Kelso is a market town just over the border in Scotland. The hamlet of Nenthorn lies 3 miles north-west of Kelso. It is also roughly central borders
| Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant George Ferguson | 1941 | 1944 | |
| Corporal J. Hendry | 1941 | 1944 | |
| Private Andrew Boyd | Farm labourer |
1941 | 1944 |
| Private A. Cullender | 1941 | 1944 | |
| Private J. McLiesh | 1941 | 1944 | |
| Private A. Riddell | 1941 | 1944 | |
| Private I. Wight | 1941 | 1944 |
The Patrol OB was located in the grounds of Floors Castle to the north of Kelso and part way to Nenthorn.
It was of "Elephant" type construction with the horse shoe entrance as preferred in the Scottish Borders area.
In 1948, Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant Martin McLane was in charge of a group of Prisoner of War camps in the Kelso area, supplying labour to the surrounding farms. He was approached by Major Reid a former Home Guard officer from Kelso and asked to select a group of prisoners for a special job. They travelled by lorry to the Duke of Roxeburghe’s estate where the automatic opening gates were a memorable feature for the period. They drove past Floors Castle, which had been an Auxiliary Hospital for troops 1940-45, on continued to the wood of fir trees beyond it. A veteran of jungle fighting in Burma, McLane noted broken branches and signs that the route they took into the wood had been followed by others before them.
McLane was asked to stand by a tree stump. He was told that the oblong next to him would move up and down to access the base, which had been used during the war by men would would have formed the resistance to the Germans. Inside he was surprised to find a buried Nissen hut, complete with beds. In the corner stood rifles and boxes of explosives including gelignite and slabs of gun cotton. There were grenades, ammunition and igniters for the explosives.
The men removed the gelignite and placed it inside a dustbin placed on the back of the truck, surrounded by sandbags. McLane then drove it himself to his base at Sunlaws PoW camp (now Schloss Roxeburghe Hotel). The dustbin was offloaded and placed in a field. The Bomb Disposal squad were called, and on reviewing the aged explosives were furious. The gelignite was weeping, indicating it was unstable and sensitive to even the slightest jolt. Only luck had prevented a large explosion.
Although repeatedly interviewed as a veteran of Dunkirk and Kohima, McLane only appears to describe the OB in his extensive interview with the Imperial War Museum.
The OB is mentioned by Martin McLane on this IWM recording below at 11 mins 20 secs onwards.
It is thought the OB has been filled in by the estate.
Nenthorn Patrol
Kelso has 6 or 7 road targets in the town centre. These were targets as the Auxiliary Unit wanted to be able to control these vital roads if the Germans mounted an airbourne attack on the Borders. This would include the road bridges over the River Tweed and the railway to Coldstream.
Other targets would have included Floors Castle, an obvious German Headquarters and Sunlaws P.O.W camp.
Some of the Patrol went to Coleshill House for specialist training. Though this stopped in mid 1942 when it was decided that it was not practicable to travel so far and waste two days on a train so Coleshill sent out written and practical test for the Patrols to do.
Andrew Boyd recalled particular training in concealment and evasion techniques. Also training in timing so they could calculate how to enter a target location, plant a device and safely escape. He recalled a mission when Wight and himself successfully entered an aerodrome and “tagged” an aircraft. They had made their way in through a bog and there was an uproar because the bog was treacherous and was not supposed to be used as it could have cost them their lives.
The Patrol would also have trained locally and at Monksford House Stables, the Area Headquarters.
Weapons issued to the Patrol would have included .38 Smith & Wesson pistols, Thompson Machine Guns and Fairbairn Sykes fighting knives. Andrew Boyd recalled being issued with a revolver a knife and a rubber truncheon.
The National Archives in Kew ref WO199/3388
Hancock data held at B.R.A
Andrew Boyd via The Boyd family
IWM Sound 10165 Martin McLane. The OB is mentioned on reel 53 at 11 minutes 20 seconds onwards