Ipswich-2 Patrol

County Group
Locality

Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk.

Patrol members
Name Occupation Posted from Until
Sergeant Neville George Palmer

Solicitors clerk

Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Corporal Donald Arthur Gould

Building society clerk

Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Corporal Leonard Reginald Whurr

Engine fitter

Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private Jack Edwin Hadley

Insurance clerk

Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private John T. Langford

Lathe operator

Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private Claude Albert Reginald Riches Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private Bruce Wharton Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Operational Base (OB)

The exact location of the Patrol’s OB, or OBs, is not certain.

The site is listed on the Defence of Britain database but no information is given. According to the B.R.O Museum in Parham the OB was situated near Ipswich railway station at the site of a sandpit, now built over. According to information published in The Evening Standard (17 Dec 1996 p 6), the OB was known to have been in the grounds of a large house at the junction of Gippeswyk Avenue and Gippeswyk Road. This information does not appear to be correct.

Patrol member Claude Riches said that their hideout was in a woodland about 700 metres south of Ipswich railway station. He recalled that it was constructed by the Royal Engineers.  It was an elephant shelter which had two rooms, one being used for sleeping in. All ammunition was stored in the OB. The Patrol did not have an observation post. Because of the location being much favoured by dog walkers, accessing the OB was difficult at the best of times and it was hence not used very often. The whole area has since been built over, destroying the OB site in the process.

Update 2022 - new investigations indicate the OB was somewhere between Kesteven and Ancaster Roads, and near the grounds of Howard House as per 1996 article. Residents remember playing in a bunker in the woods there, now built probably over.

Patrol & OB pictures
OB Image
Caption & credit
Ipswich 2 Howard House
OB Image
Caption & credit
Ipswich 2 Patrol (from Gareath Evans). Unknown, Jack Hadley, Claude Riches, Bruce Wharton. Seated; Corporal Leonard Whurr, Sergeant Neville Palmer, Unknown
Interactive tour of probable OB locality

Gareath Evans, grandson of Claude Riches from Ipswich-2 Patrol, visited the suspected site in November 2022

Click the hotspots inside the image to start the interactive virtual tour. For a more accessible version, open the accessible virtual tour. View licence.

OB Status
Destroyed
Location

Ipswich-2 Patrol

Patrol Targets

Most likely targets would include Ipswich railway station, railway line and bridges in the vicinity

Other information
References

TNA ref WO199/3389

Hancock data held at B.R.A;

1939 Register;

Evelyn Simak and Adrian Pye;

B.R.O.M at Parham;

Patrol member Claude Riches (pers com);

The Evening Standard (17 Dec 1996 p 6);

Defence of Britain - Dr Will Ward;

Sarah Nikolovska;

Adrian Procter;

Gareath Evans, Grandson of Claude Riches