Ernest Stanley Sadler

Ernest Stanley Sadler was born in Gloucester. After the First World War, his father had moved the family from Weymouth to Penarth as he had been involved in installing machinery in the Penarth pumping station and had been asked to stay on to supervise its operation.

Known as Stanley, he married Catherine Meazey at St Augustine's Church in Penarth on 28 Oct 1928 and they had two children together. Sadly his eldest daughter Margaret died on 22 Feb 1941 of polio.

Stanley and his brother Aubrey first set up a motorcycle garage in Railway Terrace, before a designing and building a new garage on Windsor Road in Penarth. He was director of Sadler Bros Ltd Garage as this was known. He took over the business from his father, who died in 1937. The firm were agents for Austin and Morris motor cars. In 1939 he was also an ARP Warden. The 1920s art deco garage was extended during the war with a second storey. The firm undertook work for the Army as well. Sadly his brother Aubrey also died during the war. The garage building still survives at 86 Windsor Road, Penarth, but has been converted into flats in recent years, with the building now known as The Moorwell. One of the flats is available for short term bookings.

In  summer 1940, concerned about the possibility of invasion, he had planned for his wife and children to be evacuated to Canada. Fellow Masons had helped with the arrangements. However, news of the sinking by a U-Boat of the the liner "City of Benares" on 17 Sep 1940, with the loss of 100 of 119 children being evacuated, changed his mind and they stayed in Britain. Initially they moved into the countryside near Hay, with the children being home schooled, their mother having previously been a teacher. Later they attended St Helens School which had been evacuated to Llanthomas House in Llanigon. 

Margaret discovered about his involvement with Special Duties when a member of the group telephoned to ask why Stanley was late to the meeting. He had told his wife he was going to visit a sick friend and unsurprisingly she confronted him about this on his return. He had to come clean and also admitted that the commercial motor conferences he had supposedly been attending were in fact trips to Coleshill House for training.

His daughter, Dorothy, recalled that he had been repeatedly stopped by the military police and others and issued fines for travelling in a civilian vehicle. This was virtually banned later in the war except for essential transport of goods. He would send the tickets to his supervisor and nothing more would be heard about them. She also recalled he had been issued with a suicide pill to be taken if captured. He had been told that nobody could withstand torture and this was the only way out. It was Stanley's opinion that Auxiliary Units would have lasted no more than a week under enemy occupation.