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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.https://nsgga.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/bulletin129.pdf


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 Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...
, possessed excellent local knowledge and were able to live off the land. Gamekeepers and even poachers were particularly valued. 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 Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...
), or 203 (
southern England Southern England, also known as the South of England or the South, is a sub-national part of England. Officially, it is made up of the southern, south-western and part of the eastern parts of England, consisting of the statistical regions of ...
). Around 3,500 men were trained on weekend courses at Coleshill House, near
Highworth Highworth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, England, about north-east of Swindon town centre. The 2021 Census recorded a population of 8,258. The town is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings, dating ...
, Wiltshire, in the arts of
guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
including
assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
,
unarmed combat Hand-to-hand combat is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of ranged weapons.Hunsicker, A., ''Advanced Skills in ...
,
demolition Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction (building), deconstruction, which inv ...
and
sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...
. 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), usually built by the
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
in a local woodland, with a camouflaged entrance and emergency escape tunnel. It is thought that 400 to 500 such OBs were constructed in England, Wales and Scotland.


See also

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Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team (CART) is a network of British historians. It is named after Coleshill in Oxfordshire where Winston Churchill had arranged for groups of soldiers, called Auxiliary Units The Auxiliary Units, Home Guard Shoc ...
*
British anti-invasion preparations of the Second World War British 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 (Operation Sea Lion) by German armed forces in 1940 and 1941. The British Ar ...
*
Hypothetical Axis victory in World War II A hypothetical military victory of the Axis powers over the Allies of World War II (1939–1945) is a common topic in speculative literature. Works of alternative history (fiction) and of counterfactual history (non-fiction) include stories, no ...
*
Air raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but ...
*
Blast shelter A blast shelter is a place where people can go to protect themselves from blasts and explosions, like those from bombs, or in hazardous worksites, such as on oil and gas refineries or petrochemical facilities. It differs from a fallout shelter, ...
*
Fallout shelter A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designated to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War. Durin ...
*
Underground living Underground living refers to living below the ground's surface, whether in natural or manmade caves or structures ( earth shelters). Underground dwellings are an alternative to above-ground dwellings for some home seekers, including those who ...


References


External links


The Secret Among the SecretScallywag bunkers: geophysical investigations of WW2 Auxiliary Unit Operational Bases (OBs) in the UKUncovered: the WW2 'Scallywag Bunkers' that were Britain's last-ditch line of defenceWorld War 2 secret exposed: Churchill's 'last-ditch' strategy unearthed in secret bunkersCART Auxiliary Unit Research
{{fortifications, state=collapsed Subterranea (geography) Subterranea of the United Kingdom Bunkers in the United Kingdom Fortifications by type .