The SAS teenager who said killing would be 'ok': DAMIEN LEWIS tells how WWII hero Alec 'boy' Borrie joined up aged just 16 but became one of leader Paddy Mayne's favourites - and survived being blown up in a jeep

The agelong file of heavy equipped jeeps nosed into no-man's-land, nan area sandwiched betwixt American and German lines. 

To each sides nan terrain was war-blasted, smoke-enshrouded and devoid of life. Ghosts seemed to stalk nan landscape.

At nan instrumentality of 1 of nan starring vehicles was a fig who looked much for illustration a 'boy scout' than immoderate hardened SAS warrior.

Alec 'Boy' Borrie had joined nan Gordon Highlanders claiming to beryllium eighteen, but was hardly sixteen. 

Months connected defender work had near him saturated stiff, truthful erstwhile calls went retired for SAS volunteers Borrie jumped astatine nan chance. 

An question and reply pinch Blair 'Paddy' Mayne followed, astatine which nan seasoned and highly-decorated SAS commandant had asked Borrie really he'd consciousness astir killing?

'I haven't done immoderate yet, truthful I don't know,' was Borrie's typically forthright answer. 'I deliberation it'll beryllium okay.'

Maybe it was his disarming honesty, but for immoderate logic Borrie was 1 of conscionable 30 of 300 volunteers selected, and he would spell connected to make it done aggravated SAS training. 

That was respective months ago. Now, successful 1944, he was here, astir to look his baptism of fire, arsenic their convoy attempted to gaffe done nan German frontline.

As his eyes strained successful nan gloom, Borrie nudged his commander, Captain Roy Close. 'Look ahead, sir.'

Far successful beforehand laic a French café, and beside it was parked nan unique shape of a Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251, a German subject halftrack. 

Beyond it laic a agelong statement of force trucks, painted their unique section grey.

As nan file of jeeps approached, funny faces – German soldiers – turned their way. 

From their earliest days of operations, nan SAS made judge to person a autochthonal German speaker, often a German Jew, embedded successful their patrols. 

Right now, a sound cried retired a greeting successful German, from nan lead jeep: 'Hallo, Kamerade!'

Figures each on nan statement of jeeps began to wave, arsenic if they and nan force were nan champion of friends. 

Amazingly, nan ruse worked. Smiling and waving, nan jeeps sped past, until a very invited crook successful nan roadworthy whisked nan SAS retired of view.

Repeatedly, nan SAS ran nan gauntlet, posing arsenic friends forces, until personification from nan rear jeep radioed done a warning.

'Radio silence! Radio silence!' nan convoy commandant barked.

But nan sound astatine nan rear would not beryllium silenced. 'We person 4 much vehicles successful convoy,' he warned.

Sure enough, a group of force vehicles had tagged onto nan SAS column, arsenic nan tail-end Charlies. 

Thankfully, erstwhile nan SAS turned disconnected southeast, nan force vehicles continued consecutive on. As they parted institution some sides bid their farewells pinch a last wave.

Reaching nan Yonne region of France, immoderate 250miles from nan Normandy beaches, nan patrols sewage to work. 

Near nan municipality of Châtillon-en-Bazois, Close steered his four-jeep patrol into a heavy wood hideout. 

Shortly, they received a informing from a section Frenchman. A German convoy was owed done nan area. They'd request to move quickly if they were to deed it.

With 1 last cheque connected their jeep-mounted Vickers-K guns and grenades, Close navigated nan patrol to an perfect ambush spot – a agelong of unfastened road, pinch a crook astatine either end. 

Backing nan jeeps into nan roadside woodland, Close dispersed them on nan full strait.

The scheme was simple. Close, pinch Borrie astatine nan wheel, parented nan past jeep successful line. 

They'd let nan convoy to get level pinch them, earlier they'd trigger nan ambush, truthful halting nan lead force vehicles. 

Then nan remainder of nan jeeps would fto rip, aiming to origin 'maximum damage' arsenic nan convoy was trapped connected nan unfastened highway.

Borrie was still shunting their jeep into position, erstwhile nan growl of dense engines sounded from nan acold bend. 

First vehicles to look were a motorcycle outrider, starring a German unit car, pinch its mottle-grey camouflage paint. 

After that came a motortruck crammed pinch troops, and past different and another, and dozens more. Soon, nan full magnitude of roadworthy was afloat of vehicles.

Judging nan clip was right, nan guns connected Close's jeep spat flame, cutting down nan outrider, his motorbike sliding crossed nan roadworthy successful a hail of sparks and crashing into a roadside ditch. 

Swinging their weapons onto nan unit car, its windows imploded successful a ablution of glass, nan figures wrong slumping guardant arsenic they died.

All on nan woodland muzzles sparked, arsenic a twelve Vickers ripped retired nan fire. 

The troops successful nan starring trucks dived for screen beneath nan wreckage of their vehicles, but arsenic nan SAS poured successful a large wind of bullets much figures were trim down. 

From 1 of nan jeeps personification lobbed a grenade. It sailed complete a truck, exploding connected nan acold broadside successful a flash of orange.

But 1 of nan force vehicles, astir midway on nan column, had travel to a halt broadside connected to nan jeeps. 

In an instant, nan canvas sides dropped distant to uncover a brace of instrumentality guns mounted connected tripods. 

The gunners opened fire, and a large wind of rounds went hammering perilously debased complete nan jeeps.

They were 'Spandaus' - belt-fed MG34 machineguns – nicknamed 'Hitler's buzzsaw' by Allied troops, for they could hammer retired 1,200 rounds per minute. 

Having swung their copy Vickers around, Close and his men opened up connected nan nearest MG34, saturating its gun-team pinch fire, silencing first 1 and past some of nan weapons.

The force convoy was massive. The tail-end was still retired of view. The first 5 trucks were now raging infernos, pinch much peppered pinch slug holes. 

The cries of nan injured rent nan air, arsenic gunfire pulsed backmost and forth. But supra nan hellish din, nan ambushers heard different sound now, 1 they'd slightest expected.

From nan other guidance location were grunts of powerful engines. A 2nd force convoy was in-bound, and nan SAS were successful threat of being trapped. 

Close gave nan awesome to break contact. Two jeeps swung around, and roared up nan wood way heading for cover. 

But arsenic nan 3rd went to withdraw, a burst of force occurrence deed nan driver. He mislaid power of nan vehicle, which careered into a roadside ditch.

In a flash, Alec 'Boy' Borrie seized nan initiative. Reversing his jeep done a barrage of force fire, he made it to nan trapped vehicle. 

Then Borrie, cool arsenic a cucumber, sewage clasp of nan wounded man and dragged him aboard, on pinch his comrades.

That done, and pinch force troops swarming aboard their machinegun trucks, nan raiders hared disconnected into nan forest, 'bullets zipping past and smacking into nan trees each around.' 

Shortly, nan occurrence ceased. All that could beryllium heard was nan grunt of nan jeep's 'Go Devil' petrol engines, positive yells of siren echoing done nan woods from acold behind.

Once they'd gone a bully region Close called a halt. The 'taught emotion of excitement' was draining away, to beryllium replaced by nan be aware of nan hunted. 

They would spread up for nan nighttime successful a distant spot of woodland. 

Not having thought to bring overmuch food, 'dinner' was steaming beverage and biscuits, complete which they exchanged tales of nan battle.

As an SAS section, it was their first clip successful action. For 4 of their number – Borrie included - it was nan first clip they had ever faced nan enemy. 

On balance, they felt they'd done beautiful well.

In fact, nan belief those 8 men had near was fearsome. The surviving vehicles of nan force convoy reversed course, heading backmost into Nevers, nan metropolis from which they had group out, leaving down a statement of burned-out trucks and cars. 

A dense unit of German troops did return, to comb nan woodlands, but they recovered no-one. By then, nan SAS raiders were agelong gone.

Close, Borrie and nan remainder of nan patrol would spell connected to beryllium treated to a sumptuous feast by 'a French aristocrat who dressed for illustration an English man and said impeccable English', astatine his expansive chateau. 

Warned astir a German subject headquarters, they'd motorboat a hit-and-run onslaught connected that very building, being hailed by nan Mayor of Châtillon-en-Bazois arsenic nan 'Englishmen who person killed sixty of nan force ... and person travel to liberate nan town.'

They'd spell connected to statement for illustration location was nary tomorrow successful a recently liberated Paris, wherever they'd bask nan delights of nan 'most well-known and upmarket brothel successful France,' arsenic Borrie described it. 

But months later, pinch nan conflict for France won, they would look their toughest proceedings yet – nan snowbound, freezing and bloody march connected Berlin.

To Borrie, who by outpouring 1945 had spent nan champion portion of a twelvemonth astatine war, it was 'obvious that it would beryllium a different type of war.' 

The SAS would beryllium 'fighting connected German ungraded and everybody was nan enemy.' Serving astatine nan extremity of nan spear, their domiciled was to crowbar unfastened force frontlines. 

In doing truthful nan SAS faced die-hard Hitler Youth fighters, nan Volkssturm – Nazi Germany's location militia – armoured units, and elite paratroopers.

The guidance proved suicidal, pinch small 4th being fixed by either side. Even friends forces couldn't beryllium trusted. 

Moving successful their jeeps acold up of nan Allied frontline, nan SAS file was pounced connected by a US warplane. 

Having buzzed nan convoy of jeeps, each presumed nan aviator had identified them arsenic Allied troops. Not a spot of it.

Moments later, nan combatant craft came successful again, guns blazing. As nan aviator rolled successful for a 2nd attack, Mayne and his men mislaid patience. 

'We opened up pinch 40 Vickers-K guns,' Borrie noted, and nan warplane veered disconnected 'trailing achromatic smoke.'

Menaced by German snipers, location was nary telling erstwhile nan force mightiness strike. 

During nan ferocious conflict for Friesoythe, a municipality much than 40miles wrong Nazi Germany, an full SAS patrol had been captured. 

In nan aftermath of nan fighting, successful which they'd suffered dense casualties, Borrie and his pals were brewing up meal astatine nan roadside.

All of a sudden, a lone changeable from a adjacent location 'hit nan frying cookware and sent it flying.' 

By now, nan SAS jeeps had been fitted pinch nan heavy, .50-calibre Browning machineguns. 

More irritated astatine their 'breakfast being ruined' than being sniped at, Borrie and his cohorts put a agelong burst from nan brute of a weapon into nan house, earlier 'we cooked immoderate much nutrient and ate successful peace.'

But Borrie's warfare was astir to travel to a crisp and bloody end. 

As Mayne radioed SAS headquarters, 'This state perfectly bloody to activity in. The conflict is turning into a slogging lucifer and ourselves into Mine Detectors.' 

Pressing on, nan convoy probed heavy into dispute terrain. As 1 jeep deed a mine, they veered disconnected right, down a sideroad.

A constrictive gravel track, Borrie's jeep took nan lead. The conveyance commandant was SAS stalwart Sergeant Alex 'Sandy' Davidson, whose woman had fixed commencement to a babe woman who was not yet 1 twelvemonth old. 

Earlier, Davidson had based on that it was 'wrong to expect joined men to return portion successful nan existent fighting,' this precocious successful nan war. 

In nan jeep's rear, Trooper Freddy Caldwell served arsenic nan gunner, while Borrie was astatine nan wheel.

As they pressed on, Davidson ordered Borrie to instrumentality to nan tracks made by erstwhile vehicles. It was a sensible suggestion. 

Keeping to those tyre tracks, Borrie motored ahead. 

But an instant later location was a 'mighty flash and nan jeep roseate into nan air, and nan adjacent point I knew I was sitting successful nan section astatine nan broadside of nan roadworthy successful cleanable bid and quiet, not realising that nan blast had made maine deaf,' he later recalled. 

Davidson had been thrown successful 1 direction, and Borrie and Caldwell successful nan other. All that was near of nan jeep was a twisted, smoking wreck. 

Borrie was bleeding from nan head. Caldwell was severely burned. But Davidson had suffered horrendous injuries. Loaded into an ambulance, he would beryllium dormant by nan clip they reached a section hospital.

There, Borrie had his look stitched backmost together by a German surgeon, and Caldwell's burns were treated. 

As nan request for beds was acute, Borrie volunteered to beryllium treated arsenic 'walking wounded', and he was flown backmost to Britain successful a C47 Dakota carrier aircraft. 

Admitted to a Manchester hospital, he soon realized nan matron was a existent 'Adolf Hitler... It was worse than being successful prison.'

Borrie vowed to flight arsenic soon arsenic he could. On Victory successful Europe (VE) Day, Borrie -  still not moreover 21 years aged - seized his chance. 

He deed a section pub and sewage 'very drunk.' At 1 shape he had a blazing statement pinch a rude individual who refused to get retired of his way, earlier realizing it was his ain reflection successful nan mirror.

Returning to nan hospital, he was put connected a complaint for being AWOL. When his commander, Paddy Mayne, returned to England a fewer days later, he learned of nan news. 

Mayne came to liberate Borrie, and he ripped nan complaint expanse to shreds of course. No lawsuit to reply for this warfare hero.

In nan outpouring of 2023 I was fortunate capable to question and reply Alec, and to perceive astatine first manus immoderate of his unthinkable wartime stories. 

Sadly he passed distant a fewer months later, astatine nan property of 98.

He was survived by Major Mike Sadler MC MM, nan legendary navigator and SAS commander. Major Sadler sadly passed distant successful January 2024.

He was nan past known of personnel of nan original wartime SAS to die.  

Their afloat story, and that of Paddy Mayne and his set of warriors, is told successful my caller book, SAS Daggers Drawn.

SAS Daggers Drawn is published by Quercus.