Blean village lies 2.5 miles north-west of Canterbury.
| Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant George Walker Keir | Dairy farmer |
15 Jun 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Alfred George Bird | Market gardener & pig breeder |
24 Jun 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Malcolm Alford Chambers | Bus driver |
30 Oct 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Norman Dick Fuller | Farm manager for mother |
20 Feb 1941 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Frederick Clarence Kennett | Motor van driver |
30 Jul 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Charles Cyril Kirk | Postal Official & Telegraph Officer |
10 Jul 1941 | 04 Feb 1943 |
| Private Richard Edmund Line | Builder in partnership with father |
16 Dec 1943 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Frederick William Marsh | Hurdle maker |
05 Aug 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private John William Marsh | Hurdle maker and woodsman |
05 Dec 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Raphael Austen Moscati | Publican |
18 Nov 1941 | 03 Dec 1944 |
Hoathe Court Farm, the wartime home of Auxilier George Keir, where it is known ammunition and grenades were stored in his barn.
Jack Marsh told his nephew that he was a member of a resistance cell that had their base in Blean Woods somewhere in the vicinity of the new road and near the Denstroude area.
Rumours have it an OB was built by Royal Engineers in an area known as The Cave, in woods off Tyler Hill, and the air vent came up through the trunk of a dead tree.
According to the Council for British Archaeology Defence of Britain Project, there was a Second World War Home Guard Auxiliary Unit operational base on a playing field at the University of Kent, Blean. Norman Field was interviewed about it but could not recall a base there.
Blean Patrol
The Patrol made use of Blean firing range and trained with Group 3 at Serre.
"Pineapple" Patrol was originally in another group code-named "Hop Group" with "Swede" (Bridge) and "Parsnip" Patrol, under the command of Lieutenant Castier. When he resigned for medial reasons in Oct 1943, Pineapple was brought under the command of Lieutenant Gardner, Swede to Lieutenant Marchant and Parsnip was disbanded as many of the men had been called up, the remaining placed in other Patrols.
TNA ref WO199/3391 and WO199/3390
Hancock data held at B.R.A
Phil Evans
Adrian Westwood
Ron Stilwell, Godfrey King, Jim Gascoyne, and Geoff Maple
Norman Bonney for Captain Gardner's papers