Rooney, Oswald Basil "Mickey"

Date of birth:: November 19th, 1916 (Walton-on-the-Hill/Surrey, United Kingdom)
Date of death:: December 11th, 1995 (Banbury/Oxfordshire, United Kingdom)
Nationality:: British

Biography

"My mother Rachel Rooney was moved to Troon, with my elder brother at the beginning of 1944. Col Ian G Collins was the liaison officer between SHAEF and the SAS, he knew that the SAS were going to be under Monty's command and Monty would not allow wives, and girlfriends into the area. So Ian Collins rented a very large house in Troon, and my mother was moved there, Monty could not do anything about it, and the house, sort of became a semi officer's mess. My father was in the Small Scale Raiding Force (also known as 62 Commando) that is where he met Major Ian Collins, who was the intelligence officer for Combined Operations." - Chris Rooney

Military career:
Surrey; 21st September 1939: 21 Artist Rifles, officer training;
26th October 39: posted to Scots Guards;
6th February 40: 5th Battalion Scots Guards Ski Battalion Sent to Chamonix in France as Ski Battalion;
20th April 1940: 2nd Lt Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Omagh;
21st June 1940: Capt Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Omagh;
6th August 1940: Joined No 12 Commando The Irish Commando, Londonderry, reverted rank to Lieutenant to join Commandos;
2nd June 1941: Married Rachel Blair White, Dublin;
27th December 1941: Operation Anklet 12 Cdo raid which was a part of the main Operation Archery, Lofoten Islands Norway.
February 1942: No 12 Commando Small Scale Raiding Force 62 Commando. Based in England on the South Coast Also Anderson Manor.
2nd September 1942: Raid on Aldenay MTB 344- 8 raiders to the rocks beneath the lighthouse. When they returned later they had the enemy's code books and seven prisoners - the lighthouse keepers, radio operators and guards.
3rd October 1942: Operation Basalt Sark Channel Islands seems to be conflicting info as to whether he was on this raid. In a letter in the 1990s he says he wasn't but in an interview in USA in 1945 he says he was.
11th November 1942: Operation Farenheit The Pointe de Plouezec - Raid on a signalling station French Coast.
1942: Anderson Manor other people there Anders Lassen VC., Peter Kemp Appleyard & Pinckney.
1942: Foretop France (Foretop N Allied 1942 - 1943 NW Europe Plan to raid U-boat bases on French coast, abandoned as too impractical);
January 1943: Forefar Raids French coast - there were a number of Raids called Forfar raids Forfar- Beer -Dog -How -Love-Item
2nd September 1943: Fofar Item. First raid to go into France by Parachute came out by MTB.
20th November 1943: Posted to the South Wales Borderers, Western Isles of Scotland. According to the SWB records they were in the Western Isles Scotland training-they held the 24hr marching record (this is a guess the training was for "D day the SWB had a forced march to get inland and relieve Commandos holding a bridge).
16th February 1944: Posted to 3 SAS French, Troon Scotland. Training French SAS--this is where the Cross of Lorraine comes from, given to Rachel Rooney by the French Colonel at the handover of 3 SAS after training.
1st April 1944 Posted to 2 SAS Troon Scotland.
All SAS came under Army Air Corps--went to France in Aug till Dec broke his back dropping into Metz--went to Italy in Dec Naples got Jaundice. Roy Farran dropped with Micky's men into the Po valley Northern Italy.
August 1944: Dropped into Verdun
14th December 1944: Posted to Italy operation Galia and Tombola
17th December 1944: 44 CMF with 2 SAS;
3rd February 1945: Posted to 21 Air Group from CMF - 2 SAS Naples Italy.
March 45: Promoted Temporary Major
27th March 1945: Posted to BAS Washington with 3 originals of the SAS Maj Mike Sadler RSM Tait Sarg Maj Rose and Major Rooney sent on USA lecture tour
1st July 1959: Relinquished Commission

The Cross of Lorraine given to Rachel Rooney by the French Colonel at the handover of 3 SAS after training.