Cymmer is a small village in Neath Port Talbot in Wales, set on a hillside in the Afan Valley near the confluence of the River Afan and the River Corrwg. Cymmer falls in the Port Talbot county borough, originally West Glamorganshire. A traditional community built on the many collieries in the vicinity.
| Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant William Thomas | Colliery painter |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Corporal Emlyn Richard Starkey | Coal miner |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Roy Coleman | Coal miner |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Edwin Coleman | Coal miner |
07 Aug 1943 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private David John Maybury | Colliery official |
07 Aug 1943 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Ivor Thomas Purser | Coal hewer |
Unknown | Unknown |
| Private M. Thomas | 01 Sep 1943 | Unknown | |
| Private William Joseph Watkins | Colliery vet |
Unknown | Unknown |
It is thought the Patrol did not have a specially built bunker although there is reference to an 'HQ'. In the event of an invasion they were expected to return to their homes after their sabotage operations.
Cymmer Patrol
The many railways, tunnels, bridges and viaducts in the surrounding coal-mining area. The railway marshalling yards, and the main-line railway to Cardiff, and line to Port Talbot.
The Patrol often trained in the dunes on the beach, although their night training came to an end when the number of courting couples in the dunes made it impossible to operate. From then on they trained in the dunes during the day, wearing dark glasses.
The Patrol had two uniforms (ref: Roy Coleman's book), one a Home Uniform and another with 202 GHQ on the shoulders.
Roy Coleman states that most of the Patrol went to Coleshill for training several times, but that he was unlucky and did not. He goes on to say that the training HQ in Porthcawl had around 8 Sergeants and 2 officers, and that the Cymmer Patrol trained alongside a Patrol from near Neath (possibly Pont Neath Patrol?). Coleman states that there was a Lieutenant Young in charge - this was probably Captain Charles H. Young who was the Group Commander of South Wales Group 1 - West Glamorgan Auxiliary Units.
One time the Patrol was tasked to cripple planes at an airfield. This turned out to be a decoy airfield with the dummy Spitfires and hurricanes being made of wood. They used sticky bombs to blow the tails off.
Explosives and sticky bombs. Delay fuses, detonators and Cortex.
Revolvers. Although they were not initially issued with holsters (they had to keep their revolvers inside their battle dress blouses), and it was only when Roy Coleman 'lost' his revolver on an exercise that they were subsequently issued with holsters.
Thompson sub-machine gun and 3000 rounds of ammunition.
Roy Coleman was a collier and a messenger boy for the ARP before he was recruited into the Auxiliary Units from the Home Guard.
Roy thought their local knowledge would have bought them the necessary time to carry out their sabotage. "We knew those mountains like no one else. All the short cuts, all the mines. A stranger up there at night or day - they wouldn't have known where the hell they were."
"We could have caused problems to start, but they'd have soon snuffed us out and it wouldn't have made any difference. The only thing that might have worked was if we'd blown a bridge or tunnel in our area. They'd have had a bloody hard time fixing it. It's so mountainous, see ?"
They received their stand-down badges.
TNA ref WO199/3389
Hancock data held at B.R.A
Owen Sheers article in The Guardian
1939 Register
Emlyn's Richard Starkey's daughter Lorna Gwendolyn Rance (nee Starkey) - See Emlyn's page
Auxilier Roy Coleman's 2005 book - ‘From Cregan to Corrwg - A Valley Boy’s Story’.