Honouring a SAS Legacy - The Clandestine Life of Peter Weaver
A remarkable wartime story with strong Dorset connections has been brought to life in ‘The Clandestine Life of Peter Weaver SAS Rogue’, co-authored by Peter Weaver and Dr Will Ward.
Peter Weaver’s daughter, Joanna Burri-Weaver, said she only fully appreciated her father’s extraordinary wartime history after his death in 1991. A tough, sporting and adventurous man, Peter rarely spoke about his experiences, having signed a wartime confidentiality agreement preventing him from discussing his secret operations.
Links to Dorset
Born in India, Peter was brought to Dorset as a child after his father was killed in the First World War. Although he struggled at school with what would now be recognised as dyslexia, he excelled at sport and had an exceptional memory for history, figures and dates.
Before joining the SAS, Peter was Intelligence Officer for Dorset, overseeing the East and West Dorset Auxiliary Units—secret resistance organisations established to operate clandestinely in Britain if the country were invaded. He knew the Dorset landscape intimately and established covert training sites on local estates, where men learned guerrilla warfare, explosives and night operations. Peter later suggested to some of the Auxiliary Unit men that they should consider joining the newly formed SAS. Many took his advice and were subsequently recruited by Paddy Mayne. They went on to serve behind enemy lines in France, including during Operation Bulbasket, a mission designed to disrupt German supply lines and slow the advance towards Normandy.
Peter was involved in Operation Bulbasket, one of the most tragic episodes of the campaign, in which 32 of his men were killed in circumstancers that would later be recognised as a war crime. He also witnessed the horrors of Bergen-Belsen.
The book brings Peter’s story to life through his own memoirs and a collection of previously unseen photographs, revealing both his remarkable military career and the man behind it.
For Joanna, the book is also a deeply personal journey into the life of a father she feels she was too young to fully understand. It ensures that Peter’s courage, and the sacrifices made by those who served alongside him, will not be forgotten.
The Clandestine Life of Peter Weaver SAS Rogue is available from Amazon in hardback, audiobook and Kindle editions, and it can also be ordered through local bookshops.
Talk on the 5th October in Swanage
Interested in this story. Don’t miss a special talk with Joanna Weaver and Dr Will Ward at The Mowlem in Swanage on the 5th October as part of the Swanage Literary Festival.
