Books
By Damien Lewis
The untold story of the most‐daring SAS mission of WWII
‘One of the most dangerous and effective attacks ever undertaken by this Regiment against the enemy.' Lt Col Robert Walker‐Brown, MBE DSO, senior SAS commander, on German Army HQ raid.
In the hard-fought winter of 1944 the Allies advanced northwards through Italy, but stalled on the fearsome mountainous defences of the Gothic Line. Two men were parachuted in, in an effort to break the deadlock. Their mission: to penetrate deep into enemy territory and lay waste to the Germans' impregnable headquarters.
At the eleventh hour mission commanders radioed for David 'The Mad Piper' Kirkpatrick to be flown in, resplendent in his tartan kilt. They wanted this fearless war hero to lead the assault, piping Highland Laddie as he went - so leaving an indelible British signature to deter Nazi reprisals.
As the column of raiders formed up, there was shocking news. High command radioed through an order to stand down, having assessed the chances of success at little more than zero. But in defiance of orders, and come hell or high-water, they were going in.
The untold story of the most‐daring SAS mission of WWII
‘One of the most dangerous and effective attacks ever undertaken by this Regiment against the enemy.' Lt Col Robert Walker‐Brown, MBE DSO, senior SAS commander, on German Army HQ raid.
In the hard-fought winter of 1944 the Allies advanced northwards through Italy, but stalled on the fearsome mountainous defences of the Gothic Line. Two men were parachuted in, in an effort to break the deadlock. Their mission: to penetrate deep into enemy territory and lay waste to the Germans' impregnable headquarters.
At the eleventh hour mission commanders radioed for David 'The Mad Piper' Kirkpatrick to be flown in, resplendent in his tartan kilt. They wanted this fearless war hero to lead the assault, piping Highland Laddie as he went - so leaving an indelible British signature to deter Nazi reprisals.
As the column of raiders formed up, there was shocking news. High command radioed through an order to stand down, having assessed the chances of success at little more than zero. But in defiance of orders, and come hell or high-water, they were going in.
By Phil Campion and Julie Davies
Today's world is a place fraught with danger. Nobody is better placed to help counter these everyday threats than ex-SAS survival expert Big Phil Campion. He imparts much sought-after knowledge on all aspects of modern life, from advice on how to make your home safer and how to survive your daily commute, to the seemingly more distant threat of how to survive in a war zone or if caught in a man-made disaster.
Drawing on his elite combat experience and a career which has taken him to some of the world’s most dangerous places, Big Phil will help you face any threat, in any situation, anywhere.
Out now.
Today's world is a place fraught with danger. Nobody is better placed to help counter these everyday threats than ex-SAS survival expert Big Phil Campion. He imparts much sought-after knowledge on all aspects of modern life, from advice on how to make your home safer and how to survive your daily commute, to the seemingly more distant threat of how to survive in a war zone or if caught in a man-made disaster.
Drawing on his elite combat experience and a career which has taken him to some of the world’s most dangerous places, Big Phil will help you face any threat, in any situation, anywhere.
Out now.
By Phil Campion and Damien Lewis
Not dead yet. Not kidnapped, captured, tortured or killed. But he's come bloody close ... Meet 'Big' Phil Campion. To his fellow operators he's a private military contractor. To you or me he's a mercenary, a soldier of fortune, a gun for hire selling violence to the highest bidder. But to Big Phil it's all just another chapter in a life spent fighting in the shadows. Abandoned. Run-away. Half-beaten to death. Blown-up. Locked up. And all before the age of twenty.
This is the incredible true story of how Phil Campion survived all of that, and went on to complete Commando selection, Para selection, and to join the SAS - before fighting as a mercenary in the world's toughest war zones. Undertaking deniable operations, freeing hostages and escaping terrorists hell bent on revenge - the dangers and insane risks of life as a private military operator eclipsed even those of waging war in an SAS Sabre Squadron.
Big Phil's story of life on the private military circuit ('The Circuit') is a high-octane blend of chasing fast bucks in a Wild West industry, whilst always staying one step ahead of the bad guys. 'I've often been asked if I've killed anyone. My answer: I didn't shoot to miss'. Phil Campion, January 2010
BORN FEARLESS is currently being developed as a feature film by an LA based production company and being developed as a TV drama series.
Not dead yet. Not kidnapped, captured, tortured or killed. But he's come bloody close ... Meet 'Big' Phil Campion. To his fellow operators he's a private military contractor. To you or me he's a mercenary, a soldier of fortune, a gun for hire selling violence to the highest bidder. But to Big Phil it's all just another chapter in a life spent fighting in the shadows. Abandoned. Run-away. Half-beaten to death. Blown-up. Locked up. And all before the age of twenty.
This is the incredible true story of how Phil Campion survived all of that, and went on to complete Commando selection, Para selection, and to join the SAS - before fighting as a mercenary in the world's toughest war zones. Undertaking deniable operations, freeing hostages and escaping terrorists hell bent on revenge - the dangers and insane risks of life as a private military operator eclipsed even those of waging war in an SAS Sabre Squadron.
Big Phil's story of life on the private military circuit ('The Circuit') is a high-octane blend of chasing fast bucks in a Wild West industry, whilst always staying one step ahead of the bad guys. 'I've often been asked if I've killed anyone. My answer: I didn't shoot to miss'. Phil Campion, January 2010
BORN FEARLESS is currently being developed as a feature film by an LA based production company and being developed as a TV drama series.
By Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis
Mende Nazer's happy childhood in the remote Nuba Mountains of Sudan was cruelly cut short when raiders on horseback swept into her village. The Mujahidin hacked down terrified villagers, raped the women and abducted the children. Twelve-year-old Mende was one of them. Sold to an Arab woman in Khartoum, Mende was kept as a domestic slave, without any pay or a single day off. Her food was leftover scraps, and her bed was the floor of the garden shed. She endured this harsh and lonely existence for seven long years and was then passed on by her master to a relative in London. Eventually Mende managed to make contact with other Nuba exiles who, with British journalist and filmmaker Damien Lewis, helped her escape to freedom.
SLAVE was intepreted for TV drama, 'I am Slave' for Channel 4 Television and theatre production: Slave - A Question of Freedom (Feelgood Productions).
Mende Nazer's happy childhood in the remote Nuba Mountains of Sudan was cruelly cut short when raiders on horseback swept into her village. The Mujahidin hacked down terrified villagers, raped the women and abducted the children. Twelve-year-old Mende was one of them. Sold to an Arab woman in Khartoum, Mende was kept as a domestic slave, without any pay or a single day off. Her food was leftover scraps, and her bed was the floor of the garden shed. She endured this harsh and lonely existence for seven long years and was then passed on by her master to a relative in London. Eventually Mende managed to make contact with other Nuba exiles who, with British journalist and filmmaker Damien Lewis, helped her escape to freedom.
SLAVE was intepreted for TV drama, 'I am Slave' for Channel 4 Television and theatre production: Slave - A Question of Freedom (Feelgood Productions).
By Damien Lewis
It is 1976 in war-torn Beirut. Under cover of a massive firefight, an unknown band of armed men blast their way into the Imperial Bank of Beirut. Over the next 48 hours they load three trucks with gold bullion and then disappear without a trace.
Two weeks earlier, a young SAS Major newly arrived in The Regiment had tasked his men with planning just such a Beirut bank robbery — strictly as an exercise only. But when SAS veteran Luke Kilbride presented his plan for the heist, the Major tore it apart as being “useless.” Kilbride didn’t appreciate this jumped-up officer telling him he was a fool and, together with the men in his unit, he decided to prove the Major wrong and rob the bank anyway as a freelance operation. But while the heist went like clockwork, it was just the start of things going wrong for Kilbride and his men. Eventually they were forced to hide the loot and make their getaway.
Thirty years later, Kilbride and his team are planning their return. The only problem is that a powerful enemy is hell bent on finding the gold before they do. Kilbride dreams up an audacious mission as a decoy, but it becomes a race against time to reach the gold before the ruthless Black Assassins can catch up with them.
Fact: the 1976 Beirut bank heist remains the world's biggest ever bank job. No one has ever been arrested. The crime has never been solved. None of the gold has ever been found.
COBRA GOLD is currently in production as a feature film in LA.
It is 1976 in war-torn Beirut. Under cover of a massive firefight, an unknown band of armed men blast their way into the Imperial Bank of Beirut. Over the next 48 hours they load three trucks with gold bullion and then disappear without a trace.
Two weeks earlier, a young SAS Major newly arrived in The Regiment had tasked his men with planning just such a Beirut bank robbery — strictly as an exercise only. But when SAS veteran Luke Kilbride presented his plan for the heist, the Major tore it apart as being “useless.” Kilbride didn’t appreciate this jumped-up officer telling him he was a fool and, together with the men in his unit, he decided to prove the Major wrong and rob the bank anyway as a freelance operation. But while the heist went like clockwork, it was just the start of things going wrong for Kilbride and his men. Eventually they were forced to hide the loot and make their getaway.
Thirty years later, Kilbride and his team are planning their return. The only problem is that a powerful enemy is hell bent on finding the gold before they do. Kilbride dreams up an audacious mission as a decoy, but it becomes a race against time to reach the gold before the ruthless Black Assassins can catch up with them.
Fact: the 1976 Beirut bank heist remains the world's biggest ever bank job. No one has ever been arrested. The crime has never been solved. None of the gold has ever been found.
COBRA GOLD is currently in production as a feature film in LA.