For a successful military commander whose exploits occasionally verged on the impossible, Moir Stormonth Darling appropriately shared his birthday with General William Sherman, victorious Union commander in the American Civil War, and the scientific romanticist Jules Vernes. Stormonth Darling, the Angus laird who has died aged 89, commanded one of the Long Range Desert Group's two squadrons in the Aegean campaign of the Second World War.
Major-General David Lloyd Owen, commander of the LRDG (forerunner of the SAS), said of Stormonth Darling that he had selected a winner in appointing a soldier whose leadership, planning skills, and stalwart support contributed greatly to the success of the unit.
In 1943 after the Italian surrender, Stormonth Darling's squadron of 80 men and eight officers was sent to the Dodecanese, the Aegean islands lying directly on the German supply route. It was a role for which his men were neither equipped nor trained, and he was overwhelmed. He successfully made his way to a neighbouring island, where in the laconic words of Lloyd Owen, he ''had an uncomfortable time''. Eventually he was taken off by RAF launch.
Determined to show that enemy lines could be infiltrated, Lloyd Owen moved Stormonth Darling to GHQ Italy to handle detailed planning. Resulting drops north of Rome obtained information about German troop movements, with small-scale raids in the Dalmatian Islands, and a raid into northern Yugoslavia to destroy two spans of a large railway bridge. Stormoth Darling's reputation for meticulous planning shone through.
Never content driving a desk, Stormonth Darling persuaded Lloyd Owen to let him lead another mission, and in October 1944 he and two patrols were parachuted into the Florina area of Greece with orders to harass retreating Germans. In one instance, charges in road culverts were detonated as an enemy convoy passed over, resulting in the leading three vehicles creating a massive road block. Stormonth Darling and his men, hidden up the hillside, opened up with every weapon they had, then called in the RAF to finish the job.
Moir Stormonth Darling, brother of Sir Jamie, was born in Edinburgh, son of Robert Stormonth Darling, Writer to the Signet in Kelso. After Winchester and reading law for a year, he was commissioned into the 2nd Bn the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in 1935, spending three years in Palestine before returning to the regimental depot at Hamilton as adjutant. In 1942, he left with his regiment to India, Iraq, and Persia. His recruitment to the LRDG came after replying to an advertisement for a ski instructor in Lebanon.
After hostilities, he was posted as a general staff officer to HQ British Troops in Austria before returning to staff college in the UK in 1947. A spell at the War Office preceded his transfer in 1950 to West Africa to serve first with the Gold Coast Regiment and latterly in Sierra Leone. On his return to the UK, he was posted to Northern Command as deputy assistant adjutant general and to HQ Lowland District in the same appointment.
His final appointments were in 1954 with his regiment to BAOR, and then to take command of the Queen's Own Nigeria Regiment. It was a matter of some disappointment to his friends that at the conclusion of his distinguished military career in 1958, Stormonth Darling had received only a single mention in despatches.
The previous year he inherited the estate of Lednathie from a bachelor uncle. The property in Glen Prosen, north of Kirriemuir, was run down. The same energies and leadership skills Stormonth Darling had employed in wartime were brought to bear on restoring the fortunes of the land.
His Army contact continued, serving as colonel of the 4th/5th Bn Black Watch TA for three years until 1961. In 1960 he led his men on a 30-mile overnight march in rain from Cortachy Castle, the Ogilvie property
near Lednathie, to the Queen Mother's residence of Birkhall on Deeside.
He gave generously of his time and talents as a county councillor with Angus County Council, and was appointed a deputy lieutenant of the county in 1961. In 1970 he recorded a coat-of-arms at the Court of the Lord Lyon, the stars on one quarter symbolising the navigational skills he put to direct use during the war.
Moir Stormonth Darling married Beth Lucking (nee Evans) in 1941. She died three years ago, and he is survived by his son, James, daughter, Kate, and stepdaughter, Sally.
Colonel Moir Patrick Stormonth Darling of Lednathie, soldier and laird; born February 8, 1913, died April 6, 2002.
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