Norman, Ronald and Guy were brothers.
Norman Steed: "I was already a member of the local Home Guard and a former member of the Officer Training Corps and a former officer in the Kenyan Defence Force. Billy Gardner of Birchington came to see me on the farm and he brought an officer in uniform and put the whole thing to me. I think it was Captain Field who came at that time, not Fleming, but Fleming I met later.
They asked if I was prepared to join an organisation of saboteurs? Of course it was couched in different language from just that and I was led up the garden path for quite a long time before it was divulged what was intended. It was quite clearly laid out on the line for me to understand that it was a secret organisation in the event of an invasion and that I would be trained to perform certain duties. I signed the Official Secrets Act and was appointed Sergeant in command of a group of local farmers. It was always there. I wondered what was going to happen to my wife, and by that time we had two children. It was worrying but it was our effort towards the war in a very minor degree, especially when you remember those that went into the Army and were killed outright.
After Stand Down there was a very strong feeling of happiness and joyfulness and comradeship that continued after the war. Bill Gardner organised a reunion after the war; which I didn’t think was a good idea. After that we only met up, socially and for business, as farmers. There was no official recognition, which didn’t bother us as we wanted to forget. It is very important for the current generation to realise what trauma the run-of-the-mill person went through in those years. War is abhorrent. Wars are caused by politicians.”
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manston (Savoy) Patrol | Patrol Leader | 27 Jul 1941 | 03 Dec 1944 |
Farmer
Norman Steed started fruit and vegetable farming at Manston, near the airfield, in 1937. When war broke out in 1939 he became a farm surveyor on the Kent War Agricultural Executive Committee, responsible for encouraging farmers to maximize food production and land use and increasing food production through new fertilisers, working practices and new equipment such as tractors and combine harvesters. Tom Miller (Sutton Patrol) also had this responsibility. The role allowed both men extensive access to maps. They had yellow labels on their cars to show the Police and Army they were allowed to be in restricted areas.
He was awarded a M.B.E in 1969 for services for agriculture and later became a Justice of the Peace. Both Reg Lingington of Monkton Patrol and Norman Steed had mysterious farm farms on the same day in July 1960.
David Steed, son of Norman Steed, donated his father’s uniform, complete with "KT 203" insignia, to the British Resistance Organisation museum at Parham Airfield and he has Norman's lapel badge. See an article about his discovering his Dad's explosives. In 1994 he was interviewed by Stephen Sutton for the Imperial War Museum.
TNA ref WO199/3390 & 1,
Hancock data held at B.R.A,
1939 Register,
The late Norman Steed via Adrian Westwood
IWM ref 14753