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Rhodesian-born
Lieutenant-Colonel Ron Reid Daly joined the army in 1951 when he
volunteered to fight, with C (Rhodesia)
Squadron of the British SAS, against communist rebels in Malaya. After
transferring to
the Rhodesian Army he worked his way up through
the ranks and became a Regimental Sergeant-Major.
In 1973, as a captain, Reid
-Daly was persuaded by General Walls, the chief of the Rhodesian Army,
to form
— an elite special forces unit that was urgently needed to
combat the growing threat posed by nationalist guerrillas.
Drawing
on his Malayan experiences Reid Daly built up a skilled and highly
professional regiment from scratch, but though it performed magnificently
in the field, its unorthodox methods won him few friends in the regular
army.
Reid Daly
had several brushes with the military authorities, and in 1979 he was
court-marshaled for insubordination after being
involved in a blazing public row with his superior, Lieutenant-General
John Hickman. A minor
reprimand was issued and Reid Daly, no longer able to count on the
unqualified
support of his fellow officers, resigned.
In November 1979 the command of the
Selous Scouts was handed over to
Lieutenant-Colonel Pat Armstrong and Reid Daly ended his association
with the regiment he had worked
so hard to create.
By Peter Stiff |
