Goodwood Auxiliary Unit and Operational Base

The Goodwood Patrol had seven members. The Patrol Leader was Lesley Drewett, a farmer at Colworth Farm, Colworth, between Chichester and Bognor Regis.

The other members were Charley Longlands, a farmhand on Lesley Drewett's farm, Bunny Bailey, a farmer at Elbridge Farm, Colworth, Jack Code, a farmer at Courthill Farm, Slindon, Reginald Heaver, a farmer from Oving, his brother Alan who lived at Fishbourne and whose occupation involved extracting, processing and marketing sand and gravel and a Mr. Bingham, a coalman from Bognor.

The hideout was a single underground chamber measuring 19 feet 6 inches and 8 feet 6 inches high, situated in a woodland area called 'The Thicket', a mile to the west of Eartham.

It was built by the Royal Engineers, its walls and floor are constructed of solid concrete with a 6" thick reinforced concrete ceiling supported by five evenly-spaced 8" by 4" RSJ beams.

This overly-solid construction, coupled with the absence of an emergency exit is an unusual design for an Auxiliary Unit hideout in Sussex

Entrance into the hideout was gained by lifting an old tree stump which was attached to a hinged trapdoor; this revealed a wooden ladder going down into the hideout. Inside were four bunk beds, ammunition, explosives, a large food store, and water stored in two galvanised tanks. Two hundred yards to the north east of the hideout was the patrol's OP. This was basically a 6 feet by 4 feet trench with a camouflaged top over it. One man would have stood inside, relaying any information back to the hideout via a direct telephone line.

Because of its concrete construction the Goodwood hideout is still in excellent condition although corrugated sheeting and timber that originally lined the shaft now makes access a little difficult.

Image by Stewart Angell

The old bed frames

Former patrol member Alan Heaver remembered doing a great deal of training with the neighbouring West Ashling patrol of which his other brother, Jack, was a member. On one such night-time training exercise, the two patrols had to simulate laying an explosive charge on a guarded anti-aircraft gun at a place called Temple Bar about one mile north of Tangmere airfield. The guards around the 'Ack-Ack' gun had been warned that an attack might be attempted some time that night, and not to fire live ammunition at the attackers.

The two patrols met up at Shopwyke, about two miles away from the target site. Alan Heaver was teamed up with Stanley Mason, the West Ashling patrol leader. As they made their way towards Temple Bar Alan Heaver, being the younger man, started to pull away from Stanley Mason and reached the target site first. He entered the perimeter of the site, got right up to the gun, chalked a swastika on it and escaped the same way without detection. He had completed the exercise long before the other men arrived. Unsure what to do with the remaining time; he decided to have another go and chalk a second swastika on the gun. This was a bad move; he was caught, as were all the others eventually.

All the men were taken to see an army officer at Halnaker Windmill. The officer consoled the men on their failed attack, at which Alan Heaver said he had managed to mark the gun and was only caught on his second attempt. The officer, most put out, demanded to be shown the swastika and drove Alan Heaver back to the site to see for himself.

Page text supplied by Stewart Angell with images by Jim from 28 Days Later.