Auxiliary Units
Encyclopedia
The Auxiliary Units or GHQ Auxiliary Units were specially trained, highly secret units created by the United Kingdom government during the Second World War, with the aim of resisting the expected occupation of the United Kingdom
by Nazi Germany
, after a planned invasion codenamed Operation Sea Lion. Having had the advantage of seeing the fall of several Continental nations, the United Kingdom was the only country during the war that was able to create such a resistance movement
in advance of an invasion.
The units, sometimes referred to as a part of the British Resistance Organisation, were initiated by Winston Churchill
in the early summer of 1940. He appointed Colonel Colin Gubbins
to found them. The Auxiliary Units answered to GHQ Home Forces, but were organised as if part of the local Home Guard
.
Gubbins was a regular British Army
soldier, who had acquired considerable experience and expertise in guerrilla warfare
during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War
and the Anglo-Irish War. Most recently, he had returned from Norway
, where he headed the Independent Companies, the predecessors of the British Commandos
. Subsequently, he would move to the Special Operations Executive
(SOE).
and Sussex
in southeast England. The two best known officers from this period were: Captain
Peter Fleming of the Grenadier Guards
and Captain Mike Calvert
of the Royal Engineers
.
Fleming came from a famous banking family and was the elder brother of Ian Fleming
. Calvert had recently served in the 5th Battalion, Scots Guards
, which had been formed to fight as a ski-troop in Finland
.
Both of these men were too valuable to stay long, once the immediate threat of invasion was over, and both later served in Burma, Fleming in deception
work, Calvert in the Chindits
.
The 'combat units' were the Operational Patrols, but these were supported by Special Duty Sections, from the local civilian population. This group acted as the spotter
s for the action teams. In addition, a signals structure would attempt to link the isolated bands into a national network that could act in concert, on behalf of a British government-in-exile and its representatives still in the United Kingdom.
Some tales attached to the Auxiliary Units are of varying degrees of credibility. Members were supposedly vetted by a senior local police chief who was allegedly, according to sealed orders given to the Operational Patrols to be opened only in case of invasion, to be assassinated to prevent the membership of the Auxiliary Units being revealed.
The Auxiliary Units were kept in being long after any immediate Nazi threat had passed and were stood down only in 1944. Several Auxiliary Unit members later joined the Special Air Service
. Many men saw action in the campaign in France
in late 1944, notably in Operation Houndsworth
and Operation Bulbasket
.
The units' existence did not generally become known by the public until the 1990s, though a book on the subject was published in 1968
.
drops. The reports would be collected by runners and taken to one of over 200 secret radio transmitters operated by trained civilian Signals staff.
, who also needed an excellent local knowledge and the ability to live off the land. As cover, the men were allocated to "Home Guard" battalions 201 (Scotland
), 202 (northern England
), or 203 (southern England
) and provided with Home Guard uniforms, though they were not actually Home Guard units.
Around 3,500 such men were trained on weekend courses at Coleshill House near Highworth
, Wiltshire
, in the arts of guerrilla warfare
including assassination
, unarmed combat, demolition
and sabotage
. Recruits for Coleshill reported to the Highworth post office, from where the postmistress Mabel Stranks arranged for their collection.
Each Patrol was a self-contained cell, expected to be self-sufficient and operationally autonomous in the case of invasion, generally operating within a 15-mile radius. They were provided with a concealed underground Operational Base (OB), usually built by the Royal Engineers
in a local woodland, with a camouflaged entrance and emergency escape tunnel; it is thought that 400 to 500 such OBs were constructed. Some Patrols had an additional concealed Observation Post. Patrols were also provided with a selection of the latest weapons including a silenced pistol or Sten Gun and Fairbairn-Sykes
"commando" knives, quantities of plastic explosive
, incendiary devices, and food to last for two weeks. Members anticipated being shot if they were captured, and were expected to shoot themselves first rather than be taken alive.
The mission of the units was to attack invading forces from behind their own lines while conventional forces fell back to the last-ditch GHQ Line
. Aircraft, fuel dumps, railway lines, and depots were high on the list of targets, as were senior German officers. Patrols secretly reconnoitred local country houses, which might be used by German officers, in preparation.
.
The Auxiliary Units formed the basis of a question on the BBC panel game
QI
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, after a planned invasion codenamed Operation Sea Lion. Having had the advantage of seeing the fall of several Continental nations, the United Kingdom was the only country during the war that was able to create such a resistance movement
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
in advance of an invasion.
The units, sometimes referred to as a part of the British Resistance Organisation, were initiated by Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
in the early summer of 1940. He appointed Colonel Colin Gubbins
Colin Gubbins
Major-General Sir Colin McVean Gubbins KCMG, DSO, MC was the prime mover of the Special Operations Executive in the Second World War....
to found them. The Auxiliary Units answered to GHQ Home Forces, but were organised as if part of the local Home Guard
British Home Guard
The Home Guard was a defence organisation of the British Army during the Second World War...
.
Gubbins was a regular British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
soldier, who had acquired considerable experience and expertise in guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War
Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War
The Allied intervention was a multi-national military expedition launched in 1918 during World War I which continued into the Russian Civil War. Its operations included forces from 14 nations and were conducted over a vast territory...
and the Anglo-Irish War. Most recently, he had returned from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, where he headed the Independent Companies, the predecessors of the British Commandos
British Commandos
The British Commandos were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, for a force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe...
. Subsequently, he would move to the Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE).
Beginnings
Gubbins used several officers who had served with the Independent Companies in Norway, plus others he had known there. Units were localised on a county structure, as they would probably be fragmented and isolated from each other. Priority was given to the counties most at risk from enemy invasion, the two most vulnerable being KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
in southeast England. The two best known officers from this period were: Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
Peter Fleming of the Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
and Captain Mike Calvert
Mike Calvert
James Michael Calvert DSO and Bar was a British soldier involved in special operations in World War II. The degree to which he led very risky attacks in person led to his becoming widely known as "Mad Mike". Calvert was court-martialled and dismissed from the Army in 1952...
of the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
.
Fleming came from a famous banking family and was the elder brother of Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
. Calvert had recently served in the 5th Battalion, Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
, which had been formed to fight as a ski-troop in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
Both of these men were too valuable to stay long, once the immediate threat of invasion was over, and both later served in Burma, Fleming in deception
Military deception
Military deception is an attempt to amplify, or create an artificial fog of war or to mislead the enemy using psychological operations, information warfare and other methods. As a form of strategic use of information , it overlaps with psychological warfare...
work, Calvert in the Chindits
Chindits
The Chindits were a British India "Special Force" that served in Burma and India in 1943 and 1944 during the Burma Campaign in World War II. They were formed into long range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines...
.
The 'combat units' were the Operational Patrols, but these were supported by Special Duty Sections, from the local civilian population. This group acted as the spotter
Spotter
A spotter is someone trained to look for something. The term has the following special meanings.*Weather spotter, an individual who observes the weather to inform other groups.*Storm spotter, a weather spotter who observes specific weather events....
s for the action teams. In addition, a signals structure would attempt to link the isolated bands into a national network that could act in concert, on behalf of a British government-in-exile and its representatives still in the United Kingdom.
Some tales attached to the Auxiliary Units are of varying degrees of credibility. Members were supposedly vetted by a senior local police chief who was allegedly, according to sealed orders given to the Operational Patrols to be opened only in case of invasion, to be assassinated to prevent the membership of the Auxiliary Units being revealed.
The Auxiliary Units were kept in being long after any immediate Nazi threat had passed and were stood down only in 1944. Several Auxiliary Unit members later joined the Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
. Many men saw action in the campaign in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in late 1944, notably in Operation Houndsworth
Operation Houndsworth
Operation Houndsworth was the codename for a British Special Air Service operation during the Second World War. The operation carried out by 'A' Squadron, 1st Special Air Service between 6 June and 6 September 1944, was centred around Dijon in the Burgundy region of France...
and Operation Bulbasket
Operation Bulbasket
Operation Bulbasket was an ill-fated operation by 'B' Squadron, 1st Special Air Service, behind German lines in German occupied France, between June and August 1944...
.
The units' existence did not generally become known by the public until the 1990s, though a book on the subject was published in 1968
1968 in literature
The year 1968 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Dean R. Koontz's first novel, Star Quest is published....
.
Special Duty Sections and Signals
The Special Duties Sections were largely recruited from the civilian population, with around 4,000 members. They had been trained to identify vehicles, high-ranking officers and military units, and were to gather intelligence and leave reports in dead letterDead drop
A dead drop or dead letter box is a method of espionage tradecraft used to pass items between two individuals by using a secret location and thus does not require them to meet directly. Using a dead drop permits a Case Officer and his Agent to exchange objects and information while maintaining...
drops. The reports would be collected by runners and taken to one of over 200 secret radio transmitters operated by trained civilian Signals staff.
Operational Patrols
Operational Patrols consisted of between four and eight men, often farmers or landowners and usually recruited from the most able members of the Home GuardBritish Home Guard
The Home Guard was a defence organisation of the British Army during the Second World War...
, who also needed an excellent local knowledge and the ability to live off the land. As cover, the men were allocated to "Home Guard" battalions 201 (Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
), 202 (northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
), or 203 (southern England
Southern England
Southern England, the South and the South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with a distinct...
) and provided with Home Guard uniforms, though they were not actually Home Guard units.
Around 3,500 such men were trained on weekend courses at Coleshill House near Highworth
Highworth
Highworth is a market town in the unitary authority of Swindon in Wiltshire, England, located about north-east of Swindon town centre. At the 2001 census it had a population of 7,996...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, in the arts of guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
including assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
, unarmed combat, demolition
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
and sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
. Recruits for Coleshill reported to the Highworth post office, from where the postmistress Mabel Stranks arranged for their collection.
Each Patrol was a self-contained cell, expected to be self-sufficient and operationally autonomous in the case of invasion, generally operating within a 15-mile radius. They were provided with a concealed underground Operational Base (OB), usually built by the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
in a local woodland, with a camouflaged entrance and emergency escape tunnel; it is thought that 400 to 500 such OBs were constructed. Some Patrols had an additional concealed Observation Post. Patrols were also provided with a selection of the latest weapons including a silenced pistol or Sten Gun and Fairbairn-Sykes
Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife
The Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife is a double-edged fighting knife resembling a dagger or poignard with a foil grip developed by William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes in Shanghai based on concepts which the two men initiated before World War II while serving on the Shanghai Municipal...
"commando" knives, quantities of plastic explosive
Plastic explosive
Plastic explosive is a specialised form of explosive material. It is a soft and hand moldable solid material. Plastic explosives are properly known as putty explosives within the field of explosives engineering....
, incendiary devices, and food to last for two weeks. Members anticipated being shot if they were captured, and were expected to shoot themselves first rather than be taken alive.
The mission of the units was to attack invading forces from behind their own lines while conventional forces fell back to the last-ditch GHQ Line
GHQ Line
The GHQ Line was a defence line built in the United Kingdom during World War II to contain an expected German invasion.The British Army had abandoned most of its equipment in France after the Dunkirk evacuation...
. Aircraft, fuel dumps, railway lines, and depots were high on the list of targets, as were senior German officers. Patrols secretly reconnoitred local country houses, which might be used by German officers, in preparation.
Cultural references
An Auxiliary Unit arms cache features in the 1985 BBC TV series; Blott on the LandscapeBlott on the Landscape
Blott on the Landscape is a novel written in 1975 by Tom Sharpe. It was adapted into a 6-part television series for the BBC in 1985.-Plot:The story revolves around the proposed construction of a motorway through Cleene Gorge in rural South Worfordshire...
.
The Auxiliary Units formed the basis of a question on the BBC panel game
Panel game
A panel game or panel show is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Panelists may compete with each other, such as on The News Quiz; facilitate play by guest contestants, such as on Match Game/Blankety Blank; or do both, such as on Wait Wait.....
QI
QI
QI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given...
.
See also
- British military history of World War II
- British anti-invasion preparations of World War IIBritish anti-invasion preparations of World War IIBritish anti-invasion preparations of the Second World War entailed a large-scale division of military and civilian mobilisation in response to the threat of invasion by German armed forces in 1940 and 1941. The British army needed to recover from the defeat of the British Expeditionary Force in...
- British military historyBritish military historyThe Military history of Britain, including the military history of the United Kingdom and the military history of the island of Great Britain, is discussed in the following articles:...
- Special forcesSpecial forcesSpecial forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
- Stay-behindStay-behindIn a stay-behind operation, a country places secret operatives or organisations in its own territory, for use in the event that the territory is overrun by an enemy. If this occurs, the operatives would then form the basis of a resistance movement, or would act as spies from behind enemy lines...
- Rab Butler
Further Information
- Stewart Angell. The Secret Sussex Resistance. (Middleton Press) ISBN 1-873793-82-0
- Roger Ford. Fire from the Forest (Orion, 2004), ISBN 0-304-36336-7
- Donald Brown. Somerset versus Hitler (Countryside Books, 2001) ISBN 1-85306-590-0
External links
- The Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team - A nationwide group of researchers providing a free but comprehensive website on the Auxiliary Units.
- Auxunit News - A record of the Auxiliary Units 1940 - 1944.
- Britain's Guerrillas - Taken from "Resisting the Nazi Invader" by Arthur Ward.
- Museum of the British Resistance Organization - A museum dedicated to the Auxiliary Units, based on the former USAAF airfield at Parham, near Framlingham, in Suffolk.
- Photos of UK World War 2 Invasion Defences - includes Aux Unit hideouts
- http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/h/hurstpierpoint_au_hideout/index.shtml
- http://www.millsgrenades.co.uk/box.htm
- The Caithness Secret Army in World War II