New book tells the story of Reg Seekings, one of the original members of the SAS, who lived out the last 20 years of his life in a Suffolk village

Reg Seekings was an ordinary man who did extraordinary things and now the story of the Fenland farm labourer who rose through the ranks during World War Two to become one of the original members of the SAS is being told in a new book.

Seekings’ name reached a wider audience when his character appeared in the hit BBC1 series SAS Rogue Heroes, which dramatised the early days of the SAS and is set to feature prominently in the forthcoming follow-up series.

His wartime feats receive the spotlight treatment in Ely resident Tony Rushmer’s new book, SAS Duty Before Glory – The True WWII Story of SAS Original Reg Seekings, published next week.

Seekings’ initiative and courage in the Western Desert campaign earned him a Distinguished Conduct Medal. And, after the Allies’ focus switched to Europe, the man born at Quanea Farm just a mile or so from Ely, received the Military Medal for his actions in the 1943 Operation Husky invasion of Sicily.

A year later, just days after the Normandy landings, Seekings parachuted by night into German-occupied France. During the mission he was shot in the head, but recovered to carry on behind-the-lines activities, despite a bullet remaining lodged at the base of his skull.

In the early spring of 1945, an Allied offensive penetrated into the Rhineland and once again the SAS were in the vanguard. As so often, Seekings was to the fore and was part of a Jeep patrol that helped to liberate Belsen, the notorious Nazi concentration camp in the middle of April.

“Reg Seekings’ story kept me fascinated from the moment I discovered it during the first Covid lockdown,” said Tony. “I was channel-hopping when I came across an SAS documentary in which he appeared in some archive footage. I was struck immediately by the strength of his character – the way he spoke, his bearing. There was just something about him.

“Also, there was his accent. He sounded very familiar. A quick bit of research showed that he was born and raised a couple of miles away from where I was watching the documentary. I knew I had to find out more and it wasn’t long before I committed to writing a book about Seekings.

“The whole process has been incredibly rewarding. I soon found out that Reg’s brother Bob was in the SAS too, as was their great mate from Soham, Eric Musk.

“I also got to meet on many occasions SAS legend Mike Sadler, who navigated a six-man party, including Seekings, for the nascent unit’s very first successful operation in December 1941,” he said.

“His was an extraordinary war story and I was staggered nobody had ever told it before.”

Tony will be giving a series of talks this autumn to promote his new book and will speak at an event organised by Toppings booksellers on October 17, from 7pm.