Patrick Henry O'Mara

Patrol member Paddy O’Mara was photographed for “The Last Ditch”, by David Lampe. Lampe used Colchester library for much of his background research and travelling by train from Brightlingsea would have passed Paddy’s post war newspaper pitch outside Colchester station. Lampe recognised his enamel Aux Units badge, worn in his beret that he habitually wore.

Paddy's son John told us:
Dad had been in the army, and was a boxer. When he was in the army and he came down to Colchester he met mum, Edith Rose Knights, and stayed. Mum used to live just down the road, they moved to 61 Artillery Road together and that's where they stayed.
He was a crane driver at Paxmans, and he worked at Crittall's - he used to bike all the way to Braintree, on a push bike. He had a sidecar on his push bike and he used to cycle everywhere with me in the sidecar, following Colchester United all over the place when they were in the Southern League.
Later on he got arthritis in his hips and could not do anything, hence why he sold the newspapers at the station. And he never went anywhere without that beret and badge!
He never talked much about the war to me, and my mother said more about it than he did. He did say they had a hideout in Castle Park. 
They had explosives at home in this cupboard under the stairs, there was fireplace in the front room and in there they had sten guns, ammunition and stuff. One day he was selling papers at North Station and this author who lived in Brightlingsea saw his badge on his beret and he stopped to have a chat. Dad said to us, "I am going to be in this book!"