With so few survivors of the Second World War military generation alive
today, it is extremely fortunate that men like David Sutherland recorded
their experiences for posterity. There can be few veterans whose
contribution to victory can rival Sutherland's as readers of this superb
memoir will discover.
Much of the action is set in the Aegean where the author served with the
Special Boat Service, an offshoot of the infant SAS, raiding airfields
on the German-held islands. This is made all the more moving by the
author's profound and lasting admiration for the Greek resistance
fighters who risked not just their lives, but those of their families
and entire villages, by giving their support.
David Sutherland's war certainly ranks very high indeed in the thriller
ratings. While modest when describing his own role, he is typically
generous in his praise of comrades. Yet he cannot disguise the fact that
he found it all exhilarating - while realizing that ultimately he was
extremely lucky to come out alive.
Post-war Sutherland served with MI5, and he rounds off his account with
a brief description of his time in the secretive counterintelligence
agency.
He Who Dares is more than a military memoir, it is true adventure
story which, over seventy years on, remains an inspiring and revealing
insight in to Second World War special forces operations.
