Never-before-seen pictures of SAS soldiers in WW2 to be auctioned in Derbyshire

The "exceptional" images dating back 80 years were discovered inside a unique photo album belonging to hero squaddie L/Cpl Gerald Hutchinson. He served in the 1st Special Air Service Regiment from 1942-1945 during campaigns in the Western Desert and Italy.

The 1940s photographs offer a fascinating glimpse into the life of men who served in the highly classified special forces unit of the British Army formed in 1941. They depict SAS troopers on manoeuvres in the desert of North Africa and later in ski uniforms during training exercises. It also contains photographs of renowned commanding officer Paddy Mayne, who was a founding member of the SAS.

The album of unpublished photos from WW2 and the post-war era are now expected to fetch thousands of pounds when they go under the hammer. The collection will sold by Hansons Auctioneers’ in Etwall, Derbyshire, on June 15 with a guide price of between £4,000-£5,000.

Hansons militaria consultant Matt Crowson said: “This could be the find of the year.

"It’s an exceptional collection offering a pictorial insight of day-to-day life for SAS regiment soldiers in the 1940s. It deserves to perform well at auction. The guide price has been set at £4,000-£5,000 but I’m confident it may eclipse that and hammer closer to £10,000 based on previous auction results.

“I understand from the seller, Gerald Hutchinson’s grandson, that his grandfather was a very humble man. He rarely spoke about his wartime experiences but occasionally pulled out the photo album if asked to share wartime stories.”

L/Cpl Hutchinson was awarded the 1939/45 Africa Star with 8th Army Clasp and the Italy Star for his service with the SAS.

His military collection includes his full set of medals, rare uniform cloth badges, scrapbooks, poems and paperwork including a certificate signed by Lt-Col Mayne.

Multi-talented Mayne, DSO & Three Bars (1915-1955), from County Down, Ireland, was a founding member of the SAS.

In addition, he was capped for Ireland and the British Lions at rugby union, was an amateur boxer and worked as a lawyer. During WW2, he became one of the British Army's most highly decorated soldiers. However, he was controversially denied a Victoria Cross.

His acts of bravery included leading armoured Jeep squadrons through the front lines toward Oldenburg, Germany. He rescued wounded men and eliminated a German machine-gun position.

A citation, approved by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, commander of the Allied 21st Army Group, recommended Mayne for the Victoria Cross.

His "brilliant military leadership and cool calculating courage" and a "single act of bravery" were praised. However, the award was downgraded and Mayne received a third bar to his DSO.

Hutchinson himself was born in Scotland in 1922 and later relocated to the north of England. In the post-war era he emigrated to Canada, becoming a miner for a number of years. He later worked for the Department of Health and Social Security until his retirement.

Matt added: “The family don’t really want to part with the collection but feel it is so important it deserves to be in a war museum or preserved as part of Britain’s WW2 historical records.”

The Special Air Service (SAS) was founded as a regiment in 1941, during WW2, by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps.

The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action and covert reconnaissance.

Much of the information about the SAS is highly classified, and the unit is not commented on by either the British government or the Ministry of Defence due to the secrecy and sensitivity of its operations.