HERO of the MONTH
“Lewes developed using four-man operating teams behind enemy lines : his foremost team of Riley, Jim Almonds , Jim Blakeney and Bob Lilley became known as the Tobruk Four”
Major Charles Riley – ‘Pat’, as he was known to one and all in the army – had many claims to fame. He was one of the founding fathers of ‘L’ Detachment, SAS Brigade, having joined as one of the legendary ‘Tobruk Four’. Furthermore, he was a renowned pugilist and is believed to have been the only man to have got the better of both Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne and Reg Seekings, two truly formidable SAS members, in fierce fights.
Moreover, Riley established himself as one of the SAS’s greatest heroes and he was awarded the DCM for gallantry in North Africa. He is one of the first and most remarkable men ever to serve in the special operations unit, and I feel privileged to be the custodian of his medal group having bought them at auction in 2013
Charles George Gibson Riley was born in Redgranite, Wisconsin, USA, on November 24, 1915, into an Irish- American family. However, when Riley was just seven, his family moved to Haltwhistle, Cumbria. The eldest of five, he attended local schools until h…
