D-Day Defending the IOW

In May / June 1944 many men were recruited from Auxiliary Units to travel to Isle of Wight to protect the island from a counter attack during D-Day. They were sent in relays for about a month between May and June 1944.

Their story is told here.

It is thought the complete Patrols of Felton, Hebron, Netherwitton, Paxtondene, Allerdean, Halidon Hill, Scremerston, Swinhoe, Warenford, West Fallodon and Alnwick (Northumberland) all went to the Isle of Wight before and around D-Day. Other individual Auxiliers joined from Yorkshire, Norfolk, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

The temporary HQ was at Parkhurst Prison and Billingham Manor, and the men were billeted at various places such as Farrington House, Lord Tennyson's former home at Freshwater Bay, and in local hotels in places like Sandringham Hotel, Sandown.

The Auxiliers did constant night time patrols on the island. Their main targets to protect were the Pluto Power station in the pavilion of Sandown’s miniature golf course. This was the pump house for the fuel line to the Mulberry harbour in the channel to be used by the Allies following D-Day and to supply the needs of the army as they pushed on into France. 

Another building the Auxiliers guarded was a hospital, an odd choice as it was painted up with Red Cross symbols. They found out later that under the hospital was in fact a top secret communication centre which hid a cable. This was a telecommunications landline laid under the Channel and into occupied France and it had been there and in use throughout the war without the Germans ever finding out.

Donald Llewellyn Dagleish from the Baconsthorpe Patrol, Norfolk, who was based at Sandown and guarded the nearby airfield. A near neighbour of the Norfolk Patrols was a member of the Copdock (aka Belstead) unit from Suffolk. They were tasked with looking after the radio station at Bembridge.

John Wythes of the “Joshua” Patrol from Crowle in Worcestershire only spent a week on the island around the time of the D-Day fleet sailing. He guarded an ammunition store.

Sergeant Henry West of Matlaske Patrol, Norfolk wrote a dairy of his time spent on the Isle of Wight. It can be seen here.