A bombshell letter sent by legendary SAS commander Blair "Paddy" Mayne to a comrade just weeks after their elite unit had been ruthlessly disbanded has been unearthed 80 years on in a sensational discovery that shatters everything we thought we knew.
Writing in late November 1945, Lieutenant-Colonel Mayne delivered a stirring eulogy about the extraordinary courage of the men under his command in words that will send shivers down your spine, reports the Daily Mail.
He told Major Harry Poat that they had fought in the "best disciplined, most pleasant and best scrapping unit in the British Army" - a revelation that completely demolishes the BBC's controversial portrayal of the legendary unit.
Lt Col Mayne, who tragically died in a devastating car accident a decade after penning the emotional letter, added that he would "never forget" their heroic contribution to the war effort.
His heartfelt letter was sent a little over a month after the Special Air Service was callously disbanded by officials despite its crucial contribution to the Allied victory in the Second World War - a betrayal that still rankles today.
The explosive two-page message was discovered recently by the late Major Poat's nephew in a dusty trunk being stored in his attic, hidden away like buried treasure for eight decades.
The priceless document was then shared with leading SAS historian Damien Lewis, who immediately alerted the Daily Mail about the absolutely thrilling discovery that has rocked the military history world.
Lt Col Mayne's powerful emphasis on his unit's iron discipline in the letter stands in stark contrast to his disgraceful portrayal by Skins star Jack O'Connell as a rebellious, often-drunk lout in BBC series SAS Rogue Heroes - proving the show got it spectacularly wrong.
The sensational letter discovery comes amid a passionate campaign to award Lt Col Mayne the Victoria Cross after he was shamefully denied the honour in 1945 despite courageously saving the lives of comrades in a Nazi ambush in Germany.
Lt Col Mayne poured his heart out in his letter: "My dear Harry, I am not very good at saying goodbye or in telling people how much I admire and like them, but I only started enjoying the S.A.S. on that day at Kabrit when yourself, Marsh and McDermott joined.
"From then on it appeared to me that there were some decent people in the unit, people that were interested in the men and the regiment and not what they themselves could get out of it; and I may say that I wasn't the only person to value that ever since then, it has given me great pleasure to notice and to see how popular and well respected you were by the men and the officers.
"If I hadn't also respected and liked you I could easily have become most jealous.
"It has been good fun since then and I have an awful lot to thank you for, your loyalty and ability are a byword in this Brigade.
"Between us we commanded and fought in the best disciplined, most pleasant and best scrapping unit in the British Army; that is something I shall never forget and I know that you won't either.
"I do wish I was properly able to thank you for all the help, assistance and friendship you have given me during the last few years.
"Yours ever, Paddy
"PS. Looking this over it appears terribly stilted and doesn't express half of what I want to say."
After taking to social media to announce the "beyond extraordinary" find, Mr Lewis told the Daily Mail: "This is the one that really got me. Words fail me. It says everything about Paddy Mayne and the regiment, the brotherhood and everything else.
"It's the kind of thing people need to read. It's never seen the light of day before.
"There's lots of stuff I've seen written to Mayne, it's much rarer to see stuff he has written. You almost never come across it.
"The letter is erudite and sympathetic, all the things we know him to be.
"It was written just after the disbandment of the SAS, so imagine how poignant that moment was."
He added: "His assessment of them as a unit, just dwell on that. The most disciplined regiment in the British Army.
"It's diametrically opposed to how Paddy Mayne and his men were portrayed in SAS Rogue Heroes.
"We know this is the truth because this is a private letter that was never supposed to see the light of day."
