Major Peter Ratcliffe, (born 1951) is a former

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

soldier and commissioned officer who served in the Parachute Regiment and the Special Air Service in a career of almost thirty years, during which he was awarded the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

for gallantry in action during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. He is the author of the book ''The Eye of the Storm'' (2000).

Early life

Ratcliffe was born in 1951 and spent his childhood years in Salford, Greater Manchester, where as a teenager he was an apprenticed plasterer.

Military career

Ratcliffe joined the British Army's Parachute Regiment in January 1970 as private 24180996. He served with the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment on

Operation Banner Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007, as part of the Troubles. It was the longest continuous deployment in British military history. The British Army was initial ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in 1971–72, before transferring to the

Special Air Service Regiment The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The re ...

in 1972. He was attached to the 22 SAS, seeing service with its 18 (Mobility) Troop, 'D' Squadron. During his time in the SAS he saw active service in a number of conflicts, including the

Dhofar Rebellion The Dhofar Rebellion, also known as the Dhofar War or the Omani Civil War, was waged from 1963 to 1976 in the province of Dhofar against the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. The war began with the formation of the Dhofar Liberation Front, a group ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

, the Falklands War, for which on 8th October 1982 he was Mentioned in Dispatches, and

Operation Granby Operation Granby, commonly abbreviated Op Granby, was the code name given to the British military operations during the 1991 Gulf War. 53,462 members of the British Armed Forces were deployed during the conflict. The total cost of operations w ...

in the

. During the latter conflict, Ratcliffe was the

Regimental Sergeant Major Regimental sergeant major (RSM) is an appointment that may be held by warrant officers class 1 (WO1) in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many other Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, including Australia ...

of 22 SAS, and received an order to assume command of its 'A' Squadron in a highly unusual circumstance of a non-commissioned officer replacing an officer in a command position. He subsequently led the squadron on a raid behind enemy lines against an Iraqi Army communications facility code-named by the British "Victor Two", for which he was afterwards awarded the

for gallantry in action. Ratcliffe received a commission in 1992, and after completing his career as a training officer with 23 Special Air Service Regiment, he retired from the British Army after almost thirty years service with the rank of Major in 1997.

Post-military activities

Ratcliffe published a memoir of his military career entitled ''Eye of the Storm'' in 2000. He has been critical of other published works by former SAS personnel, specifically "

Andy McNab Steven Billy Mitchell, (born 28 December 1959), usually known by the pseudonym and pen-name of Andy McNab, is a novelist and former British Army infantry soldier. He came into public prominence in 1993 when he published a book entitled '' Bra ...

" and "

Chris Ryan Colin Armstrong (born 1961), usually known by the pseudonym and pen-name of Chris Ryan, is an author, television presenter, security consultant and former Special Air Service sergeant. After the publication of fellow patrol member Andy McNa ...

", claiming that they have damaged the reputation of the regiment by fabricating elements of their war experiences in published works for monetary gain. Ratcliffe has also publicly voiced concern about the provision of

post traumatic stress Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...

support by the British Government to former soldiers of the British Army, following a number of high-profile suicides by former SAS soldiers after their military service careers.

Publications

* ''Eye of the Storm: 25 Years in Action with the SAS'' (2000). * ''The Little Book of the SAS'' (2001).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratcliffe, Peter 1951 births Living people Military personnel from Manchester Special Air Service soldiers Special Air Service officers British Parachute Regiment soldiers Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal British non-fiction writers British Army personnel of the Falklands War People from Salford British military personnel of the Dhofar Rebellion British Army personnel of the Gulf War British male writers 20th-century non-fiction writers Male non-fiction writers