Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Peter Ratcliffe, (born 1951) is a former

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

soldier and commissioned officer who served in the Parachute Regiment and the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

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 (UK), other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military ...

for gallantry in action during the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. 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 Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

, 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 initia ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

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 as a company, it was modelled on the British SAS with which it shares the motto, ...

in 1972. He was attached to the

22 SAS The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-ter ...

, 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 in

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

, the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

, for which on 8 October 1982 he was

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

, and Operation Granby in the

. During the latter conflict, Ratcliffe was the

Regimental Sergeant Major Regimental sergeant major (RSM) is an appointment that may be held by a warrant officer (WO) in the British Army, the Royal Marines, and the armies of many other Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations. It is also an actual rank in the Iri ...

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 The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), also referred to as the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraq ...

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 was promoted to captain in 1994. After completing his career as a training officer with

23 Special Air Service Regiment 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve) (23 SAS(R)) is a British Army Reserve special forces unit that forms part of United Kingdom Special Forces. Together with 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) (21 SAS(R)), it forms the ...

, 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 Special Air Service soldier. He came into public prominence in 1993 when he published a book entitled ''Bravo T ...

" and "

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

", 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 disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant d ...

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 Salford 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 British military personnel of the Dhofar War British Army personnel of the Gulf War British male writers 20th-century British non-fiction writers British male non-fiction writers British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland)