Blair “Paddy” Mayne

Robert Blair “Paddy” Mayne was a rugby player, boxer, golfer, and solicitor, and in WWII a commando and one of the first members of the SAS (Special Air Service), participating in raids behind enemy lines in Egypt and Libya, and later, as SAS commander, in France, Belgium and other countries. His many decorations include the DSO (four times), Croix De Guerre, and Legion D’Honneur. Mayne was born in Newtownards and returned there at the end of the war. (WP) The medal to the right is the Distinguished Service Order, with three bars.

Painted by Jossie Pops (web) in Disraeli St, Woodvale, west Belfast