SAS veteran and author Chris Ryan will speak about his latest novel, which is set in war-torn Syria, at Bovington’s Tank Museum.

The former special forces soldier will also sign copies of the book, Masters Of War, during this evening’s event.

Speaking as the UK and USA faces mounting pressure to intervene in the Syrian crisis, Chris said: “Syria was a complex, dangerous place for me back in 1991. But now, more than 20 years on, one thing strikes me – it was not nearly so dangerous then as it is now.”

Earlier this week Prime Minister David Cameron gathered the UK’s armed forces chiefs for emergency talks over possible military action, following revelations about alleged chemical weapons use by the Syrian government.

Tens of thousands of people have already been killed in the country’s grinding civil war.

However, more than two decades ago – during the first Gulf War – the Syrian border represented a lifeline for Chris.

He’d been a member of the SAS’s ill-fated Bravo Two Zero patrol, and after disaster struck became the only one in the eight-man unit to escape Iraqi capture alive.

Chris crossed into Syria following seven days on the run. He hadn’t eaten for six of these days, nor drunk anything for the last three.

The first villagers he met gave Chris water. “Without their kindness I doubt I could have survived much longer,” he recalled.

But things took a turn for the worse after reaching the nearest town.

“I had to escape an angry mob who seemed determined to kill me,” Chris explained. “I found myself in the custody of three low-ranking Syrian police officers who performed a mock execution on me.

“I got out alive. Tens of thousands of victims of the present Syrian civil war haven’t been so lucky.”

Chris’ lecture starts at 7.30pm.

Visit tankmuseum.org for information.