The village of Skeffling lies approximately 5 miles south of Withernsea on a spit of land on the north side of the Humber tidal estuary.
| Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant Henry Francis Robinson | Farmer |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Corporal Leonard Medforth | Farmer |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Walter Edward Caley | Agricultural engineer |
Unknown | Unknown |
| Private Richard Wallis Dixon | Farmer |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Robert Pinder | Farm worker |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Arthur Owen Welton | Fruit broker |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Edward Wilkin | Farmer |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
The Patrol's OB was built approximately half a mile south of Skeffling on Winsett's Farm. The OB had been built under two derelict cottages on the Farm.
It was entered by a trap door hidden under a pile of bricks next to the east wall of the cottage.The chamber, which was under one of the cottages ground floor, was riveted with corrugated iron sheeting and had an escape exit consisting of a short tunnel with a hatch into the scullery floor of the adjoining cottage.
Bunk beds lined two of the walls with a hinged wooden table and Elsan toilet. A telephone line linked the OB with nearby Winsett's Farm.
Mr Charlie Hills, the landowner informed us that a few years ago 3 of them used a digger to try and find the OB but other than a few sheets of corrugated iron, no trace was found.
600 yards to the east of the OB is a small structure in the bank of a drain. It appears to be a Observational Post with stone riveting to the drain bank.
It was the closest OB to the Spurn Peninsular and also less than half a mile from the Humber.
Skeffling Patrol
Local targets would have included beaches and landing grounds along the north edge of the Humber, roads from the coast and the land drainage system.
Military targets would have included Spurn Head Coastal Battery, Channel Farm Searchlight Battery and Stone Creek Anti Aircraft Battery.
The Patrol trained locally on land farmed by Patrol member Edward Wilkin. It is thought Sergeant Robinson went to Coleshill for specialist courses.
They would have trained with other Patrols at Middleton on the Wold, the Intelligence Officer's Headquarters.
Private Leonard Medforth distinguished himself when, in 1943, he carried out the arrest single-handed of the crew of a German Dornier aircraft which landed in Out Newton.
It seems this action went right to the top, even to Coleshill as we see letters of commendation from quite a few sources including the Chief Constable of Beverley Police and GHQ Auxiliary Units nicely addressed as C/o GPO, Highworth, Swindon.
The crew spent the war as P.O.W's and were traced after the war. Three died in the early 1990's the forth man unknown.
The East Riding at War
TNA ref WO199/3389
Hancock data held at B.R.A
1939 Register
Andy Gwynne
East Ridings Secret Resistance by Alan Williamson.
Many Thanks go to Mike Welton, Easington. Family of Henry Robinson, Robert Pinder and Arthur Welton for the use of his photographs and to Mr Charlie Hills for his information on the OP.