# Chris Ryan
**Chris Ryan** is the pen name of a British author and former [Special Air Service](https://www.edgepedia.org/special-air-service) (SAS) soldier, born near Newcastle in 1961, best known as the only member of the eight-man [Bravo Two Zero](https://www.edgepedia.org/bravo-two-zero) patrol to escape death or capture during the 1991 [Gulf War](https://www.edgepedia.org/gulf-war) and for the bestselling memoir of that escape, *The One That Got Away*.[1](https://www.chrisryanauthor.co.uk/landing-page/chris-ryan/chris-ryan-about/) His real name is not Chris Ryan; sources identify the man behind the pseudonym as Colin Armstrong.[2](https://televisionheaven.co.uk/reviews/bravo-two-zero) After leaving the army he became a prolific thriller writer, television presenter, and security consultant.[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/chris_ryan)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1961, a village near Newcastle (Rowlands Gill, Gateshead)[1](https://www.chrisryanauthor.co.uk/landing-page/chris-ryan/chris-ryan-about/) • [3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/chris_ryan) |
| Army service | Enlisted at 16; attached to 23 SAS (territorial) at Prudhoe; joined 22 SAS, the regular regiment, in 1984; left in 1994[4](https://www.gordonpoole.com/talent/chris-ryan/) |
| Bravo Two Zero | January 1991, eight-man SAS patrol in Iraq; three killed, four captured, Ryan alone escaped[1](https://www.chrisryanauthor.co.uk/landing-page/chris-ryan/chris-ryan-about/) |
| The escape | Roughly 180 miles (about 290 km) on foot to Syria over seven to eight days; described as the longest escape and evasion in SAS history[4](https://www.gordonpoole.com/talent/chris-ryan/) • [5](https://bookshelf360.co.uk/sas-soldier-autobiography-uk/) |
| Award | Military Medal for the escape[1](https://www.chrisryanauthor.co.uk/landing-page/chris-ryan/chris-ryan-about/) |
| First book | *The One That Got Away* (1995), an immediate bestseller, later adapted for screen[4](https://www.gordonpoole.com/talent/chris-ryan/) |
| Output | Over 20 bestselling novels, three further non-fiction works, and a series of children's books[1](https://www.chrisryanauthor.co.uk/landing-page/chris-ryan/chris-ryan-about/) |
## Early life and army career
Ryan grew up in Rowlands Gill in [Gateshead](https://www.edgepedia.org/gateshead) and attended Hookergate School, joining the [British Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-army) at sixteen.[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/chris_ryan) At that age he attached himself unofficially to 'C' Squadron of 23rd Special Air Service, the territorial regiment based at Prudhoe in [Northumberland](https://www.edgepedia.org/northumberland), and over the next seven years covered hundreds of miles of moor and mountain on training exercises.[4](https://www.gordonpoole.com/talent/chris-ryan/)
In 1984 he joined the 22nd SAS, the regular Regiment, and completed three tours taking him to many parts of the world on operations and exercises. He worked extensively in counter-terrorism, serving as an assaulter, sniper, and finally Sniper Team Commander on the Special Projects team.[4](https://www.gordonpoole.com/talent/chris-ryan/) His missions included training presidential bodyguards in Colombia and defending the British Embassy in Zaire from rioting mobs.[6](https://www.readingzone.com/authors/chris-ryan/) He spent his final two years in the SAS training and finding potential recruits, and left the Regiment in 1994.[4](https://www.gordonpoole.com/talent/chris-ryan/)
## Bravo Two Zero
In January 1991, during the Gulf War, Ryan was a member of Bravo Two Zero, an eight-man SAS patrol inserted deep behind Iraqi lines in the western desert on a mission connected with finding and destroying [Scud missile](https://www.edgepedia.org/scud-missile) launchers.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/nov/02/politics) The patrol was compromised, and the mission ended in disaster: Steven Lane and Bob Consiglio died in firefights, Vince Phillips died in the desert, four men were captured and tortured, and one escaped.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/nov/02/politics)
**The escape.** Ryan, then 28, walked alone toward Syria, covering roughly 300 kilometers in seven nights without food or water, sheltering by day in a cave, with no radio and inaccurate maps.[8](https://www.lemonde.fr/livres/article/2006/07/24/chris-ryan-la-deuxieme-vie-du-baroudeur_798094_3260.html) Other accounts give the distance as nearly 180 miles over seven days and eight nights, reached while suffering hypothermia, dehydration, and exhaustion.[5](https://bookshelf360.co.uk/sas-soldier-autobiography-uk/) It is described as the longest escape and evasion in the history of the SAS, and the achievement was recognized with the [Military Medal](https://www.edgepedia.org/military-medal).[1](https://www.chrisryanauthor.co.uk/landing-page/chris-ryan/chris-ryan-about/) His technical role on the patrol as navigator and medic contributed to his survival.[5](https://bookshelf360.co.uk/sas-soldier-autobiography-uk/)
## Writing career
Ryan's account of the patrol, *The One That Got Away*, was published by Century in 1995 and became an immediate bestseller; it was subsequently the basis of a film directed for television by [Paul Greengrass](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-greengrass).[4](https://www.gordonpoole.com/talent/chris-ryan/) The book was adapted by LWT for ITV in 1996, starring [Paul McGann](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-mcgann) as Ryan, three years before the BBC miniseries based on McNab's rival account.[2](https://televisionheaven.co.uk/reviews/bravo-two-zero) In the book Ryan was critical of the patrol's leadership, including McNab and his second-in-command, who died of hypothermia during the mission.[2](https://televisionheaven.co.uk/reviews/bravo-two-zero)
He made his fiction debut in 1996 with *Stand By, Stand By*, the first of the Geordie Sharp series, named for his own nickname.[9](https://www.orderofbooks.com/authors/chris-ryan/) By 2016 he had written 22 novels and three non-fiction books, and had moved to Florida.[10](https://www.irishnews.com/arts/2016/08/18/news/war-torn-writer-ex-sas-soldier-turned-author-chris-ryan-on-his-new-book-653558/) ReadingZone counts more than 50 books overall, including a series of children's books.[6](https://www.readingzone.com/authors/chris-ryan/) His novel *Strike Back* was adapted into the [Sky One](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-one) television series of the same name.[1](https://www.chrisryanauthor.co.uk/landing-page/chris-ryan/chris-ryan-about/) He also co-created and appeared in ITV's action series *Ultimate Force*, portraying Staff Sergeant Johnny Bell alongside [Ross Kemp](https://www.edgepedia.org/ross-kemp), and hosted the Bravo series *Elite World Cops* in 2008.[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/chris_ryan) • [11](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/chris-ryan-novelist.html) He has written a history of the Regiment, *The History of the SAS*, published in 2019.[12](https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/chris-ryan/the-history-of-the-sas/9781529324679/)
## Controversy over the Bravo Two Zero accounts
The competing memoirs of the patrol became one of the most disputed episodes in modern military publishing. Michael Asher, a former Territorial SAS soldier and desert explorer, investigated the mission independently in *The Real Bravo Two Zero* and concluded that both McNab's and Ryan's accounts contained significant fabrications, with Iraqi witness interviews suggesting far less enemy contact than the books describe.[5](https://bookshelf360.co.uk/sas-soldier-autobiography-uk/) Peter Ratcliffe, the Regiment's sergeant major during the Gulf War, wrote in *Eye of the Storm* (2000) that McNab had omitted facts that would have diminished his heroic status and that Ryan had invented stories.[13](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/16/iraq.booksnews) Ryan's criticism of Vince Phillips, a colleague who died of exposure, drew particular anger within the SAS, where officers and men defended the dead man and suggested that much of Ryan's book was self-serving fiction.[13](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/16/iraq.booksnews) Ryan later responded that Phillips was a professional soldier let down by senior officers who should not have picked him for the mission.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/nov/02/politics) The Guardian's account of the SAS memoir boom notes that Ryan's publisher, Century, encouraged him to inject controversy into the book.[13](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/16/iraq.booksnews)
## Later life
Ryan has spoken about how post-traumatic stress affected his life after his service.[10](https://www.irishnews.com/arts/2016/08/18/news/war-torn-writer-ex-sas-soldier-turned-author-chris-ryan-on-his-new-book-653558/) He has worked as a television presenter and security consultant, extending his wartime experience into fiction, non-fiction, and screen-adapted storytelling.[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/chris_ryan) He is married with one child.[11](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/chris-ryan-novelist.html)
## References
1. [About Chris Ryan, Hachette UK](https://www.chrisryanauthor.co.uk/landing-page/chris-ryan/chris-ryan-about/)
2. [Bravo Two Zero, Television Heaven](https://televisionheaven.co.uk/reviews/bravo-two-zero)
3. [Chris Ryan, Notable People Project](https://notablepeopleproject.org/chris_ryan)
4. [Chris Ryan MM, Former SAS Soldier and Author, Gordon Poole Agency](https://www.gordonpoole.com/talent/chris-ryan/)
5. [7 Best SAS Soldier Autobiography Books UK, Bookshelf 360](https://bookshelf360.co.uk/sas-soldier-autobiography-uk/)
6. [Chris Ryan, ReadingZone](https://www.readingzone.com/authors/chris-ryan/)
7. [A tale of kill 'n' tell, The Guardian (2 November 2000)](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/nov/02/politics)
8. [Chris Ryan, La deuxième vie du baroudeur, Le Monde (24 July 2006)](https://www.lemonde.fr/livres/article/2006/07/24/chris-ryan-la-deuxieme-vie-du-baroudeur_798094_3260.html)
9. [Order of Chris Ryan Books, OrderOfBooks.com](https://www.orderofbooks.com/authors/chris-ryan/)
10. [War-torn writer: ex-SAS soldier turned author Chris Ryan on his new book, The Irish News (18 August 2016)](https://www.irishnews.com/arts/2016/08/18/news/war-torn-writer-ex-sas-soldier-turned-author-chris-ryan-on-his-new-book-653558/)
11. [Chris Ryan (Novelist), Famous Birthdays](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/chris-ryan-novelist.html)
12. [The History of the SAS by Chris Ryan, Hachette UK](https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/chris-ryan/the-history-of-the-sas/9781529324679/)
13. [The new Battle of the Books, The Guardian (16 March 2003)](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/16/iraq.booksnews)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Conflict and security › Military and security biographies › Soldiers, guerrillas, partisans, and irregular fighters › Regular soldiers and veterans › Post-1945 regular soldiers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license