Trauma of fighting in the Second World War remains a peculiar taboo because its heroism is so woven into our identity
… Some of the first SAS soldiers, notably Lieutenant Blair “Paddy” Mayne, were recruited precisely because they were unstable, unruly and prone to extreme violence. Mayne’s behaviour was sometimes close to psychotic. Several of the early SAS recruits exhibited increasing irrationality and symptoms of mental illness, as the strain of a particularly brutal form of warfare took a toll.
