Raymond was only 15 years of age when he joined the Bealings Home Guard and then the Bealings Patrol where he was the youngest member. He remembered the Patrol being given silenced .22 sniper rifles, commando knives, knuckle dusters, explosives, “sticky bombs” and various other weapons and going to the local shooting range at Bromeswell near Woodbridge on a Sunday morning for shooting practice. Sometimes weekends were spent away for training and his mother never knew where he had been or what he had been doing.
Being a member of Churchill’s Secret Army was apparently a reserved occupation but when Ray, aged 18, received his call-up papers he said that being young and silly he wanted to join-up. However, when he later found himself heading for the Normandy beaches on D Day and his terrifying experiences he regretted his decision. During his time in France, he found that the survival training he had received in the Secret Army saved his life.
After the war Ray worked as a driver for Burton, Son and Sanders in Ipswich.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Bealings Patrol | Patrol member | Unknown | Unknown |
Lorry driver's mate
Ray's father Sid was already a Patrol member when he was recruited from the Home Guard. He had joined them in 1940 after the Dunkirk evacuation when they were still called the Local Defence Volunteers.
Ray joined the Army during the war and fought on the Normandy beaches with 1st Battalion the Royal Norfolk Regiment, landing on D Day as part of 3rd Infantry Division. His brother Rodney also served in the Army. The picture of the two brothers was taken in Boot Street while on leave. He was demobbed in 1947.
TNA ref WO199/3389,
The Evening Star 17 Dec 1996
Veronica Watkins
Gareath Evans and information from Great Bealings Church.