Marksbury is a small village and civil parish in Somerset about 4 miles from Keynsham and 7 miles from Bath.
Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
---|---|---|---|
Lieutenant Charles William Trussler | Gamekeeper |
22 Aug 1940 | 01 Apr 1941 |
Sergeant Herbert Arthur Pearce | Butchers manager |
12 Nov 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 |
Private Henry Cecil George Bailey | Haulier |
22 Aug 1940 | 02 Feb 1943 |
Private Leslie George Bullock | 27 Nov 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 | |
Private Geoffrey Norris Harding | Engineer learner |
29 Jan 1942 | Unknown |
Private Stephen John Harding | Miner |
Unknown | Unknown |
Private Frederick John Hillier | Salesman & market gardener |
22 Aug 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
Private George Kenneth Hitchins | Student |
04 Dec 1943 | 03 Dec 1944 |
Private James Thomas Hooper | Bricklayers apprentice |
13 Feb 1941 | 14 Apr 1943 |
Private Victor Hooper | Motor mechanic |
Unknown | Unknown |
Private Arthur Rawlings | General labourer |
22 Aug 1940 | 18 Jul 1944 |
Private Edwin Charles Thomas | Bricklayer |
11 Mar 1942 | 14 Apr 1943 |
Private Ernest Thomas | Carter in coal mine underground |
13 Jul 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
Private Keith Robert Charles Trussler | Student |
31 May 1943 | 03 Dec 1944 |
Private Graham Eric Tucker | Student |
04 Sep 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 |
Private Frederick Watts | General labourer |
27 Jul 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
Private William Sidney Charles Willis | Shopkeeper grocer dealer & sub Postmaster |
25 Apr 1941 | 03 Jun 1943 |
The OB is located in a private wood. Originally part of the Hunstrete Estate the land was sold in the 1960s and the woods replaced with conifers. Jim Hooper, a bricklayer, was asked to help build the OB.
Group Commander Charles Trussler showed local Boy Scout, John Baker, the OB just after the war and he remembered the original leafy lid in place.
Marksbury Patrol
The large railway viaduct over the Chew Valley would have been a likely target along with the nearby Whitchurch aerodrome.
Jim Hoper recalled; "We were all keen and well versed in training and explosives. We knew how to get around the countryside, all around the area. We had great fun at times. We were attacking the guards in Keynsham. We ran out of thunderflashes and finished up with throwing sticks of 808 over the wall. It was an early finish that night. There was a dance going on at Keynsham Town Hall so we all piled in with our blackened faces. They thought they were being invaded. Another time, Units from the whole area attacked Locking airport. Each one had to capture a particular hut. Ours was the WAAF sleeping quarters."
Charles and Keith Trussler cleared the OB of all kit and explosives after the war.
TNA ref WO199/3390 & WO199/3391
Hancock data held at B.R.A
1939 Register
The late Jim Hooper and Donald Brown