Scallywag bunker

Reconstruction of a Scallywag bunker at Parham Airfield Museum, Suffolk
Scallywag bunker, emergency exit

Scallywag bunkers or Auxiliary Unit Operational Base/OB were underground bunkers used by GHQ Auxiliary Units of the British Resistance against axis invasion of the United Kingdom.[1][2][3][4][5]

Background

Operational Patrols consisted of between four and eight men, often farmers or landowners. They were usually recruited from the most able members of the Home Guard, possessed excellent local knowledge and were able to live off the land. Gamekeepers and even poachers were particularly valued.[6] They were always intended to fight in Home Guard uniform and from 1942 the men were badged to Home Guard battalions 201 (Scotland), 202 (northern England), or 203 (southern England).[citation needed]

Around 3,500 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.[citation needed]

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 elaborately-concealed underground Operational Bases (OB),[7][8] usually built by the Royal Engineers in a local woodland, with a camouflaged entrance and emergency escape tunnel.[9] It is thought that 400 to 500 such OBs were constructed in England, Wales and Scotland.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Comment | Uncovered: the WW2 'Scallywag Bunkers' that were Britain's last-ditch line of defence". Keele University. September 17, 2020.
  2. ^ Evans, Martin (January 3, 2021). "Public urged to help locate hidden wartime 'Scallywag' bunkers". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  3. ^ Joe Evans (January 4, 2021). "Plea for public to help find secret Second World War bunkers". theweek.
  4. ^ Carr, S.; Pringle, J.K.; Doyle, P.; Wisniewski, K.D.; Stimpson, I.G. (January 2, 2020). "Scallywag bunkers: geophysical investigations of WW2 Auxiliary Unit Operational Bases (OBs) in the UK". Journal of Conflict Archaeology. 15 (1): 4–31. doi:10.1080/15740773.2020.1822102. S2CID 224847300 – via CrossRef.
  5. ^ https://nsgga.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/bulletin129.pdf
  6. ^ "Trevor Miners, Auxilier - obituary". The Daily Telegraph. London. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  7. ^ Ward, Arthur. "Detailed history of the Auxiliary Units". British Resistance Archive (staybehinds.com). Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Hidden tunnels and Britain's secret WW2 resistance army". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  9. ^ a b Carr, S.; Pringle, J.K.; Doyle, P.; Wisniewski, K.D.; Stimpson, I.G. (2 January 2020). "Scallywag bunkers: geophysical investigations of WW2 Auxiliary Unit Operational Bases (OBs) in the UK". Journal of Conflict Archaeology. 15 (1). Informa UK Limited: 4–31. doi:10.1080/15740773.2020.1822102. ISSN 1574-0773. S2CID 224847300.