplane last year. Another militant reportedly killed in an airstrike was Abu Hajar Al-Sufi (right) who had been one of Baghdadi’s most trusted advisers on the Shura Council

 

US soldiers and Iraqi civilians pull down a statue of Saddam Hussein at the start of the 2003 Iraq War

ISIS’s strength of ideology in vowing to maintain an Islamic state governed by Shari’ah law, has attracted considerable support from Islamists

During the 2000s, Hassan was imprisoned in the notorious U.S.-run Bucca prison camp, the main detention center for members of the Sunni insurgency, where al-Baghdadi also was held.

The prison was a significant incubator for the Islamic State group, bringing militants like al-Baghdadi into contact with former Saddam officers, including members of special forces, the elite Republican Guard and the paramilitary force called Fedayeen.

In Bucca’s Ward 6, al-Baghdadi gave sermons and Hassan emerged as an effective organizer, leading strikes by the prisoners to gain concessions from their American jailers, the intelligence chief said.

Former Bucca prisoners are now throughout the IS leadership. Among them is Abu Alaa al-Afari, a veteran Iraqi militant who was once with al-Qaida and now serves as the head of IS’s ‘Beit al-Mal,’ or treasury, according to a chart of what is believed to be the group’s hierarchy provided to the AP by the intelligence chief.

Al-Baghdadi has drawn these trusted comrades even closer after he was wounded in an airstrike earlier this year, the intelligence chief said.

He has appointed a number of them to the group’s Military Council, believed to have seven to nine members – at least four of whom are former Saddam officers. He brought other former Bucca inmates into his inner circle and personal security.

Saddam-era veterans also serve as ‘governors’ for seven of the 12 ‘provinces’ set up by the Islamic State group in the territory it holds in Iraq, the intelligence chief said.

Iraqi officials acknowledge that identifying IS leadership is an uncertain task. Besides al-Baghdadi himself, the group almost never makes public even the pseudonyms of those in its hierarchy.

When leaders are killed, it’s often not known who takes their place – and several have been reported killed multiple times, only to turn up alive. Figures are believed to take on new pseudonyms, leaving it unclear if a new one has emerged or not.

 

Brutal: ISIS continue to carry out horrific public executions and floggings in Syria and Iraq

Gunned down: Iraqi army recruits were executed in the Speicher massacre last summer

 

No mercy: The militants have targeted religious minorities, particularly the Yazidis and rebellious tribes

‘IS’s military performance has far exceeded what we expected. The running of battles by the veterans of the Saddam military came as a shock,’ a brigadier general in military intelligence told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic.

‘Security-wise, we are often left unable to know who replaces who in the leadership. We are unable to infiltrate the group. It is terrifying.’

Estimates of the number of Saddam-era veterans in IS ranks vary from 100 to 160 in mostly mid- and senior-level positions, according to the officials.

Typically, they hail from Sunni-dominated areas, with intelligence officers mostly from western Anbar province, the majority of army officers from the northern city of Mosul and members of security services exclusively from Saddam’s clan around his hometown of Tikrit, said Big. Gen. Abdul-Wahhab al-Saadi, a veteran of battles against IS north and west of Baghdad.

For example, a former brigadier general from Saddam-era special forces, Assem Mohammed Nasser, also known as Nagahy Barakat, led a bold assault in 2014 on Haditha in Anbar province, killing around 25 policemen and briefly taking over the local government building.

Many of the Saddam-era officers have close tribal links to or are the sons of tribal leaders in their regions, giving IS a vital support network as well as helping recruitment.

These tribal ties are thought to account, at least in part, for the stunning meltdown of Iraqi security forces when IS captured the Anbar capital of Ramadi in May.

Several of the officers interviewed by the AP said they believe IS commanders persuaded fellow tribesmen in the security forces to abandon their positions without a fight.

Skinner, the former CIA officer, noted the sophistication of the Saddam-era intelligence officers he met in Iraq and the intelligence capabilities of IS in Ramadi, Mosul and in the group’s de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria.

‘They do classic intelligence infiltration. They have stay-behind cells, they actually literally have sleeper cells,’ Skinner said.

• 

The process of giving former Iraqi commanders senior roles was started by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s predecessor Abu Omar al-Baghdadi (left) who was a former Iraqi Army officer nother former member of Saddam Hussein’s army turned ISIS commander, Abu Musa al-Alwani (right), has also been killed

Militant Islamist fighters wave flags as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria’s northern Raqqa province in 2014

Bleek future: With their black flags and military gear, the new ISIS recruits graduate in Deir ezzor

‘And they do classic assassinations, which depends on intelligence,’ he said, citing a wave of assassinations in 2013 that targeted Iraqi police, army, hostile tribal leaders and members of a government-backed Sunni militia known as Sahwa.

In the run-up to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Saddam publicly invited foreign mujahedeen to come to Iraq to resist the invaders.

Thousands came and Iraqi officials showed them off to the media as they were trained by Iraqi instructors. Many stayed, eventually joining the insurgency against American troops and their Iraqi allies.

After the collapse of the Saddam regime, hundreds of Iraqi army officers, infuriated by the U.S. decision to disband the Iraqi army, found their calling in the Sunni insurgency. In its early stages, many insurgent groups were relatively secular.

But Islamic militants grew in prominence, particularly with the creation and increasing strength of al-Qaida in Iraq. Some Sunnis were radicalized by bitterness against the Shiite majority, which rose to power after Saddam’s fall and which the Sunnis accuse of discriminating against them.

Al-Qaida in Iraq was initially led by a Jordanian militant, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and had a strong foreign presence in its leadership. But after al-Zarqawi’s death in a 2006 U.S. airstrike, his Iraqi successor, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, began to bring in more Iraqis, particularly former Saddam officers. That process was accelerated when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took over after his predecessor was killed in a 2010 airstrike.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s first two deputies, who each played a major role in setting up what would become its sweep over Syria and Iraq, were both Saddam-era officers, according to those interviewed by the AP.

They were Sameer al-Khalifawy, an air force colonel killed in fighting in Syria in 2014, and Abdullah el-Bilawy, a former intelligence officer who was killed in Mosul by the Iraqi military in May 2014, a month before the city fell to the Islamic State group. He was replaced by the current deputy, Hassan.

‘It’s clear that some of these (Saddam-era officers) must have been inside the core of the jihadist movement in the Sunni triangle from the beginning,’ said Michael W.S. Ryan, a former senior executive at the State Department and Pentagon, referring to the Sunni-dominated area that was the most hostile to American forces in Iraq.

‘Their knowledge is now in the DNA of ISIS,’ he said, using an alternate acronym for the extremist group.

‘This melding of the Iraqi experience and what we might call the Afghan Arab experience became the unique ISIS brand,’ said Ryan, now a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based think tank.

‘That brand ultimately became more successful in Iraq than al-Qaida in Iraq … and, at least for now, stronger in Syria than al-Qaida.’

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A BRIEF HISTORICAL GLIMPSE INTO SOME OF THE VARIOUS ORIGINAL AND RARE WW2 SAS OFFICERS PEAK CAPS, BERETS, COMMEMORATIVE AND OTHER SAS MEMORABILIA ITEMS HERE ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL, UK .

FOR THE FIRST TIME ON PUBLIC DISPLAY …EXCEPTIONALLY RARE AND ORIGINAL WW2 SAS OFFICERS PEAK CAP , WW2 SAS OFF-WHITE BERET AND  OTHERS HERE IN AND AMONGST NOW THE UK’S LARGEST PRIVATELY OWNED SAS COLLECTIONS ON PUBLIC DISPLAY .

Above : Here is an original oil painting of one of the SAS founders David Stirling aka ” The Phantom Major”, by Gloucestershire Artist Paul Bridgman, here on display at Littledean Jail

ABOVE; AN ORIGINAL AND VERY RARE WW2 SAS OFFICERS PEAK CAP

Here is an original oil painting of one of the SAS founders Paddy Mayne aka “Mad Jack ” by Gloucestershire Artist Paul Bridgman, here on display at Littledean Jail

ORIGINAL RARE SAS PEAK CAP AS WORN AT THE SAS HEADQUARTERS IN HEREFORD .   (NOT THE BEST PICTURES AS VERY DIFFICULT TO PHOTOGRAPH  TO SHOW THE ACTUAL COLOURS )

 

INSIDE OF THE ABOVE PICTURED ORIGINAL RARE SAS PEAK CAP AS WORN AT THE SAS HEADQUARTERS IN HEREFORD .  

IF IN THE LOCALITY OF THE FOREST OF DEAN , GLOUCESTERSHIRE  AND HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE SAS AND UK SPECIAL FORCES …. DO PAY A VISIT

BELOW IS A BRIEF PICTORIAL INSIGHT INTO SOME OF THE  VARIOUS LIMITED EDITION COMMEMORATIVE SAS PLATES AND OTHER MEMORABILIA ITEMS HERE ON DISPLAY

Above and Below : Original Heckler and Koch MP5 A3 submachine gun of the type that was used during Operation Nimrod – Iranian Embassy Siege, London 1980

BELOW: ORIGINAL SAS POSTER HAND SIGNED BY VARIOUS MEMBERS OF OPERATION NIMROD- IRANIAN EMBASSY SIEGE 1980, HERE ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL .

BELOW IS A UNIQUE COLLAGE DEPICTING MEMBERS OF THE HEROIC SAS ,WHO FOUGHT IN THE EPIC SECRET WAR  CODENAMED ” SAS OPERATION STORM ” AT THE BATTLE MIRBAT, OMAN , 19 JULY 1972 . THIS COLLAGE  ALSO INCLUDES  WING COMMANDER BILL STOKER , STRIKE MASTER PILOT , LEAD JET, SECOND SORTIE, WHO WAS A KEY FIGURE IN HELPING WIN THE BATTLE .

BELOW : Original one of only two privately commissioned  oil paintings by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman  of Talaiasi Labalaba PWC, BEM, MID , one of the heroic SAS troopers who fought in Operation Storm during The Battle of Mirbat , Oman and was sadly killed in action.

This painting is here on display at The Crime Through Time Collection, whilst the other is in the possession of Sekonaia Takavesi PWC, DCM.

Below: An enlarged original photograph showing  some of the surrounding landscape   where the Battle of Mirbat took place. This photo was apparently taken during the 1980’s

BELOW : Original one of only two privately commissioned  oil paintings by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman  of Sekonaia Takavesi – PWC,DCM. one of the heroic SAS troopers who fought in Operation Storm during The Battle of Mirbat , Oman.

This painting is here on display at The Crime Through Time Collection, whilst the other is in the possession of Sekonaia Takavesi .

BELOW : Original one of only two privately commissioned oil paintings by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman of Pete “Snapper” Winner , one of the heroic SAS troopers who fought in Operation Storm during The Battle of Mirbat , Oman.

This painting is here on display at The Crime Through Time Collection, whilst the other is in the possession of Pete Winner  .

Above  : Original  privately commissioned  oil painting by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman  of Captain Mike Kealy, who was the Commanding Officer  who fought in Operation Storm during The Battle of Mirbat , Oman.

This painting is here on display at The Crime Through Time Collection,

Above  : Original  privately commissioned  oil painting by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman  of  Corporal Bob Bennett ,  who was 2nd in command during Operation Storm, The Battle of Mirbat , Oman.

This painting is here on display at The Crime Through Time Collection

Above  : Original  privately commissioned  oil painting by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman  of SAS Medic Tommy Tobin, DCM,  who fought in Operation Storm during The Battle of Mirbat , Oman.

Having sustained serious injuries during the battle, he later died as a result of them .

This painting is here on display at The Crime Through Time Collection,

Above  : Original  privately commissioned  oil painting by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman  of Lance Corporal Roger Cole who fought in Operation Storm during The Battle of Mirbat , Oman.

This painting is here on display at The Crime Through Time Collection

DARK TOURISM HERE IN THE UK AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL, FOREST OF DEAN, GLOUCESTERSHIRE ….SAS “WHO DARES WINS” OPERATION NIMROD, IRANIAN EMBASSY SIEGE & OPERATION STORM, BATTLE OF MIRBAT EXHIBITIONS … HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION, LITTLEDEAN JAIL. FEATURING AMONGST OTHERS,RUSTY FIRMIN, BOB CURRY , PETE “SNAPPER ” WINNER, a.k.a SOLDIER “I” , SEKONAIA TAKAVESI AND IAN “CHALKY” WHITE . TAKAVESI & WINNER ALSO BOTH ACTIVELY FOUGHT IN THE SECRET 1972 SAS BATTLE OF MIRBAT,OMAN.

WWW.SOLDIERISAS.COM

ABOVE: ORIGINAL CLASSIC HECKLER & KOCH MP5 A3 SUBMACHINE GUN AS WAS USED DURING OPERATION NIMROD .

Above and Below : Pete “Snapper”  Winner  aka Soldier I , during a private visit to The Crime Through Time Collection at Littledean Jail, dressed in his SAS Black-kit.

Also pictured here below with Andy Jones of The Crime Through Time Collection standing alongside one of our  SAS Operation Nimrod exhibition pieces here on display .

 

 

WWW.SOLDIERISAS.COM

FROM LEFT : PETE “SNAPPER” WINNER AND ANDY McNAB PICTURED TOGETHER AT AN EVENING WITH ANDY McNAB EVENT AT THE CHEPSTOW DRILL HALL. 

BELOW: OPERATION NIMROD BLUE TEAM SAS TROOPER “BOB CURRY” WITH  ANDY JONES DURING A PRIVATE VISIT TO LITTLEDEAN JAIL TO VIEW THE SAS OPERATION NIMROD EXHIBITION. 

BOB CURRY WAS FIRST MAN INSIDE THE REAR OF THE EMBASSY AND PART OF RUSTY FIRMIN’S BLUE TEAM, ALONG WITH PETE “SNAPPER” WINNER , THE MINK AND OTHERS. 

 

BELOW : BOB CURRY PICTURED DURING HIS TIME IN THE SAS. UNDOUBTEDLY A BEAST OF A MAN IN HIS DAY .

BELOW: ORIGINAL SAS POSTER HAND SIGNED BY VARIOUS MEMBERS OF OPERATION NIMROD- IRANIAN EMBASSY SIEGE 1980, HERE ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL .

ABOVE & BELOW: ORIGINAL OIL PAINTINGS DEPICTING JOHN McALEESE M.M BLUE TEAM MEMBER INVOLVED IN THE FRONT BALCONY TELEVISED STORMING OF THE EMBASSY. HERE ON DISPLAY AT THE JAIL

 

 

BELOW: ANDY JONES WITH A FEW OF THE CHAPS FROM SAS OPERATION NIMROD TO INCLUDE … THE MINK, TAK AND BLUE TEAM LEADER RUSTY FIRMIN.

BELOW:ANDY JONES WITH FORMER SAS CHAPS , TAK AND RHETT BUTLER

ABOVE AND BELOW : ANDY JONES OF THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION WITH SEKONAIA TAKAVESI  PICTURED HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL  DURING A PRIVATE VISIT TO VIEW THE ” SAS WHO DARES WINS AND UK SPECIAL FORCES EXHIBITION ” HERE ON DISPLAY .

BELOW  : A COUPLE OF IMAGES OF FORMER SAS TROOPER THE MINK WITH ANDY JONES

BELOW: PETE WINNER TALKS ABOUT THE “BATTLE OF MIRBAT “

WWW.SOLDIERISAS.COM

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PLEASE DON’T FORGET OUR OWN EVER GROWING …

SAS “WHO DARES WINS” AND UK SPECIAL FORCES EXHIBITION HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , UK

ABOVE IS A TRIBUTE  COLLAGE POSTER RELATING TO THE STORMING OF THE IRANIAN EMBASSY ON THE 5 MAY 1980 SIGNED BY PETE WINNER,  NOW AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE BOTH AT PETE WINNER EVENTS AND ALSO AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL .

ABOVE AND BELOW :  ORIGINAL CLASSIC HECKLER  & KOCH MP5 A3 SUBMACHINE GUN AS WAS USED IN THE 1980 IRANIAN EMBASSY SIEGE , LONDON , UK .

NOW HERE ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION SAS “WHO DARES WINS” EXHIBITION AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL .

WINNER EVENTS AND ALSO AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL .

ABOVE IS A GREAT OPERATION NIMROD TRIBUTE VIDEO

BELOW IS A GALLERY OF IMAGES FROM A RECENT MEDIA LAUNCH AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION, LITTLEDEAN JAIL   … SAS WHO DARES WINS AND UK SPECIAL FORCES EXHIBITION …..

 

BELOW IS A UNIQUE COLLAGE DEPICTING MEMBERS OF THE HEROIC SAS ,WHO FOUGHT IN THE EPIC SECRET WAR  CODENAMED ” SAS OPERATION STORM ” AT THE BATTLE MIRBAT, OMAN , 19 JULY 1972 . THIS COLLAGE  ALSO INCLUDES  WING COMMANDER BILL STOKER , STRIKE MASTER PILOT , LEAD JET, SECOND SORTIE, WHO WAS A KEY FIGURE IN HELPING WIN THE BATTLE .

BELOW : Original one of only two privately commissioned  oil paintings by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman  of Talaiasi Labalaba PWC, BEM,MID one of the heroic SAS troopers who fought in Operation Storm during The Battle of Mirbat , Oman and was sadly killed in action.

This painting is here on display at The Crime Through Time Collection, whilst the other is in the possession of Sekonaia Takavesi PWC, DCM.

 

Below: An enlarged original photograph showing  some of the surrounding landscape   where the Battle of Mirbat took place. This photo was apparently taken during the 1980’s

BELOW : Various original  privately commissioned  oil paintings by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman here on display  of the heroic SAS  who fought in Operation Storm during The Battle of Mirbat , Oman.