266. ATTRIBUTED WW2 FS FIGHTING KNIFE, 'L' DETACHMENT SAS.

An attributed Second World War 1st Pattern Fairbairn Sykes Fighting Knife by Wilkinson, London, double edged steel stiletto blade with flat ricasso, one side etched 'F-S Fighting Knife', the other side with the Wilkinson Sword logo, S-shaped cross guard, chequered palm swell grip with pommel nut, brown leather sheath with nickel plated chape, belt loop (detached) with 'Newey' press stud, blade length 17.5 cm, the knife belonged to Major Charles George Gibson 'Pat' Riley DCM, one of the founding members of 'L' Detachment, SAS Brigade in 1941, also included is Pat Rileys Regimental tie with ' 'L' Detachment Originals 1941' above the Special Air Service badge, photographs of Riley in later years with his wife and at reunions, two photographs of David Stirling at what appears to be a reunion, a copy of a wartime photograph showing Riley with other original 'L' Detachment soldiers including Sgt.Reg Seekings DCM, Sgt. Johnny Cooper DCM, Sgt. Bob Tait MM, and Sgt. Dave Kershaw MM, original VHS video of the TV programme 'This is Your Life' from 1995 in which David Stirling was the subject and Mr Riley appears at the end, Order of Service from Mr Rileys funeral on 16th February 1999, newspaper obituary and clippings.
Pat Riley was born into an Irish American family at Redgranite, Wisconsin, on November 24th 1915, the family moved to Haltwhistle, Cumbria in 1922 where he had his first job in the same granite quarry as his father. After a stint in the Territorial Army, Riley joined the Coldstream Guards in 1934 serving with them in Palestine. After transferring to the Army reserve in 1937 he joined the Wisbech Division of the Isle of Ely Constabulary. Mobilised back into the Guards on the outbreak of war in 1939, Riley volunteered for the Commandos on their formation, joining 2 Troop, No.8 Commando which was commanded by another future significant SAS figure, 'Jock' Lewes. While serving in the Middle East as part of 'Layforce', Lewes developed the use of four man teams operating behind enemy lines, the team consisting of Riley, Jim Blakeney, 'Gentleman Jim' Almonds, and 'Bob' Lilley became known as the 'Tobruk Four'.On the disbandment of Layforce, Lewes and the Tobruk Four were invited to join the newly formed 'L' Detachment, SAS Brigade by David Stirling. In November 1941, Riley took part in the disastrous first raid by the unit on airfields in the Gazala-Timini area in which only 22 of 55 men parachuted into the desert survived death or capture by the enemy. Fortunately for the new unit, more successful raids followed culminating in the famous raid on the port of Bouerat in January 1942 in which large petrol supplies were destroyed and for which Riley was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The citation for the award reads: 'North Africa: This NCO led a party on the first Bouerat raid Feb (sic) 1942. The party placed demolition charges on many heavy enemy transport vehicles and on various dumps. By skilled and daring leadership he succeeded in bluffing the enemy sentries. Thereby he avoided giving any alarm which would have interfered with the work of other parties operating in the same area. He has shown the greatest gallantry and the highest qualities of leadership in other raids at Slonta and Nofilia in March and April 1942'. On their return to their base at Kibrit, Riley was given responsibility for training, replacing 'Paddy' Mayne who had initially been given the job but was eager to return to a more active role. Despite his new role, Riley continued taking part in operations in the Benghazi area, including in September 1942 a large scale raid on the port in which the SAS lost 50 out of 200 men involved. Riley was promoted to Regimental Sergeant Major after which he was sent to an Officer Cadet Training Unit and commissioned into the Queens (Royal West Surrey) Regiment. Returning to the SAS, Riley was placed in command of C Section, 1 Troop. With the the war in North Africa coming to an end the SAS was re-designated The Special Raiding Squadron/Special Boat Squadron, the former under the command of Paddy Mayne with David Stirling in captivity. The unit took part in the assault on Sicily, destroying a battery at Capo Murro di Porco and taking part in the opposed landing at Augusta. In September 1943 the SRS landed at Bagnara on the Italian mainland, securing a bridgehead for the main landing. The raid on Termoli as part of the Special Service Brigade followed. Initial success was followed by fierce fighting with German troops from the 16th Panzer Division. With complete carnage raging in the town Paddy Mayne decided at this point to engage in a game of billiards in an abandoned palazzo with Riley, Bill Frazer and Phil Gunn. Pat Riley recalled, 'He just carried on with the game, I thought to myself, Well if you can do it chum, I'll do it with you. And we did. We finished the game, and then went outside to get things sorted'. The action at Termoli was very costly for the SRS with 69 men killed, wounded or missing. Following this Riley was transferred back to the UK with Johnny Cooper and Mike Sadler to assist in setting up camps and training for the SAS, now expanded to brigade size with French and Belgian units, for the coming operations in Northwest Europe. Riley was to ensure that the SAS units were properly equipped and supplied for the jeep operations behind enemy lines that followed. After the conclusion of WW2 Riley was transferred to the Army reserve in November 1945. He rejoined the Police as a Constable at Wisbech but quickly bored of the inaction and volunteered as a Captain in the Malayan Regiment in which unit he worked closely with the Malayan Scouts during the 'Emergency'. Riley retired from the army in 1959 with the rank of Major, he purchased and ran the Dolphin Hotel in Colchester before taking a managerial role with Securicor and finally retiring in 1980 in Hastings. He organised and attended many regimental reunions right up to his death on February 9th 1999. It is a privilege for us to offer for auction this item which belonged to a legendary Special Air Service soldier, it is an old cliche, 'If only it could talk', in this case, what a story it would tell. The items come direct from family with a letter of provenance from Pat Rileys Granddaughter.