Bodiam is small village in East Sussex and the home of Bodiam Castle.
| Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant Sydney John Brabon | Farm tractor driver |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Stanley George Barber | Head gardener |
28 Oct 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Arthur Brabon | Farm labourer |
22 Dec 1941 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Wilfred Walter Ensum | Dairy farmer |
27 Jun 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Ernest William Ades Goodsell | Coal merchant & clerk |
28 Oct 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Frank William Jarvis | Farm manager |
07 Apr 1941 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Louis Orsbourn | Farm tractor driver & mechanic |
22 Jan 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Jack Shoobridge | Farm tractor driver |
02 Apr 1941 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private William Charles Simmons | General farm labourer |
10 Nov 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Edward David Smith | Lorry driver & farm worker |
24 Jan 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 |
The Operational Base was constructed from corrugated iron and timber. Dug into the side of a steep sided wooded gully known locally as the ‘Round Wood’. There was a small stream running north south down the gully which hardly if ever dried up.
Jon Burgess can remember looking at the remains of the structure with his father some time in the mid 1960s. By then it had all but collapsed in but this made its outline from above obvious. At that time the entrance was still partly open but was slowly being crushed from the sides.
Bodiam Patrol
It is assumed they trained at the regional HQ at Tottington Manor.
Udiam Farm was used as a depository for Auxiliary Units arms after stand down.
Most of the men of the Bodiam Patrol worked for Guinness Hop Farms Ltd, part of Arthur Guinness and Son.
Jon Burgess' father was employed as assistant and later farm manager for the company starting in 1957 so he knew most of the Patrol but was unaware of its existence or their involvement with the Auxiliary Units. His view is they where steady, trustworthy men who got on with their work and could always be relied on to 'get the job done’. Several later became either farm Bailiffs or Forman for the company.
TNA reference WO199/3391
Hancock data held at B.R.A
1939 Register
Jon Burgess
The Secret Sussex Resistance by Stewart Angell