lssah2025 Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 GOD SPEED!!! John McAleese, the special forces soldier who led the dramatic raid that ended the 1980 Iranian embassy seige in London has died, government ministries said Sunday. A no-nonsense Scot with a giant drooping moustache, "Mac", who was in his early 60s, died on Friday in Thessaloniki in Greece. His son Serjeant Paul McAleese, 29, was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan two years ago as he tried to help a fatally injured comrade. Mac's daughter said he never got over the loss. "We can confirm the death of Mr McAleese in Greece on August 26 and are providing assistance to his next of kin at this difficult time," a Foreign Office spokesman said. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We are aware of the death of John McAleese, a hero who served his country bravely and professionally in a military career that spanned many years. "Our thoughts are with his family and friends." McAleese's daughter Hayley, 28, said the former Special Air Service (SAS) sergeant never got over the death of his son. "I am sure the grief and stress he had suffered had a bearing on what has happened," she told reporters. "He is now reunited with his son. Two great heroes taking their place in heaven." McAleese spent 23 years in the army, including 17 in the SAS. In one of the defining events of the decade in Britain, millions watched live on television as McAleese and his team, dressed head to toe in black, stormed the Iranian embassy to end a six-day siege. Six armed Iranian separatists had taken over the plush 16 Prince's Gate mission, taking 26 people hostage. Five were released in exchange for minor concessions, but on the sixth day, they killed one hostage and threw his body out the front door. On prime minister Margaret Thatcher's orders, the SAS went in, abseiling from the roof, blowing out the windows in a huge explosion and storming inside. They rescued all but one of the remaining hostages and killed five of the six separatists. The only gunman to survive concealed himself among the hostages. Once identified by a freed captive, some reports suggest the SAS were prepared to shoot him dead on the spot. He served 27 years in a jail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Well he stormed Hell enough times, St Peter! Stand to your kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Drake Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 R.I.P. a Hero. Condolences to his family and friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G506 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 RIP to father and son, true heroes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Good news is - the issues over the repatriation of Mac's body have been resolved - this must be an enormous relief to his surviving family!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 para Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 i knew mac very well ,i did some close protection work with him a few times, a very modest man . RIP mac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landyandy Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 if anyones read the sun today.why the hell can they not let this man rest in peace what the hell is wrong with people Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Suslowicz Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 if anyones read the sun today.why the hell can they not let this man rest in peace what the hell is wrong with people I wouldn't touch The Sun with an eleven-foot pole and insulated gloves, but if it's the same tattle that was in yesterday's Sunday Mercury (I am now looking for a decent Sunday newspaper, or maybe the TV Times, to replace this mistake), then I am currently sharpening and polishing a letter to the Press Complaints Commission. Ba*ds!:mad: "De mortuis nihil nisi bonum" is just the beginning of it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Ok, do tell. What was in the article? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landyandy Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Ok, do tell.What was in the article? http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/midlands-news/2011/09/18/dead-hereford-sas-hero-john-mcaleese-was-facing-child-porn-probe-6633 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landyandy Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/midlands-news/2011/09/18/dead-hereford-sas-hero-john-mcaleese-was-facing-child-porn-probe-6633 the man is dead what the hell are they doing bringing this up,all it is doing is tarnishing his family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Suslowicz Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 the man is dead what the hell are they doing bringing this up,all it is doing is tarnishing his family Not just that: two days after his funeral, I think, and they put it on the front page with the biggest type they could find.:mad: It's not the gutter press anymore, it's the sewer press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Not just that: two days after his funeral, I think, and they put it on the front page with the biggest type they could find.:mad: It's not the gutter press anymore, it's the sewer press. Agreed. It seems endemic in the world today that hero's get the sh*t piled on them after they pass away whilst scum like crooks and politicians always smell of roses. Grrrrr........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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