William Stirling

Lieutenant-Colonel William Joseph Stirling of Keir was a Scottish officer of the British Army who served during the Second World War. Initially joining the Special Operations Executive, he would go on to command No. 62 Commando and then the 2nd Special Air Service. He was the elder brother of David Stirling, one of the founders of the SAS, but Bill has been described as the "real brains behind the operation". He was, however, removed from his command of 2 SAS by Frederick "Boy" Browning two days before D-Day because they clashed over how best to deploy his unit, thereby ending his army career.