An Important Collection of Awards to the SAS and Special Forces

The campaign group of three awarded to Sergeant C. Mason, Selous Scouts, late Royal Marines and Australian Special Air Service, killed in action in Mozambique
Vietnam Service Medal (311619 C. Mason); South Vietnam Campaign Medal, with clasp (311619 C. Mason); Rhodesian General Service Medal (726873 Sgt Mason C.) the second chipped in the centre, otherwise good very fine (3)

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, An Important Collection of Awards to the SAS and Special Forces.

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Clive Mason first served with the Royal Marines, Dec 1960 to May 1969, and enlisted into the Australian Army in the UK in September 1969. He served with 2 SAS in South Vietnam from November 1970, and later with 1 SAS. Mason was discharged form the Australian Army at his own request in 1972 and subsequently made his way to Rhodesia where it is believed he served with the Rhodesian SAS before joining the Selous Scouts as a Sergeant and a specialist sniper. He once ran a sniping school but he was so particular he failed all the students. He was the only professional sniper in the Rhodesian Army and his weapon of preference was an SMLE Mark IV, .303 rifle. ‘Selous Scouts. Top Secret War’ mentions him as a sniper Sergeant and lists him as leading the attack force of Selous Scouts on Operation ELAND in August 1976 against a ZANLA terrorist stronghold at Pangwe when over 1,000 terrorists were killed. Mason, however, was himself killed in action early in 1977 during Operation KODAK in an attack on an outpost outside Malvernia, across the border in Mozambique. ‘We lost a very fine sniper, Sergeant Clive Mason. Clive was a complete professional in his field, but for some inexplicable reason he got carried away during the firefight and stood up. While on his feet he killed six FRELIMO soldiers, but was then himself shot in the head - he died instantly’.

The lot is sold with copies of his Australian record of service, discharge certificate AAF A199, and other details. There is a photograph of Mason in the Australian SAS Regimental History (p381) whilst preparing for the patrol that resulted in the attack on the Vietnamese armoury in the Balong Province in January 1971.