Morcombelake is a small village 1 mile inland and 5 miles west of Bridport in West Dorset. It straddles the A35, the major arterial road running east / west through the region.
| Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant Robert Henry Smith | Builder & mason |
01 Sep 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Corporal William John Coles | Dairy farmer |
01 Sep 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Maurice William Austin | Brick mason |
01 Jul 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Robert William Burt | Quarry gravel digger |
01 Sep 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Francis Jack Dare | Assisting father tractor driver contractor |
02 Apr 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private William Edward George Dare | Assisting father tractor driver contractor |
24 Oct 1941 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Frederick William George Dyke | Head gardener |
01 Sep 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Charles William Henry Loving | Carpenter |
01 Mar 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 |
The OB was in a garden of a private house. It has subsequently been destroyed.
It is reported to be well known locally that the Patrol stored their explosives on Hardown Hill, directly behind Morcombelake village. Several caves still exist that were once excavated for chert and gravel as local building materials. One cave is now a bat-roost. There are concrete sewer pipes running into this cave but they have been verified as more recent and not related to WW2. There were also several short slit-trenches located on the western side of the hill, that the kids used to play in post-war.
It has not been verified if the local Home Guard and / or the Patrol used the caves for weapons storage. There was a probable separate Aux arms cache located close to the OB.
The West Dorset Scout Section are known to have used the Hardown Hill location.
Morcombelake Patrol
This was one of a series of Patrols based either side of the A35, then as now, one of the main roads out of the southwest. Presumably the intention was to ambush and delay any German troops landing either on the Dorset coast or further southwest.
There were relatively few military targets otherwise in the area. The closest airfields were some distance away. The nearby town of Bridport might have been a landing site for German troops and a possible target, along with the railway from Bridport to Maiden Newton.
The Patrol would have attended training sessions at the Dorset headquarters at Duntish Court. The Dorset Scout Section would have provided training to the Patrol as well.
It is likely that the Patrol were issued with the standard weapons.
National Archives WO 199/3390, 199/3391
Further Information from John Pidgeon, Lloyd Dare and Martyn Allen
Additional names and dates of death from Ancestry.co.uk
George Elliot personal communication
Helen Doble personal communication
Guy Turner personal communication