 He spent two years in a prisoner-of-war camp, where his injuries went untreated and he lost more than a third of his body weight.After his release and rehabilitation, he joined the Special Air Service (SAS) and went on to serve in various conflicts around the world, hunting communist guerrillas in Malaya, suppressing rebellions in Oman and Aden, and conducting deniable cross-border reconnaissance and raids during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation.An imposing figure – he was almost tall – he was given the nickname "Lofty" after joining the Army.