Richard Henry Louis Coleman

We were contacted by Richard Colman who was enquiring about the possibility of his father being a member of the Birtley Patrol. Richard had no idea about his fathers war time exploits and was even more surprised to find out that he was in fact part of the “Secret” underground army. He was only alerted to his father’s activities when he found a 202 badge in among his belongings.

Mr. Coleman started his journey to the Northeast Auxiliary Units from a long way south of the area he would patrol. Originally from Southeast England he started an apprenticeship at the Woolwich Arsenal in the mid 1930’s. At the outbreak of WW2 he volunteered for military service at Eltham in London.
Unfortunately for Mr. Coleman he was refused and given “Reserved Profession” status due to the ending of his apprenticeship and the work he was doing at the Woolwich Arsenal. He continued working at Woolwich all through the Blitz of London until he was promoted and offered a job at the Royal Ordnance factory in Birtley. He accepted the job and moved to the Northeast starting work there 15 Dec 1941. He was appointed as a shop floor foreman and production engineer.

He may have joined the Home Guard on his arrival at his new place of employment, though this is as yet to be confirmed. It was the general route to the Auxiliary Units, the other was through contacts in the hunting, shooting and fishing fraternity. Being young and fit made anyone in a “reserved occupation” a target for the Home Guard who wanted as many more able and fit bodies as possible, but also with his background in arms manufacture he would have come to the attention of Captain Burningham or Lieutenant West, Officers in charge of Number 3 Area. Either way Mr. Coleman ended up as part of the seven man Birtley Patrol under the command of Sergeant Wilson with their OB at Walter Wood near to Ouston. 

Mr. Coleman took lodgings at 34, Moor Crescent in Gosforth to the north of Newcastle and some distance from the Patrol OB but his place of work at the Royal Ordnance factory was within walking distance of the OB site.