Medals of SAS hero who fought alongside the legendary Paddy Mayne in a 'suicidal' rescue mission

Renowned SAS commander 'Paddy' Mayne was so courageous (and hard as nails) he won not one but four Distinguished Service Order awards during the Second World War.

However, Mayne – one of the original SAS members – was never awarded a Victoria Cross, the highest military gallantry honour his country could bestow.

One reason was said to be inadvertently the actions of his comrade Sgt JS Scott of the Special Boat Squadron, 1^st SAS Regiment, who manned Vickers and Browning machine guns alongside Mayne during the action which resulted in Mayne’s fourth DSO (a third bar).

They headed off in a Jeep on a ‘virtually suicidal’ mission in Germany to help save eight colleagues trapped in a ditch on April 10, 1945.

Scott provided covering fire, and it seems this was deemed, therefore, to mean Mayne had not acted single-handedly and was ineligible for the VC, despite the backing of Field Marshal Montgomery. Scott was given the Military Medal.

Mayne was a highly controversial figure and many supporters felt he had been denied a VC unfairly.

That should, of course, not detract from Scott’s own bravery, as evident in his Military Medal group of eight which came up for sale and estimated at £10,000-15,000. They sold for over £50,000. 

The honours were sold with related ephemera including a Certificate of Service in the 1st Special Air Service Regiment from February 14, 1943, to November 16, 1945 in the Western Desert, Italy and North West Europe signed by Lt Colonel Mayne.

Another intriguing item was a typed letter dated December 12, 1943, from Major Lord Jellicoe (first commander of the Special Boat Squadron), to request assistance in getting Sgt Scott back to his unit following his escape from a POW camp and on subsequent return to said camp to assist other prisoners to escape, with envelope addressed to Commando leader Major General RE Laycock.

After the war Captain Scott put forward to be a King’s Messenger, backed by letters of recommendation from Mayne and Lord Jellicoe, but it never happened. He met his future wife in Belgium during the armistice and then worked for the family printing business. They subsequently moved to Toadsmoor, near Stroud in Gloucestershire, to continue in the printing trade.

In 2005 Early Day Motion put before the House of Commons and supported by more than 100 MPs called for Mayne to be posthumously awarded a VC but the government did not reopen his case.