Tommy MacPherson; the “Kilted Killer”
Claymore sends us a link in War History Online which tells the tale of superbadass Major Tommy MacPherson who passed away last November. Here’s a summary of his World War II exploits;
Served as an officer in the No.11 Scottish Commandoes in WW2
In 1941, during a daring four man raid to capture Erwin Rommel in North Africa, he was captured by the enemy.
In a span of 2 years, he escaped a total of 7 times till finally making it back to the UK.
Days after his return, he was ordered by Winston Churchill himself to “Set Europe ablaze”
He parachuted behind enemy in lines in France and began a long campaign of destruction alongside the French resistance.
Virtually every single night, he would either kill Germans or destroy their supplies and communications.
On one occasion when a German staff car was approaching a level crossing Macpherson booby-trapped the barrier arm so it crashed down on the vehicle, decapitating the local commandant and his driver
He single handedly captured 23,000 men and 1,000 vehicles in one night by simply convincing a German General that he was in command of the Allied forces in the area.
As a touch of class, he would ride around the enemy country side in a black French car with a British flag attached to it. The Germans placed a 300,000 franc bounty on his head
He then went to Italy and pretty much did all of the above again.
Wounded numerous times and awarded the Military Cross for his actions
One of the most decorated soldier in historyWith three Military Crosses, three Croix de guerre, a Légion d’honneur, and a papal knighthood for his heroics during the Second World War, Sir Tommy Macpherson is the most decorated living soldier of the British Army.
You should read the whole story at the link – it’s a pretty incredible story, that my cutting and pasting wouldn’t do justice.
Category: Real Soldiers
If they made a movie about this guy (and they should!), nobody would believe it.
Best line in the whole damn thing: “As a touch of class, he would ride around the enemy country side in a black French car with a British flag attached to it.”
I’m really having trouble believing that he captured the 2nd SS Panzer Division. That division was active well into 1945.
Wikipedia gives a somewhat different account of that “captured 23,000” bit – e.g., they indicated Macpherson was involved in negotiating their surrender, that the unit was a “mixed bag” of mostly rear-echelon troops (but did include 7,000 “front line” troops), and that the unit in question was already predisposed to do same. Macpherson’s actions did, however, probably hasten their surrender somewhat.
In this case, the Wikipedia article appears well sourced – including work written by Macpherson himself and, presumably, a ghostwriter named Richard Bath describing the surrender. So I’d guess the Wikipedia article to be reasonably accurate in this case.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Macpherson#CITEREFMacpherson2012
Jonn thank you for this. What a soldier among soldiers he was.
I can only imagine what would have happened had he met Felix von Luckner, WWI’ “Sea Devil” – in the age of ironclad battleships, von Luckner took a CLIPPER ship out as a raider, and with it sank something like 25 ships, disrupting shipping all over the Atlantic – injuring only one (1) enemy sailor in all that time. He went on in WWII to negotiate the surrender of Halle, keeping the US and the SS from waging a huge battle there. Larger than life men – I’ll bet they could have had a fascinating conversation.
And he looks like such a nice chap. 😉
Don’t ever sell the Brits or Scots short when it comes to bravery, soldiering, etc. Many Americans seem to think most British men are very proper, a little effete, etc. But the UK has always produced a lot of tough, stoic guys who make excellent military men. And the whole stereotype of the British “stiff upper lip” is quite accurate, for both the men and the women.
And Tommy MacPherson epitomized everything I have said about the Brits. What a man.
That one sentence should have read “Don’t ever sell the English or Scots short…”
They are all “Brits,” and that includes the equally tough Welsh.
I know quite a few Scotsmen who would argue that point…I can find you a Welshman or 2 who would also. But all the same, brilliant article about one BAMF…they don’t make ’em like that any more!
I am aware some Scots and Welsh take exception to being called Brits, but it’s all geographically Great Britain (hence “Brits”), no matter what semantics the nationalists want to play.
From your perspective – perhaps. There is a distinction from mine.
Some of us do refer to the whole differently from the separate parts.
Exactly…
There we go again, ignoring the Irish!
Irish and Scot brigades are the toughest SOB’s ever to fight for the Brits!
When we say we served in the company of heroes, this is who we are talking about.
I feel so inept and useless after reading this tale of derring do…
I’m speechless other than saying I bet HE taught Chuck Norris how to be a Badass!!
..And it’s Tommy this, and Tommy that…
…and you’re gawdam right it is!
If he was american he would have been a Marine… nuf said 🙂
Based on one historical case of which I have knowledge – don’t think so.
I expect to have an article on that case up sometime in the next few days.
I’ve never thought anyone from the UK was effete, just polite with a nice accent.
They do still make them like this.
this guy is from the greatest generation my country ever produced. we don’t have many left now as they are all 80+ years old. here is a link you may be interested in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ0ABuUMjxo
When we read about true heroes such as this one, there is very little to say or do except stand silently in awe of them. There is no way to explain it to others – the spine just straightens a bit to have been in the company of such greatness, even tangentially.
RIP, Sir Tommy MacPherson.
[…] the entire war despite the Germans’ determination to take him out — even orchestrating the surrender of 23,000 German troops at the Das Reich Headquarters by bluffing that the Royal Air Force would unleash hell if they […]