Mayne, Robert Blair (‘Paddy’) (1915–55), sportsman and soldier, was born 11 January 1915 at Mount Pleasant, Newtownards, Co. Down, third son of William Mayne, businessman, and Margaret Mayne (née Blair). Initially educated at Brown's school in Newtownards, he then attended the Regent House School before being articled to a solicitor and entering QUB to read law. A keen sportsman, he built up a powerful physique through regular weight-training, and played rugby for Queen’s, Malone, and Ireland, winning six international caps as a second-row forward (1936–8). In 1938 he toured South Africa with the British Lions; his strength and power made a great impression and he appeared in all three tests. He was also an accomplished boxer and won the Irish Universities Heavyweight Championship in 1936.
In 1938 he joined the Queen's University OTC and was commissioned (February 1939) into the 5th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery (TA). It is ironic indeed that in one of his early OTC reports he was described as ‘unpromising material for a combat regiment, undisciplined, unruly and generally unreliable’ (Bradford & Dillon, 16). In April 1940 he joined a Royal Artillery Territorial unit, later transferring to the Royal Ulster Rifles, then to the Royal Cameronians and to No. 11 (Scottish) Commando. With this commando unit he experienced his first taste of action, taking part in the Litani River raid in January 1941. He was asked by Capt. (later Col. Sir) David Stirling to join the newly formed ‘L’ Detachment, Special Service Brigade, and he joined this new unit in July 1941. The unit's first operation (November 1941) was a total failure and Mayne's close friend Eoin McGonigal was killed, affecting him deeply. He took part in a number of successful raids against German and Italian airfields during the North African campaign including Tamet (14, 27 December 1941), Berka (March 1942), Fuka (7 July 1942) and Sidi El Haneish (27 July 1942). He received the DSO for his first raid on Tamet airfield, returning later in the same month to destroy fourteen aircraft and damage ten others. During this raid he ran out of explosives and reportedly ripped one aircraft's cockpit controls out with his bare hands. When Stirling was captured in January 1943, Mayne was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and given command of the Special Raiding Squadron (SRS).
He commanded the SRS during the liberation of Sicily in July 1943, being awarded a bar to his DSO for destroying two coastal batteries at Cape Murro di Porco and his actions during the assault on Augusta. In September and October 1943 he commanded the SRS during operations in mainland Italy, capturing a vital bridge at Bagnara Calabria and, in cooperation with army commandos, capturing Termoli. The unit then returned to England, where the SRS was expanded and became the 1st SAS Regiment. Mayne was given command and served in France in August 1944, carrying out raids behind German lines, and was awarded a second bar to his DSO. In April 1945 he commanded his unit in cooperation with the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, and was involved in the captures of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven. He received a third bar to his DSO for the bravery he showed when his unit was ambushed while advancing into Germany. At the end of the war, he was sent to Norway in May 1945 to supervise the surrender and disarmament of German troops. In October 1945 the SAS was disbanded and Mayne was demobilised. He finished the war as one of the most decorated soldiers in the British army and was highly respected by his men. Brave to the point of recklessness, he possessed the ability to make an almost instant assessment of a tactical situation.
He initially accepted an appointment with the South Atlantic Survey, a job that should have lasted over two years. He had damaged vertebrae in his back during the war and, after undergoing surgery at Buenos Aires, returned to Newtownards. In April 1946 he was appointed as secretary to the Incorporated Law Society of Northern Ireland. He was also approached by the Ulster Unionist Party to stand as a parliamentary candidate, but refused. He found it difficult to adjust to civilian life and began to drink heavily. Renowned for carrying out some crazy stunts in wartime, he continued to engage in such antics after the war. On one occasion he broke into the Imperial Hotel in Dundalk during the night in order to serve two friends with drink and then breakfast. In February 1951 he turned up on the doorstep of Senator William Quirke in Dublin, believing his house to be the Old Belvedere Club. On being refused entry, he assaulted both the senator and his son and was later convicted and fined. He died in a car accident on 14 December 1955 when his car collided with a parked, and unlit, truck in Mill St., Newtownards. He was buried in the family plot in Movilla churchyard, Newtownards. The funeral was attended by a large crowd, which included members of the legal profession, army comrades, and members of the IRFU. He never married. A street was named after him in Newtownards and a statue was later erected in Conway Square in the town.