Anthony Greville-Bell, DSO (7 March 1920 – 4 March 2008) was an Australian-born officer who served in the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was later a notable scriptwriter and sculptor.

Early life

Greville-Bell was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia, and educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the tim ...

. On the outbreak of the

, he enlisted and was commissioned into the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. Greville-Bell married four times: to Diana Carnegie in 1945, Helen Scott-Duff in 1955, Ann Kennerley in 1972, the three marriages dissolved, and to Lauriance Rogier in 1996.

Military career

As a

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...

officer attached to the 2nd Special Air Service (SAS) commanded by

David Stirling Sir Archibald David Stirling (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British army, a mountaineer, and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). He saw active service during the Second World War. ...

, Greville-Bell took part in

Operation Speedwell During World War II, Operation Speedwell was an early Special Air Service raid against Italian rail targets near Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth- ...

against railway lines in northern Italy carrying German reinforcements and supplies to the front in September 1943. The troops landed by parachute but the officer commanding Greville-Bell's section dropped wide of the others and was not seen again. Greville-Bell took charge, despite having broken two ribs and damaged his back on landing. The section successfully attacked and cut the Bologna-Pistoia rail line and another south of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and destroyed a train. Fourteen days after the drop, with their explosives and rations exhausted, they began 250-mile march south to join the advancing Eighth Army. On the eighteenth day they reached the villa of the Marchese Roberti at

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Sin ...

, overlooking Florence. A sister of the marchese was a friend of Greville-Bell's family and she sheltered and fed the party for a few days until contact could be made with the

Italian partisans The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...

. The armistice with Italy announced on 8 September 1943 meant the partisans proved less aggressive towards their former German Allies than Greville-Bell hoped but he stayed until he had gained enough strength to continue south. To mark 28 days in Italy, he and Sergeant Daniels went into Florence and drank some beer in a bar full of German soldiers. On the 30th day he, Daniels and two partisans blew a charge beneath a southbound train north of Incisa. Seventy-three days after their drop, Greville-Bell led Daniels and Tomasso through the German lines to safety. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

for his efforts. Greville-Bell returned to the SAS after the war when the Malayan Scouts (SAS Regiment) was raised by Michael "Mad Mike" Calvert in 1950 during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

Screenwriting

After the war Greville-Bell travelled widely, including to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

where his father had worked as a tea planter before the war. He wrote several screenplays, three of which were made into films: *''

Perfect Friday ''Perfect Friday'' is a British bank heist film released in 1970, directed by Peter Hall. It stars Ursula Andress as Lady Britt Dorset, Stanley Baker as Mr Graham, David Warner as Lord Nicholas Dorset and T. P. McKenna as Smith. Plot Mr. Graha ...

'', a British bank-heist film released in 1970, directed by Peter Hall and starring

Ursula Andress Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss-German actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962 ...

Stanley Baker Sir William Stanley Baker (28 February 192828 June 1976) was a Welsh actor and film producer. Known for his rugged appearance and intense, grounded screen persona, he was one of the top British male film stars of the late 1950s, and later a pro ...

David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to: Sports * Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor * David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier * David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer Oth ...

and

T.P. McKenna Thomas Patrick McKenna (7 September 1929 – 13 February 2011) was an Irish actor, born in Mullagh, County Cavan. He had an extensive stage and screen career. Career Early years Thomas Patrick McKenna was born at Mullagh, County Cavan, Ireland, ...

. *''

The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie ''The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie'' is a 1972 American thriller film directed by Jack Starrett and starring Bonnie Bedelia and Ken Howard. Plot A traveling salesman is lured by a precocious teenage girl to her shack in the desert for some sexua ...

'', released in 1972. *''

Theatre of Blood ''Theatre of Blood'' (known in the U.S. as ''Theater of Blood'') is a 1973 British horror comedy film directed by Douglas Hickox, and starring Vincent Price as vengeful actor Edward Lionheart and Diana Rigg as his daughter Edwina. The cast als ...

'', a horror film released in 1973, directed by

Douglas Hickox Douglas Arthur Hickox (10 January 1929 – 25 July 1988) was an English film director, film and television director. Biography Hickox was born in London, where he was educated at Emanuel School. He started in the film industry at age 17, working ...

and starring

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

and

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in '' On H ...

. *'' Marked Personal'', a TV series first shown in 1973 starring

Stephanie Beacham Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English television, film, radio and theatre actress. Although she has a wide number of credits to her name, Beacham is best known for for playing Sable Colby in the ABC soap operas ''The Colbys'' ...

and Carl Rigg. *''

The God King ''The God King'' is a 1974 British–Sri Lankan historical film directed by Lester James Peries. The film is based on the historical clash between brothers Kasyapa and Moggalana on Sigiriya Rock. Producer Dimitri de Grunwald financed the epic fi ...

'', a Sri Lankan historical film released in 1975, directed by

Lester James Peries Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peries ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකාභිමාන්‍ය ලෙස්ටර් ජේම්ස් පීරිස්; 5 April 1919 – 29 April 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter, a ...

and starring

Leigh Lawson Allan Leigh Lawson (born 21 July 1945) is an English actor, director and writer. Life and career Lawson was born in Atherstone, Warwickshire. He initially studied at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts before training further at the Royal Academ ...

and

Oliver Tobias Oliver Tobias Freitag (born 6 August 1947), known professionally as Oliver Tobias, is a Swiss-born UK-based film, stage, and television actor and director. Biography Born in Zürich, Switzerland, he is the son of the Austrian-Swiss actor Rober ...

Sculpture

Sculpture had interested Greville-Bell since his schooldays, and he returned to it on a commercial basis in the late 1980s. His work featured nude female torsos, children's heads and birds. His bronze of a wounded soldier being helped to safety by a comrade, mounted on

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

, stands in the SAS Garden of Remembrance. Greville-Bell died in the United Kingdom.

Sources

*Extracted fro
Obituary – Anthony Greville-Bell, The Times, 28 March 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greville-Bell, Anthony 1920 births 2008 deaths People educated at Blundell's School Special Air Service officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Australian screenwriters 20th-century Australian sculptors 20th-century Australian screenwriters Australian expatriates in Sri Lanka Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom