Dalby is located approximately 12 miles in land from Skegness and to the north of Spilsby. It is fairly secluded and without any main roads passing it. Louth is to the north one of the main towns in the area.
| Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant George Robert Bowser Thornalley | Shepherd |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Corporal Albert Cecil Thornalley | Tractor driver |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Eustace Barrett | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Private Ben Baxter | Horseman on farm |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Charles William Baxter | Tractor driver |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private George Frank Henry Heane | Farmer |
Unknown | Unknown |
| Private Gerald William Crust Thornalley | Farmer |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private William Todd | Farm foreman |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
The Patrol OB was a home made effort fashioned from wooden planks burried in Low Field Plantation, a narrow valley with mature trees close to Dalby Hall.
Many of the Lincolnshire OBs were prefabricated concrete sections with brick entrances built by contractor John Sheffield from Scunthorpe who used Royal Engineers as labourers. It isn't clear why the Dalby Patrol had a poor quality OB that was damp and flooded frequently. (Cecil Thornalley)
Dalby Patrol
The area near the Patrol and the other Patrols in the Group had several RAF Bases/Airfields all could have been targets. RAF Strubby, RAF Spilsby near Great Steeping, RAF East Kirkby and the Air Armaments School at RAF Manby. Most were Bomber Command bases.
Other targets included several large country houses around the area, the main road from the coast to the east and the possible invasion beaches between Mablethorpe and Skegness to the east of the OB.
The Patrol trained at various Auxiliary Unit HQ's during the war. Wellingnore Hall and Blankney Hall being two of the HQ's both however requisitioned by the RAF so Dalby Hall became the third choice.
Some members went to Coleshill House for specialist courses.
A training exercise involved Cecil Thornalley and the Patrol to be taken by an army lorry to an unknown location and use their skills to return to their OB before daylight. Cecil recognised the drop off point as a farm near Wellingore owned by his father so it was a simple exercise to return to their OB in record time.
Knobkerries (Cecil Thornalley)
Group Commanding Office Captain F. Dawson owned Dalby and leased Dexthorpe Farm to the north to the Thornalleys.
Some of the Patrol went to the Isle of Wight as part of the Island Garrison around the time of D-Day.
Cecil Thornalley
TNA WO199/3389,
Colin Hayes,
Defence of Britain database complied by Mark Sansom and The Secret Army by Mark Sansom – Lincolnshire Heritage Booklets.
Tim Wray (photo)