Ringwood is a town 10 miles northeast of Bournemouth.
| Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant Arthur Charles Hoskins | Builder and market gardener |
19 May 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private George Percy Gale | Traveller cattle feed |
25 Sep 1943 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Edward Ernest Geary | Butcher & pig farmer |
10 Jun 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Frederick Samuel Geary | Butcher, market gardener and green grocer |
27 Jul 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Clarence Jack Lewis Hanham | Gas fitter |
06 Apr 1943 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Raymond Alfred Ralph Withall | Electrician |
01 Jun 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
It is thought that the OB was located near Three Tree Hill on the outskirts of Ringwood, in the Highwood – Moyles Court area.
Ringwood B Patrol
Nearby Ibsley airfield would very likely have been a target.
The Patrol were training at Avon Castle on one occasion when a German bomber was shot down, crash landing in the meadows close to where they were. According to an online record of Hampshire aircraft crashes, the only one to fit the bill was the crash of a JU88A-4 of 2/KG6 at Southmead Meadows, near Westover farm, on May 7th 1943.
The Patrol also met to train on Fred Geary’s eight acre field just outside Ringwood, close to Moyles Court. There was a pig sty there where they would also play darts !
Arthur Hoskins attended at least one Patrol Leaders course at Coleshill as he retained the papers from this course. The timetable includes Major Oxenden and Captain Delamere, dating this to at least 1942 as these officers were elsewhere prior to this.
David Hoskins recalled his father had weapons and ammunition in their larder and behind paint tins on the top shelf of the garden shed were boxes of grenades, time pencils and tripwires
The Patrol names for the west of Hampshire and the New Forest have been identified from National Archives file WO199/3391, but are not divided by Patrol. The nominal roll gives the surname, initials, ID card number and address, together with date of birth. The Patrols have been arranged according to the addresses and ID card numbers around known Patrol Leaders. This means the allocations may not be completely accurate. Some men, particularly those from the Ringwood area where there are several Patrols, could not be allocated with any confidence to one Patrol or another, so are listed in Unallocated.
TNA ref WO199/3391
Hancock data held at B.R.A
1939 Register
Correspondence with June Bentley, daughter of Fred Geary and David Hoskins son of Arthur Hoskins
Correspondence with John Hawkins, History of St Leonards and St Ives project.