Kirby Bedon Patrol

County Group
Locality

The hamlet of Kirby Bedon lies 4 miles south-east of Norwich.

Patrol members
Name Occupation Posted from Until
Sergeant Walter Edward Eke

Horseman on farm

Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Corporal Ernest Arthur Reeve

Market gardener's salesman

Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private Arthur Frederick Browne Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private Harry James Cracknell

Cowman

Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private Reginald Jack Ewles

Greengrocer

Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private Maurice Alfred Johnson

General labourer

Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private Barney John Rix

Horseman on farm

Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Private Alfred Charles Scarfe

Gardener

Unknown 03 Dec 1944
Operational Base (OB)

The site of the OB is located on strictly private farmland belonging to the Crown Point Estate. The land was accessed by kind permission of the owner.

The OB was located in a shed used for storing apple boxes and crates, in one of the extensive orchards adjoining The Grange in the 1940s. It was accessed through a trapdoor in the floor which opened to a drop-down shaft with rungs serving as a ladder. The main chamber adjoined at the bottom of the shaft, with a short passage leading into it. The OB had no emergency exit.

The Grange was razed to the ground at sometime after 1946. No buildings remain. The farm, outbuildings and sheds and the surrounding orchards can be seen on an aerial photograph taken by the RAF in 1946 (Norfolk County Council’s E-map Explorer). The land is still being farmed but the orchards have long since been turned into arable.

Mr Simon Mitchell - son of Group Commanding Officer Captain Mitchell, who farmed The Grange in the 1940s - kindly assisted us in finding the location. With the aid of an old detailed map of the area and thanks to Mr Mitchell’s guidance, we were able to establish the exact location of the OB, currently in the corner of a field. Although the shed that housed it has long since been removed, along with all other buildings on the property, it is possible that the underground structure is still in place. Apart from a slight depression no trace remains on the ground.

Patrol & OB pictures
OB Image
Caption & credit
Kirby Bedon Auxiliary Unit OB site
OB Status
Destroyed
OB accessibility
This OB is on private land. Please do not be tempted to trespass to see it
Location

Kirby Bedon Patrol

Patrol Targets

Targets would have included railway line and railway bridges in the vicinity.

References

TNA ref WO199/3389

Hancock data held at B.R.A

Evelyn Simak and Adrian Pye

'Standing up to Hitler' (2002) by A Hoare

Mr Simon Mitchell, Kirby Bedon (personal interview)