ONE of the world’s best-selling authors was virtually illiterate before joining the Army, an audience at Devizes Festival heard.

Former SAS soldier Andy McNab held his Corn Exchange audience spellbound with a resume of his Army career, his capture in Iraq – which formed the basis of his first book, Bravo Two Zero – and his life to date.

Abandoned in a carrier bag on the steps of Guy’s Hospital in London as a baby, Mr McNab – not his real name – was in and out of care all his childhood and adolescence and, almost inevitably, got into trouble.

While in a borstal – which now would be termed a young offenders’ institution – he was given a lecture by an Army recruitment officer which changed his life.

As a 16-year-old recruit to the Infantry Junior Leaders Battalion, he underwent an education course that was, eventually, to lead to his illustrious literary career.

After tours of Gibraltar and Northern Ireland, he applied to the Special Air Service, the crack special ops regiment that was formed during the Second World War.

This led to undercover work against the IRA. In the first Gulf War of 1991, he led an SAS mission to disrupt the launch of Scud missiles into Israel. Three of his group were killed and four, including Mr McNab, captured, incarcerated and tortured before a prisoner swap freed them.

He said: “In the Army, we were told we were not stupid, just uneducated.

“We all had the literacy and numeracy levels of 11-year-olds, but I am now writing 900-word pieces for the Daily Telegraph and other newspapers.”