Usk Patrol

A.K.A. (nickname)
Esau
County Group
Monmouthshire Group 3
Locality

Usk is a town located on the River Usk, 10 miles north-east of Newport.

Patrol members
Name Occupation Posted from Until
Sergeant John Percival Knight Rennie

Agricultural auctioneer

 Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Corporal John David Lewis

Property owner

 Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private David Lewis Davies

Cowman

 Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private Edward Kenneth Griffiths

Agricultural lecturer

 Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private Basil Parker Rogers

Stock farmer

 Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private Horace Vernon Williams

Farm worker

 Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private Trevor Samual Williams

Farmer

 Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Operational Base (OB)

Located to the east of Usk.

The OB had collapsed when first recorded in 1994. It had an entrance from which steps ran down to a small room. A concrete pipe then ran through to a larger room with bunk beds and a corrugated iron roof which had fallen in. Another pipe, the escape tunnel lead out to a area of bramble bushes.

This has now been restored by the owner. It was featured on an episode of BBC Hidden Wales.

It is thought there were two ammunition dumps about a mile away.

Patrol & OB pictures
Usk entrance hatch
Usk entrance hatch
Usk OB entrance
Usk OB entrance
Usk OB entrance
Usk OB entrance
Usk OB vent pipe
Usk OB vent pipe
Monmouthshire Usk OB
Usk original OB remains
Usk entrance tunnel from main chamber looking to entrance
Usk entrance tunnel from main chamber looking to entrance
Usk OB main chamber
Usk OB main chamber
Usk main chamber
Usk main chamber
Usk OB looking from main chamber to second chamber
Usk OB looking from main chamber to second chamber
Usk OB stove
Usk OB stove
Usk OB stove
Usk OB stove
Usk OB stove
Usk OB stove
Usk OB stove
Usk OB stove
Usk OB second chamber
Usk OB second chamber
Usk OB stove
Usk OB stove
Usk escape tunnel looking out
Usk escape tunnel looking out
OB Status
Largely intact
OB accessibility
This OB is on private land. Please do not be tempted to trespass to see it
Location

Usk Patrol

Patrol Targets

Obvious targets would have been the road and rail bridges over the River Usk for the A471, A472 and A479.

Usk Prison (borstal) could have been made use of by an invading army.

Training

Group training courses with target practice were arranged every 4-5 weeks at the derelict Glen Court mansion, Llantrisant near Usk. Pertholey House near Newbridge on Usk and Belmont House near Langstone. 

An annual training camp with members from other Patrols was held at Southerndown. The men were billeted at Dunraven Castle which was also home to evacuees during the war. 

The men were taught how to use sticky bombs, a selection of guns, grenades, fuses and time pencils. Each Patrol was issued with Fairbairn Sykes knives which were particularly lethal instruments. The men were taught advanced ‘thuggery’ and became very highly skilled in how to kill silently using knives or the cheese cutter garrotte. The men were basically not meant to be a confrontational unit, but lone sentries would no doubt have been targets for silent execution.

Other information

Usk Patrol had the codename Esau.

References

TNA ref WO199/3389

Sallie Mogford, Tony Salter, Henry Humphries, Ceri Thomas

1939 Register

Leedham.com

Hancock data held at B.R.A

BBC Hidden Wales Series 2 Episode 5