Security Advisory Services
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Security Advisory Services was a British private military company founded by Leslie Aspin, an arms dealer, John Banks, a former
paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...
of the
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 ...
, and Frank Perren, a former
Royal Marine The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
, in order to recruit mercenaries for military operations abroad. In 1976, the company massively hired paid soldiers to fight in the
Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...
, which was the biggest mercenary recruitment operation in Britain since the
Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...
at the end of the 1960s.


History


Background

Starting from the 1960s, a number of British private companies were established by ex-officers of 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 ...
(SAS) and
Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...
, forming an undercover network for the employment of former servicemen as armed bodyguards, members of assassination teams, and soldiers of private armies overseas. Some of those companies overtly advertised their security-related services (such as Saladin Security Ltd and Thor Security Systems Ltd), some had confusing names (such as Keenie Meenie Services Ltd), and some even operated as insurance or consulting firms (such as Thomas Nelson (Insurance) Ltd and
Control Risks Control Risks is a global risk and strategic consulting firm that specializes in political, security and integrity risk assessments. History Control Risks was formed in 1975, as a professional adviser to the insurance industry. A subsidiary of ...
Ltd). In 1967, the founder of SAS
David Stirling Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling, (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British Army and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). Under his leadership, the SAS carried out hit-and ...
set up the Watchguard International Ltd, with the official mission of supplying bodyguards to heads of states in Africa and the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
. Its actual activity, however, extended to providing forces for secret military operations and training guerilla fighters. One of the Watchguard's employees was a former paratrooper John Banks.


Formation

In the summer of 1975, John Banks published the following advertisement in a newspaper: He opened an office of the Security Advisory Services in Sandhurst and planned to recruit mercenaries for the war in Southern Rhodesia. The recruitment was not successful, but Banks managed to gather information about those willing to fight abroad.


War in Angola

In November 1975, Norman Hall, a former paratrooper and assistant to the head of the
National Liberation Front of Angola The National Front for the Liberation of Angola (; abbreviated FNLA) is a political party and former militant organisation that fought for Angolan independence from Portugal in the war of independence, under the leadership of Holden Roberto. F ...
(FNLA)
Holden Roberto Álvaro Holden Necaca Roberto Diasiwa (Angolan ; January 12, 1923 – August 2, 2007) was an Angolan politician who founded and led the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) from 1962 to 1999. Early life Son of Roberto Garcia Diasiwa an ...
, arrived in Britain. Hall brought $25,000 to the Security Advisory Services asking for help in recruiting mercenaries to support FNLA in the Angolan Civil War. Later on, the company also received $84,000 from Terence Haig, another aide of Roberto. Apart from placing advertisement in newspapers, John Banks recruited paid soldiers in pubs of
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Before their departure to Angola, mercenaries gathered in the pub Dirty Dick's and stayed overnight in the
St George in the East St George-in-the-East is an Anglican Church dedicated to Saint George; located on Cannon Street Road, between The Highway and Cable Street, in the East End of London. Behind the church lies St George's Gardens, the original graveyard. Histor ...
church in London. By various estimates, from 90 to 200 soldiers were sent to Angola by the Security Advisory Services. John Banks accompanied a group of mercenaries departing from
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
to
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, from where they flew on a charter flight to
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
, the capital of the Angola's neighbor
Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
, without Banks. Another group flew to
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
, where they took a charter flight to Zaire. Security Advisory Services made 6-month contracts with mercenaries and paid for their transportation. According to John Banks, the company offered them $300 a week and promised them $10,000 as a reward for any Russian captured. Some of the mercenaries were only 17 years old, without any military training and without proper equipment. According to Ben Hills, a reporter for the Australian newspaper
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
, 59 paid soldiers were killed in Angola. Four captured mercenaries were sentenced to death (among them three British citizens) and nine to long-term imprisonment during the
Luanda Trial The Luanda Trial was a trial held in Luanda, Angola, in June 1976 during the Angolan Civil War. Thirteen Western mercenaries were sentenced to either long prison terms or execution by firing squad. Background Angola had gained its independence fro ...
.


See also

* UN Mercenary Convention *
Unlawful combatant An unlawful combatant, illegal combatant, or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a person who directly engages in armed conflict and is considered a terrorist and therefore is deemed not to be a lawful combatant protected by the Geneva Conven ...
* Arms trade


Notes


Citations


References

* * * * * * * * * {{cite news , last=Weinraub , first=Bernard , title=Briton Recruiting for Angola Group , url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/02/03/archives/briton-recruiting-for-angola-group-1000-mercenaries-sought-for.html , newspaper=New York Times , date=3 February 1976, page=7 , ref={{SfnRef, Weinraub2, 1976


External links


A photo of the building on the Yorktown Road at Sandhurst, where the Security Advisory Services office was situated
Angolan Civil War Mercenary units and formations Private military contractors Security companies of the United Kingdom