John Thomas "Mac" McAleese,
MM (25 April 1949 – 26 August 2011) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
soldier who took part in several late 20th century conflicts with the
British Army's Royal Engineers and the
Special Air Service, which is now within the umbrella organisation, United Kingdom Special Forces. During his time in the Special Air Service, he famously had a role in the storming of the
Iranian Embassy in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
during a hostage taking siege incident in May 1980.
Early life
McAleese was born in
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, on 25 April 1949 and grew up in
Laurieston, Falkirk
Laurieston is a village in the Falkirk council area in Central Scotland. It is east Falkirk, south-west of Grangemouth and west of Polmont.
Laurieston is located on the A803 road between Falkirk and Polmont. At the time of the 2001 census, ...
.
Military career
He joined the
Royal Engineers in 1969, aged 20, and in 1973 passed the
All Arms Commando Course
The All Arms Commando Course (AACC) lasts for 13 weeks and is run by the Royal Marines at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM), Lympstone. Members from any of the United Kingdom's Regular Armed Forces (e.g. personnel from units atta ...
(AACC), which earned him the green beret and a transfer to
59 Independent Commando, Royal Engineers.
In 1975 he transferred into the
Special Air Service. He was a
lance corporal
Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...
in 1980, serving in Pagoda Troop, 'B' Squadron, 22 SAS Regiment, when he led "Blue Team" in the storming of the
Iranian Embassy in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
during a hostage siege on 5 May 1980. McAleese fought in the
Falklands War in 1982, and in
The Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
. He was awarded the
Military Medal
The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...
for gallantry in action at the
Loughgall ambush
The Loughgall ambush took place on 8 May 1987 in the village of Loughgall, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. An eight-man unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched an attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base in the vil ...
in
County Armagh
County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...
on 8 May 1987, and was present at the
Drumnakilly ambush in
County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...
in August 1988. He also served as a bodyguard for three
Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the principal minister of the crown of His Majesty's Government, and the head of the British Cabinet. There is no specific date for when the office of prime minister first appeared, as the role was n ...
. He was discharged from the British Army on 8 February 1992 with the rank of
staff sergeant.
Post-military life
After leaving the British Army McAleese worked for a short while as the landlord of a
Hereford public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
, was employed as a security contractor in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and became an advisor/interviewee on several British television programmes examining the working practices of British Special Forces soldiering. He sold his British Army service medals for an undisclosed sum to the
Lord Ashcroft Collection. He appeared in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
produced television documentary series ''SAS Survival Secrets'' (2003), detailing the organizational structure of the Special Air Service Regiment and the nature of the military and security roles in which it is used. He also found employment in the corporate sphere of
'Goshinkwai'. He was the co-founder and first director for training and operations of private security company NNK Special Services Group (NNK Group) until his death.
McAleese married twice. On 20 August 2009 his elder son, Sergeant Paul McAleese of 2nd Battalion
.
, Greece, where he was living. His funeral was held at Hereford Cathedral. He was survived by his second wife, a daughter by his first marriage, and two children by his second marriage. His second wife died by suicide in November 2018.