Ian McHarg spent ten years in the British Armed Forces, and then six years with the UK Ministry of Defence. During his military career he passed the All Arms Commando Course at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines earning the coveted Green Beret. He is also a recipient of the prestigious Commando Medal.
During his service he was employed as an Army Commando, Combat Engineer, Physical Training Instructor, and was a member of a Royal Engineers High-Risk Search Team. He served in Northern Ireland, the Falklands Islands, Canada, Germany and the UK.
After gaining a Master’s degree from London South Bank University he moved into the private sector in 2000 and worked extensively in the UK, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. A management professional for twenty-five years he led multi-functional teams in high-reliability sectors including nuclear, chemical, pharmaceutical, and oil & gas.
In 2015 Ian project managed Hero Ride (Big Battlefield Bike Ride) for the military charity Help for Heroes. The multi-day cycling challenge, which saw over 1000 riders and 100 wounded veterans ride over 1100 miles across the UK and France, raised £1.3 million for wounded and injured veterans.
Ian writes about the tough training, daring raids, and indomitable fighting spirit of the Second World War Commandos and other wartime Special Forces. His first book, Litani River: The Daring World War Two Commando Raid, Syria 1941 is the untold story of the hard-fought battle from the words of the men themselves, through official reports, personal recollections, and from a series of interviews and correspondence with surviving members of the Commando.
His writing and research has featured, or been referenced, in numerous books, publications and media, including Lord Ashcroft’s Special Ops Heroes; Damien Lewis’ SAS Brothers in Arms and SAS Forged in Hell; James Owen’s Commando: Winning World War II Behind Enemy Lines; Gavin Mortimer’s David Stirling: The Phoney Major; Tom Petch’s SAS Speed Aggression Surprise; Britain at War Magazine, World War II Today, Commando History, Dispatches – The Journal of the Commando Association, and the Commando History Channel.
Ian lives in Abu Dhabi with his wife Donna, German Shepherd dog, Tala, and is currently working on his next book.
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