Trencrom is a hamlet, south of St Ives Cornwall, in the shadow of the prominent hill fort on Trencrom Hill.
| Name | Occupation | Posted from | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant Henry Gordon Rowe | Smallholder |
12 Jun 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Lieutenant William Reginald Sandow | Dairy manager and farmer |
01 Jun 1940 | 09 Nov 1942 |
| Private Timothy Edwards | Farm labourer |
08 Jun 1940 | Unknown |
| Private George Barnard Harrington | Master mason |
11 Dec 1941 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Richard Lawrey | Farmer |
21 Jun 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Lionel Elbert Nicholas | Gardener |
02 Jul 1942 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private William James Pooley | Rockman in slate quarry |
29 May 1940 | Unknown |
| Private Edwin Hosking Sandow | Farmer |
30 May 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
| Private Richard Henry Uren | Market gardener |
11 Jun 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
The OB was built within Wheal Merth Mine situated between Lelant Downs and Heather Lane at Gorran.
In an article in The Cornishman newspaper (undated but thought to be mid 1980s) the OB is described;
“The Operational Base was in an adit of an abandoned tin mine high up on Lelant Downs. They would crawl into a small tunnel in the hillside near Carntisco and use a simple bridge made up from a couple of planks of wood. They then had to cross one of the shafts of Wheal Merth mine. A slip would have sent them plunging 500/600ft to the bottom of the flooded shaft. Once inside they pulled the bridge back with them inside”.
After the war it was destroyed within the confines of Wheal Merth Mine. Built within the old stope (the excavated area of a mine produced during the extraction of ore) some remains were blown into the adit (a level tunnel giving access to a mine and usually used for drainage or extraction of broken ore etc). The Nissen hut structure within the mine was covered with concrete and soil.
The entrance into the actual OB but both the shaft and the adit (today) are a tight squeeze for an adult man especially if carrying kit.
Trencrom Patrol
A Starfish Quick Light site had been constructed at the Towans (sand dunes) at nearby Hayle. These elaborate hoax lights would simulate night effects of the town and harbour. The sites were built to mislead enemy aircraft into bombing the decoy site rather than the nearby town. The presence of this proves Hayle was strategically important and so suspected targets for the Patrol would include the viaduct at Foundry and the harbour.
It is assumed they were issued with the standard kit, arms and explosives.
Ammunition and supplies were dropped near the mine by an army lorry and stored in chambers ¼ of a mile into the hillside and under 300ft of rock.
In his memoirs, Captain Stuart Edmundson, the original South West Area Intelligence Officer, recalls;
“Down in West Cornwall there was no great problem [with OBs] as many of the men I had recruited there were, or had been, tin miners. That part of the world is completely honeycombed by old workings and some of these chaps were able to go from coast to coast in Cornwall through these old workings without coming to the surface.
It was a terrifying experience going down with them as water was dripping through everywhere. The passages of cause were totally dark and we only had the light of a candle or a torch and had to jump over shafts going down lower, at the bottom of which you could hear water running.
These men were particularly tough and mad keen to get their hands on a German".
Hancock data held at B. R. A
Images from KH from www.mine-explorer.co.uk
Memoirs of Edmundson, copies held at B.R.A
Information from Denys Matthews, son of Auxilier Dick Matthews of Madron Patrol and an undated article in The Cornishman newspaper.
Alwyn Harvey's research carried out for Defence Of Britain Project
TNA ref WO199/3391