Col. Richard Pickup CBE Royal Marines & SBS (Operation Veritas) World Naval Ships Forums Archive

Naval History by Country :

ROYAL
NAVY

US
NAVY

GERMAN
NAVY

FRENCH
NAVY

*VIEW ALL OF OUR CURRENT ART SPECIAL OFFERS ON ONE PAGE HERE*
NAVAL ART	AVIATION ART	MILITARY ART	SPORT ART

ALWAYS GREAT OFFERS :

20% FURTHER PRICE REDUCTIONS ON HUNDREDS OF LIMITED EDITION ART PRINTS

BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE ON THOUSANDS OF PAINTINGS AND PRINTS

FOR MORE OFFERS SIGN UP TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER

Col. Richard Pickup CBE Royal Marines & SBS (Operation Veritas) World Naval Ships Forums Archive

Col. Richard Pickup CBE Royal Marines & SBS (Operation Veritas)

Posts 1 to 2

The Telegraph Online - 7:44PM BST 11 May 2009 [B]Col Richard Pickup [/B] [B]Colonel Richard Pickup, who has died aged 48, was the Royal Marine who commanded the Special Boat Service and led the task force which spearheaded the British campaign in Afghanistan [/B]after attack on the twin towers of September 11 2001. The British government's response to 9/11 was to launch [URL="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.operations.mod.uk/veritas/index.htm"]Operation Veritas[/URL], an attempt to deny al-Qaeda its Afghan base. Two months later Pickup was in the leading aircraft which landed unannounced at the former Soviet airbase in Bagram, which was being strongly contested by thousands of government fighters and the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, led by Uzbek warlords. Although vastly outnumbered, Pickup and his 100 men held on for a day and a night. This infuriated both contending armies, who were insulted by a fourth British invasion in two centuries; it also exasperated the American army's large Delta Force, which had planned to arrive first. In this extremely tense atmosphere Pickup ordered reconnaissance patrols to ensure the safety of follow-on forces, and imposed his authority on the local Afghan commanders, thus allowing the first significant coalition foothold to be established. After 36 hours Pickup was relieved by Royal Marines of 45 Commando in the 1,700-strong Task Force Jacana, which was charged with checking al-Qaeda's movement throughout eastern Afghanistan. Pickup later commanded an SBS task force in a counter-insurgency campaign. The trust he had engendered among Afghan tribal leaders proved crucial in persuading them to take the first faltering steps towards peace and stability. For this he was appointed CBE. In the two years he commanded the SBS, Pickup relentlessly advanced its role as the Royal Navy's major contribution to UK Special Forces (UKSF). He installed renewed ambition and sense of purpose in the SBS, obtaining for it an official cap badge, with a dagger on two undulating blue lines, in place of its unofficial emblem of frog, paddles and parachute. Richard Allan Pickup was born in Yorkshire on November 7 1960 and read Biochemistry at Newcastle University. Wanting adventure, he joined the marines in 1983 and was awarded the Sword of Honour at Lympstone. His first operational tour was six months in South Armagh. But the routine of Northern Ireland deployments and Arctic training eventually palled, and in 1986 he volunteered for the demanding selection process for the SBS. Once again he passed out top, becoming the first officer to win the Coke Snelson trophy. As an SBS officer Pickup came into his own. He worked hard and played hard. After an arduous two months in a Far Eastern jungle, and with only hours to go before an early morning flight back to Britain, he challenged his officers and men to a pre-dawn rickshaw race round the local town. When an Australian SAS NCO attached to his unit came close to hypothermia after a parachute drop into the sea, Pickup gave him his protective clothing. "Well, he's only an Aussie," he told his men, "and, after all, I'm a Yorkshireman." After various staff appointments, Pickup realised his ambition of commanding the SBS in 2000. He spent the rest of his career within UKSF, including two years in Washington as special operations liaison officer during the planning and conduct of the Second Gulf War. In 2004 he was appointed commander of the British forces in Kosovo for a six-month tour. More recently, he was Commander, Special Forces Support Group, establishing and then leading a new UKSF unit to go anywhere in the world. He also returned to Afghanistan in another appointment. He retained his immense respect for its implacable people. Richard Pickup had been in a new, more relaxed, post – as a defence adviser in Pretoria – for only three weeks when he died suddenly on March 20. He leaves a wife, Sharon, and two sons and a daughter. Published May 11 2009 [url]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/special-forces-obituaries/5309727/Col-Richard-Pickup.html[/url]

I liked---"and,after all,I'm a Yorkshireman"-it were "gradely" harry jainso31

Everything we obtain for this site is shown on the site, we do not have any more photos, crew lists or further information on any of the ships.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE. ALL IMAGES DISPLAYED ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT LAW, AND ARE OWNED BY CRANSTON FINE ARTS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. NO REPRODUCTION OR COPYING ALLOWED ON OTHER WEBSITES, BOOKS OR ARTICLES WITHOUT PRIOR AGREEMENT.

Contact Details
Shipping Info
Terms and Conditions
Cookie Policy
Privacy Policy

Sign Up To Our Newsletter!

Stay up to date with all our latest offers, deals and events as well as new releases and exclusive subscriber content!

This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE

Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com

Return to Home Page