Circa 1967, in civilian life, I lived near Hereford and nextdoor to a SAS guy.
He was very cautious with us until he discovered that I was Ex-RAF and that my wife had been in Cyprus with me. We then got on very well, but he never discussed his work.
Most of the time, his wife didn't know where he was.
He would be off 'on duty' for weeks, and return very tanned in the UK mid winter.
Never heard of the term special forces, until the Iranian Embassy event.