Swineshead is a village in Lincolnshire, approximately 7 miles west of the town of Boston.
| Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant Sidney Grant | Market gardener |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Corporal William Thorpe | Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 | |
| Private Arthur Burrell | Farmer |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private A. Jessop | Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 | |
| Private Jack Macorie | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Private Ernest Frederick Welberry | Farming partner |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Walter Reginald Welberry | Farming partner |
Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
The Patrol's first OB was thought to have been in the area of Royalty Farm near Swineshead Bridge. It is presently unknown it there are any remains.
This was abandoned in favour of a better OB near the medieval motte castle at Manwarings. Sixty years on, Cecil Thornalley of Dalby Patrol visited and described it as “luxury”.
This is one of 15 Lincolnshire OBs that were built by John Sheffield of Scunthorpe with Royal Engineers’ labouring. It was constructed from prefabricated concrete panels that were bolted together. Breezeblocks were used for building both end walls. The escape tunnel is built from breezeblocks and exits the main chamber on the left at a 45° angle.
Swineshead Patrol
Wellingore then Blankney and Dalby Hall were the headquarters for the Lincolnshire Auxiliary Units so they certainly would have trained at them at some time.
Eddie Welberry recalled in 1997; "We trained using real explosives, brought down trees and that sort of thing. No one from the surrounding area took much notice of a few extra explosions going off. We used to go out at night 'attacking' different villages. There would be a target in the village we had to aim for and put a plastic explosive on. The Army would be there and would know we were coming and they had to try and stop us".
Each Patrol was issued with a gallon of rum. Just before an inspection by Captain Leslie Clark someone in the Swineshead Patrol managed to drop and break the jar, spilling the contents. Captain Clark commented he "could smell them from a mile away".
Eddie Welberry recalled in 1997; "We were issued with an amazing set of supplies - revolvers and Sten guns, hand grenades, knives and plastic explosives."
In an interview published in the Lincoln Echo, Auxilier Eddie Welberry was quoted; "There was the Home Guard to go into but I wasn't very keen on that. We didn't know what we were signing up to but it was a case of wanting to do anything to defend the country....I suppose if they had landed it would have been pretty frightening".
TNA ref WO199/3389
Hancock data held at B.R.A
Defence of Britain database complied by Mark Sansom and The Secret Army by Mark Sansom – Lincolnshire Heritage Booklets.
Lincoln Echo 1 Oct 1997
Images from Pete - 28 Days Later - 2008