Meet the Lincolnshire man who lived an extraordinary life, and is portrayed on the BBC series SAS Rogue Hero. Jim Almonds, also known as Gentleman Jim, grew up in the Lincolnshire village of Stixwould, near Woodhall Spa, and had one of the most unusual lives from anybody else in the county over the last century.
He fought Nazis in North Africa, advised Emperor Haile Selassie and sailed a home-made boat across the Atlantic. Major Almonds, who was christened John Edward was born in 1914 and attended the village school until he was 14-years-old.
After his time at school he spent a short time as a manservant to the Vicar of Huttoft, and then at age 18 he joined the Coldstream Guards based at the Tower of London. It was during his time here that he was a pallbearer at the funeral of Queen Mary.
He went on to serve as a police officer in Bristol, and when war broke out he volunteered to join the Commandos. From there he was picked by David Stirling in 1941, to be one of the 12 original SAS group members, who formed small units to carry out sabotage raids behind enemy lines.
Three of the Tobruk Four SAS (l-r) Jim Blakeney, Jim Almonds, Bob Lilley; Cairo 1941
It is understood that Major Almonds was assigned to the group led by Jock Lewis that became known as the Tobruk Four, and during this time he was captured twice and escaped twice from prisoner of war camps in Italy. After World War Two is when he gained the Major rank and he continued in the army.
He went on to serve in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Malaya and Ghana until his retirement in 1960. During this time it is reported that he became a military advisor to the famed Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia and then hunted rebel bandits as second-in-command of the Eritrea Police Field Force.
Additionally, during one skirmish in Eritrea, it has understood his unit shot dead a young shifta [bandit] before others surrendered their weapons, which included a sword and even a spear. Major Almonds also re-joined the SAS and fought Communist soldiers in the steaming jungles of Malaya before his retirement.
However, never one to take an easy route, Mr Almonds hand-built a 30 foot boat which he sailed over a three-month voyage across the Atlantic from Ghana to Stixwould. He then lived in his home village until his death in 2005. Members of his family continue to live in Stixwould and play an active part in keeping alive the history and heritage of the village and the contribution he made to military history.
The village school he once attended is now the village hall and a Grade II listed building, which has recently been awarded £240,460 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for essential renovation work. There will also be a series of heritage activities taking place, including commemorative pieces to Major Almonds.
A scene from BBC SAS Rogue Heroes, showing Jim Almonds, played by Corin Silva (right)
(Image: BBC)
In 2022 the BBC released the first season of SAS Rogue Heroes. As part of the show, which is due to launch its second season on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, there is a portrayal of Jim Almonds by actor Corin Silva.
The daughter of Jim Almonds, Lorna Almonds-Windmill, has written a number of books about her dad’s military adventures, and approves of Corin taking on the role. She previously stated in 2022 that: “I helped the programme makers a bit and Corin Silva says he’s been helped enormously by my book ‘Gentleman Jim’.
“My brother, also ex-SAS, my sister and I, both ex-regular Army, have all enjoyed the series. We think Corin Silva visually is a very good fit but of course my father was 6ft 4ins and a bit slimmer. But I do think Corin is quite a good match.”
The drama series is based on the book written by Ben Macintyre and fans are keen to watch the start of the second season on New Year’s Day. It will air at 9pm on BBC One and is the first of six episodes.