Stoke Holy Cross village lies 4 miles south of Norwich.
Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
---|---|---|---|
Sergeant Arthur William Dickerson | Chauffeur & gardener |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
Corporal Herbert William Lynes | General farm labourer |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
Corporal Percy Albert Winterbone | Horseman on farm |
Unknown | 31 Jan 1944 |
Private Gerald Roy Allen | Farm worker |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
Private Roy Benjamin Allen | Farm worker |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
Private Geoffrey Arthur Edward Newman | Electrical engineer (Apprentice) |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
Private John Edward Sayer | Farm labourer |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
Private Sidney George Sexton | General labourer |
Unknown | 15 Apr 1943 |
The OB site is located on (strictly private) land belonging to Shotesham Hall and was accessed by kind permission.
The OB site is located on Skeet’s Hill, an area of disused sand and gravel pits surrounded by farmland to the west of Norwich Road, south of Stoke Holy Cross.
The OB appears to have been removed quite some time ago. It was built into a small, disused sandpit situated on the brow of a hill, with the location affording wide views to the south, west and east. A depression can be seen scooped out of the side of the pit where the OB once was. We failed to find information concerning the building materials used. Nothing remains in the ground and the pit is much overgrown with brambles.
Stoke Holy Cross Patrol
Local targets would have included RAF Stoke Holy Cross Chain Home Station, Hethel Airfield, Norwich to London railway line and bridges in the vicinity.
A larger sand and gravel pit adjoins the site in the north and a Patrol member’s son told us that the men used it for target practice.
Training included two meetings per week in the Drill Hall, Wymondham and parades, drill and weapon training on weekends. Many weekends from Friday to Sunday at Leicester Square Farm, Syderstone. Special army units taught the latest methods.
Duties during the week included to test (at night) security at searchlight units and other military establishments based in the area.
TNA ref WO199/3389
Hancock data held at B.R.A
1939 Register
Evelyn Simak and Adrian Pye,
Simon Mitchell (son of Group Commanding Officer Capt. H.W.R. Mitchell), Kirby Bedon;
Ethel Lynes (widow of Patrol member Cpl Harry Lynes), Newton Flotman;
Peter Allen (son of Patrol member Roy B. Allen), Framingham Earl;
Lynne Lambert and Fran Luxton (daughters of Patrol member G.A.E Newman), Mulbarton;
Chris Sutton (brother-in-law of Patrol member J.E Sayer), Shotesham;
Mark Watson, gamekeeper at Shotesham Park