Reg Ellmore was the son of a Rabbit dealer in Caistor. In 1915 his father's business had gone bankrupt the family struggled to pay the rent. However, he and his brothers worked hard. Reg became a poultry farmer, but also worked as a bus driver, taking many generations of Caistor children to school on one of the Brown's buses. He sold off the Poultry farm equipment in 1970, but continued to live on Nettleton Road.
In 1933, he met Ivy Stevenitt Jordan while playing tennis and four years later proposed. They were married on 20 Oct 1937, remaining together for over 60 years. He was a keen footballer before the war, but Ivy wasn't so enthusiastic about this. Reg attended many football matches after the war including 15 FA Cup finals and the World Cup Final in 1966, with seats close to the Royal Box. Having seen the England victory, he never attended a live match again! They found mutual enjoyment playing golf and Reg would become president of Market Rasen Golf Club and was for many years its senior captain. A hole in one was a 77th birthday present to himself. He was awarded a life membership for his services to the club. His brother was also a keen golfer and had helped construct Grimsby Golf Club. Reg had to give up his golf in 2001 due to ill health.
During the war Reg lived with his wife and their young daughter Joan, born in 1938.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caistor Outstation | Operator | unknown | 07 Jul 1944 |
Poultry Farmer and part-time bus driver
We know of Reg's involvement in Special Duties as a result of his contact with Lincolnshire Defence of Britain researcher Mark Sansom in 1997. Reg had kept a number of papers from his service with Special Duties.
The documents largely date from the period around the Stand Down of Special Duties. He is asked to return Training Notes, his Special Pass, his EL label and any general military publications issued. EL labels were provided to vehicle users to permit them to drive into the coastal restricted zone from the Wash to the Thames. Special Duties members are known to have been issued with pamphlets such as the Popular Guide to the German Army, Notes on Enemy Army Identifications and others.
He also has a set of notes from what was presumably a training exercise, detailing messages such as "concentration heavy tanks Cuxwold Park" (5 miles away) or "minefield south of River (Ancholme)" (7 miles away), giving an indication of the area covered by the associated informant network.
Dave Hunter & Mark Sansom
1939 Register
Market Rasen Mail 4 Feb 1989, 10 Nov 1990, 29 Oct 1997, 28 Nov 2001
Grimsby Daily Telegraph 10 May 1986,
Grimsby Evening Telegraph 24 Apr 1970, 5 Feb 1991