Fritham Patrol

One Thursday the Patrol went to ground in their OB, following an alert that invasion was imminent. Auxiliary Units were meant to avoid the initial battle and surface after the initial fighting was over and wreak havoc behind the lines. However, they heard no fighting, or anything else to suggest the presence of enemy forces. Eventually, 3 days later on the Sunday, they sent a man out to find out what had happened, obviously discovering this was a false alarm. The Patrol had heard nothing on their radio and had been told not to call out, but the Army had forgotten that they had been sent to ground and not issued a recall !

Gerald Forward reported training with Regular soldiers, possibly a Hampshire Scout Section as well as being sent away on training courses, most likely a Patrol leaders course at Coleshill House.

Gilbert Smith recalled an initial period of intensive training, mostly in explosives, as the Patrol members were already crack shots and familiar with camouflage. Army Officers visited to undertake the training, which also included first aid and rescue drill. Gilbert was aware of two other Forest Patrols, but didn’t know that the organisation was much larger.

Another exercise was to stop an Army convoy on a particular road. Live explosives were tied to a large oak branch, with a four gallon petrol tin full of water above, which would be shot full of holes with a Tommy gun as the ambush was sprung, to simulate petrol being released by the explosive and descending as a flaming mass on the truck. Two other Patrol members had flour and soot “grenades”. The plan was for the Commanding Officer to signal when to fire the detonator and trigger the ambush. Gilbert says that the unnamed Officer was rather nervous and excitable, and he failed to make the signal until three lorries had already gone through, leaving the Patrol concerned. Thus when the signal eventually came, the string connected to the detonator was pulled rather too violently, yanking the detonator out of the explosive rather than setting it off. Perhaps just as well, since a heavy oak branch might have done serious damage among the men in the back of the lorry !

The Patrol also launched a mock attack on an Army camp, with the aim being to leave time pencils (with detonators, but no  explosives) on the differentials of the parked Bren carriers. The camp was told the Patrol would come on one of three nights and went on the second, when there was heavy rain. Within seven minutes the Patrol were in and out of the camp having set their time pencils, 30 in all. Twenty minutes later the time pencils went off. The Patrol had brought the Colonel of target unit from his headquarters at Minstead Hall as an independent witness of success. When the charges went off he was left rather red faced. Gilbert reports his comment, “I think I’ve got a lot of rotten troops and, I don’t know for sure, but I think you are the biggest rotters I’ve ever met !”