Wootton Patrol

The Wootton Patrol is mentioned in The Last Ditch by David Lampe, although it is spelt Woolton in the book. 

Lampe says the Patrol’s OB was south of the junction of the Dover and Folkestone roads. He says it was built in 1941 by a company of Welsh miners. The book includes a photograph, taken in 1967, of the entrance to the OB with Wilfred Roberts standing outside. He states it was entered through the false bottom of a manger against the side of a hill in a cattle shed. Another entrance was at the crest of the bank.

Jim Bradshaw, of the Ashford Archaeological Group, briefly surveyed the site in 1979. The open chalkwell was a soakaway for a group of buildings. Very deep and with three long and high chambers. Placed on the slope of a hill with a quarry 60m below. As one of the chambers ran in the direction of the quarry a narrow small tunnel was cut from the quarry face for some metres, then enlarged until it was several metres wide and high before linking up with the chalkwell some three metres higher than the original floor. The entrance to the passage was then hidden by building a lime burning kiln across the front with a cleverly hidden access. It was at the side of a bridle track which made access easy and unsuspicious.

Bradshaw found little material evidence of its use beyond the metal bars at the sides that supported bunks and shelves. He did see several names and dates carved in the chalk. If he noted them, they have since been lost. He said it was probably a comfortable and roomy hide, warm and dry, plenty of fresh air and at the side of a bridle track which made access easy and unsuspicious. He could not undertake a full survey as the bottom of the shaft was piled high with decomposing cattle thrown down after some sort of epidemic and the skinned carcasses of dogs.