How Picture With Prince Charles Lifted The Lid On Daring Life Of An SAS Original

THE CYCLING COMMANDO WHO TWICE ESCAPED FROM CAPTIVITY

- ANDREW FORGRAVE

A MYSTERY photo of a young Prince Charles has begun to shed light on a war hero who became one of the SAS 'originals.'

The photo was archived more than two decades ago and recent efforts to research the other people depicted has met only partial success.

It has since become clear that one person was Douglas Arnold, an extraordinary figure from the Conwy- Valley who was one of the SAS 'originals.'

While his cycling activities were legendary - he often cycled to SAS reunions in London - little was known about his war-time exploits.

Besides serving with the Special Air Service in North Africa and northwest Europe, he was an accomplished escape artist, twice breaking out from prisoner of war camps.

Friends recalled how he always signed Christmas cards with 'May you always walk in the sun' - and his service record suggests the reason why.

The photo, taken at a stone walling event, was filed away more than 20 years ago by the North Wales branch of the Dry Stone Walling Association (DSWA).

Coming across it a few years ago, in a bare envelope, was its former secretary Sean Adcock, who resolved to find out who were pictured meeting the future king.

He suspects the event was in the mid to late 1980s. "I vaguely recognised the chap on the right who was quite a character," said Sean, a master stone waller from Penisarwaen, Gwynedd.