Ross-on-Wye is a market town in south eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye.
| Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant Frank William Green | Farmer |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Corporal Harry Edwards Sainsbury | Farmer |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Edward Robert Price | Farmer |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Guy Overton Sainsbury | Farmer |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private John Barton Sainsbury | Farmer |
Sept 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private William Ashley Winch | Auctioneer clerk |
Unknown | Unknown |
The OB is on Coppett Hill close to Goodrich. The Hill is now a nature reserve.
As a young boy in the 1950s Marcus Sears and couple of mates searched for, and found an underground base. They entered by using a branch from a tree instead of a ladder. They found the remains of 2 sets of chicken wire and wood bunk beds and a couple of clips of 303 ammunition. Which they pulled out the bullet heads and set off the black powder. The entrance was a hole at ground level with a straight drop of 10 to 12 feet.
A small explosives bunker was also found about 100 meters from the original OB.
Both have been removed or destroyed and only depressions in the ground remain. The OB shows signs of an entrance or escape tunnel leading off. What was recorded as an explosive bunker was also in a fine location to actually be an Observation Post.
Ross-on-Wye Patrol
Assumed targets are the nearby Symonds Yat and Welsh Bicknor railway tunnels and nearby road and railway bridges such as Kerne Bridge, just below the OB.
The nearby Edison Swan factory would have been a target.
Hereford Patrols trained at Holmer Grange, the home of Captain Hughie Hall. Auxiliers had memories of a large lake with a pontoon bridge over. An exercise was to run over the pontoon with all their equipment, missing the part of the bridge that was primed to collapse. If they didn't fall in, the instructors pushed them in anyway. A stuffed dummy mounted in a doorway was used for silent killing practice.
A competition between all six Patrols took place at a farm at Holmer. Each Patrol had to place a magnet with the Patrol's name attached on some farm equipment stored in a yard. Getting in and out without being spotted, the victor was Bromyard Patrol.
Along with other Patrols from around the country, Ross-on-Wye Patrol were recruited to defend the Isle of Wight in June 1944 during the time of D-Day.
Herefordshire Patrols had their first reunion dinner on 26th January 1945 at Booth Hall in Hereford.
TNA ref WO199/3389
Hancock data held at B.R.A.
The Mercian Maquis by Bernard Lowry & Mick Wilks
Marcus Sears