A granddad who was once tasked with assassinating Pablo Escobar is set to auction off his military awards – because he says they’re too hard to dust.
Former SAS trooper, Peter McAleese, 77, from Stechford, Birmingham, joined the army when he was 17 and had an eventful 60 year career serving with Britain’s Paratroopers, the SAS, Rhodesia’s SAS and the South African Defence Force.
Peter battled drug barons in Columbia, trained bodyguards in Moscow, took on security work in Algeria and Iraq – and in the early 1980s he was instrumental in the creation of a new Pathfinder Reconnaissance unit and served in the South African Border War.
But his most dangerous assignments was to assassinate the well-known drug-lord Pablo Escobar which resulted in a helicopter crash after months of training in the Columbian jungle.
Peter McAleese (right), 77, joined the army when he was 17 and had an eventful 60 year career serving with Britain’s Paratroopers, the SAS, Rhodesia’s SAS and the South African Defence Force (left)
McAleese is pictured preparing for the attack on Pablo Escobar’s Villa in Colombia in 1989
He is now selling off his nine medals along with dozens of trinkets and trophies in a bid to declutter his one bedroom flat – which he says is too much effort to keep dusting.
Peter said: ‘I was a thrill seeker and decided to join the army in March 1960 after some relatives had done national service.
‘I left the British army after nine years and became a “gun for hire” around six years later in 1975 after I was offered a job in Angola, the buzz came back almost immediately.
Pictured: Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar
‘Amongst some of the most dangerous moments that occurred during my time overseas, I was once involved in a helicopter crash while trying to assassinate Pablo Escobar.
‘I was alone for three days as others tried to get help, the pilot was killed and his legs were chopped off, I tried to save his life but there was nothing we could do.
‘The Pablo Escobar assassination was my second job in Columbia, I was back in England when I was asked if I would be part of a team to assassinate him. I said yes.
‘I travelled to Colombia and went into the jungle to a training camp for 11 weeks, we needed Pablo to be at an exact location at a exact time, which was hard as he had so many informants and was always on the move.
‘We had three helicopters on site that were ready to go once he was located but one day we got him in position and took off in two helicopters but unfortunately we crashed due to bad weather.
‘After escaping from this near-death experience we tried to assassinate a second time but after the botched attempt Pablo was extra careful and we were never unable to locate him again.’
Peter is now selling off his enormous collection of awards which he says are too busy sat around his house collecting dust to be appreciated.
McAleese is pictured, front and left, while serving in what was then called Rhodesia
In with his awards include United Nations Medal (UNICYP) Cyprus, Zimbabwe Independence medal, South Africa Pro Patria Medal, Southern Africa Medal, 1987. South African General Service Medal, Malaysian Service Medal 1968-69, Rhodesian Independence Medal and the Cyprus Bar.
He said: ‘I think now it’s time to part ways with all the awards I have won, as much as I like to look at them and reminisce, they just sit in my house collecting dust.
‘I’m keeping hold of my most prized awards but more or less everything is up for grabs. Usually with things like this, collectors like to know the story behind all of them, but it’s usually classified.
‘With my collections each story is told along with the award, so you can really get a feel for what happened for me to receive them.’
Peter served in the army for over 50 years, and along with serving for the British SAS and Paratroopers, he also spent time overseas working in Angola, Columbia and Russia.
He said: ‘I made quite a name for myself overseas, it was an incredible time in my life because I was seeing and travelling the world.
‘At that time, it wasn’t as common to travel the world, so I was very grateful to be able to do it all.’
The Peter McAleese collection goes under the hammer at Richard Winterton Auctioneers’ Fine Arts & Specialist Sale at The Lichfield Auction Centre, Fradley Park, Staffordshire, starting at 10am on March 24.