The Pilgrim

“An incredible story of courage and commitment under fire.” — Bear Grylls

The Pilgrim is the book the MOD tried to ban. It is a rollercoaster of an autobiography of Colin Maclachlan, known for his appearances on shows like Channel 4’s SAS: Who DaresWins and Channel 5’s Secrets of the SAS.

His autobiography starts with his troubled childhood and escape to the military where, as a fifteen year-old boy, he grows up and matures into the SAS soldier we now recognise. Early chapters describe physical, mental and sexual abuse and Colin could easily have ended up in a home but despite the odds and with the help of both the Children’s Panels, NSPCC and some diligent schoolteachers, Colin escaped to the army. Colin had to get special permission to join the army at only fifteen years of age and goes from being a young vulnerable and damaged boy to a capable soldier through preparation for the first Gulf War and joining the oldest and most senior infantry regiment in the British Army, The Royal Scots. From operations in Northern Ireland to being the Queen’s Butcher to Colin’s first TV cameos on Soldier Soldier and Gladiators, Colin’s stories and anecdotes are both exhilarating and hilarious.

Colin then describes the arduous SAS selection process, the hardest and most gruelling military selection process in the world. Colin describes in some detail what most have never even heard in this secretive world where Colin goes from a course of 196 down to just a handful in six months! The reader is then taken on a never seen before description of life as an SAS operator. Daily life in an operational squadron and the operations, missions and training involved all described in detail. Colin was part of Mountain Troop, D Squadron who were to be involved in some of the most high-profile and dangerous missions in SAS history.