Greek Sacred Squadron

Formed in Palestine in 1942 from Greek Officers and cadets fighting at the time in the Middle East and originally under the command of Major Antonios Stefanakis. When its new commander Col. Christodoulos Tsigantes took over he changed the role to one of a Special Forces nature and they trained at the SAS base in Cairo. Also known as "Sacred Band" and increased in size to 400 men, the unit fought with General Leclerc's Free French forces in Tunisia, the SAS in the Libyan desert, and with the SAS and SBS in the Aegean. In 1944 it is increased to Regiment strength and put under the command of British Raiding Forces. It is involved in combat operations with the combined SAS/SBS raiding forces on the islands of the northern Aegean sea and the Dodecanese. Notable among the many operations - July 1944 a combined Greek-British raiding force catures the German garrison on the island of Simi. Under Brigadier Turnbull's overall command, Lt. Col. John Neilson 'Ian' Lapraik, DSO, OBE, MC and bar, played a leading role commanding the British Special Forces (Force 142 a combined SAS/SBS force) involved. Throughout the months of 1944 and 1945 it continues in successful operations against the German garrisons on other islands. On the 7th August 1945 the unit disbands at a parade in Athens.

The photos are from a collection courtesy of Gary Cootes. They are believed to have been taken by one of the British SBS/SAS raiders who is pictured in the 2 individual photos titled unknown (1) and (1a) within the collection.

The full history of the Squadron is now available here The Sacred Squadron