Monument record BTY 036 - Bently Patrol, Auxiliary Unit, Operational Base

Bently Patrol, Auxiliary Unit, Operational Base.
The OB was located on a slight slope near the north-eastern edge of Holly Wood, west of Bentley, not far from a narrow path. When Frank Ratford (nephew of patrol member Sgt Bill Ratford found the OB as a teenager it was still accessible and he found evaporated Molotov cocktails scattered on the floor. The site has collapsed (or perhaps the roof was removed) and until recently the corrugated sheeting forming its walls could still be seen in the ground. The square depression has since been partially filled in with tree trunks. A large hole a couple of metres beside it might once have been the entrance shaft. According to Sgt Bill Ratford “when we had to make our dugout it was camouflaged by experts”.
According to an account given by patrol member Gerald Sporle (in: The Book of Capel), the patrol had an ammo dump and an observation post nearby which was connected by field telephone to the OB (S1).