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These are my husband’s memories:
Doug joined the TRE in Dundee at 16. Two years later the family moved to Swanage where most of the radar was researched (1940). They worked 7 days a week most of the time for all hours; they worked hard and played hard!
They attended many dances at the Grovenor Hotel, Swanage and they had a whale of a time with the Swanage girls and lots of marriages resulted.

Doug was billeted at Renscome Farm, Worth Matravers. There was a valley on the farm and the German planes used to fly up the valley, machine gunning anything that moved. One day Doug was coming back on his bicycle when a plane came over machine gunning as usual. Doug dived into the first open door which was the cow shed, with very smelly consequences!
On another occasion he was riding back in a thick fog at night when he came across a lost army convoy sent to protect them! The convoy couldn’t say where they were going due to secrecy, but Doug knew where they ought to be going and said ‘follow me’ and so a cyclist led this huge convoy to the research station.

Doug put the first Gee Set (navigational radar device) into an aeroplane. He saw lots of German planes shot down, one near Corfe Castle; where he had a bad accident and still bears the scars to this day.

Doug and I organised the TRE reunions. 500 came to the first one. It still goes on but in a smaller way.

This story was submitted to the People’s war site by Ann Roe of the CSV Action Desk at ´óÏó´«Ã½ Hereford and Worcester on behalf of Whinray Coates and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

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