Soberton is a village in the Meon Valley, bordered by villages such as Newtown and Droxford.
| Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant Henry David Miles | Chief Inspector of Taxes |
08 Dec 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Albert Edward Clinch | Working brickyard foreman |
14 Jul 1940 | 15 Apr 1943 |
| Private Roy J. Giles | Market gardeners labourer |
20 Aug 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Charles A. Jones | Agricultural labourer |
12 Oct 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Harold Ernest Ponton | Pig & poultry farmer |
20 Aug 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Charles William Ponton | Dairy farmer |
20 Aug 1940 | 01 Nov 1943 |
The precise location of the Operational Base is currently unknown.
There was reportedly an OB in Huntbourn Woods. A group of children found it after the war circa 1948 and described it as built from corrugated iron. Inside were bunks and crusty tins of what were thought to be food. There was an escape tunnel that came out some distance away under a holly tree. It was already said to be deteriorating at that time. The woods are now private property with no public access.
Soberton B Patrol
From the Southwick Patrol diary, we know the Group met at Hillcrest, the home of Lieutenant Welch. It also records joint training exercises between different Patrols, often with one of the Sergeants acting as umpire for the exercise.
The Patrol is thought to have been issued with the standard weapons and equipment.
There were three Patrols lead by Soberton men (possibly Soberton, Newton and Droxford) and they seem to have worked closely with the Southwick and Bishops Waltham Patrols too. We only have definite information on the Southwick Patrol.
The Bishops Waltham Patrol likely contains all the men from that area, but the other three Patrols membership is at present a best guess, other than the names of the Sergeants in charge. This has been done based on ID card numbers held in the nominal roll, which locate the men geographically, though the method is known to be unreliable as next door neighbours might be in different Patrols. The Patrols had codenames that were the names of Caribbean islands, such as St Vincent, Martinique and Barbados. The codename for Soberton Patrol is uncertain.
TNA ref WO199/3391
Hancock data held at B.R.A
1939 Register