I'm a tad confused as to what goes were. Three common names keep cropping up when the matter of SOE training in Scotland comes up. Arasaig Lochailort and Achnacharry, think these were called group A schools? And essentially conducted Commando courses with some extra demolition training etc. My main Q is did each house train a different skill or were they divided by the national groups SOE used? A secondary question concerns the final course of training. Apparently this was something of a monster, including moving animatronic targets, booby traps and rough terrain plus more. I've read that it was the finishing hurdle, but is there some specific info on it? Perhaps by someone who did it, what it consisted of etc? Josh.
Various courses were held in Scotland the main one being the Group A Paramilitary course which concentrated on the following subjects Unarmed Combat/CQB - Silent Killing Weapons Training Fieldcraft Map Reading Physical training Basic demolitions Appreciations, Planning, Reports & Orders Rading Tactics Elementary Morse Code A final exercise to bring all of the above training into practice - this consisted of a 96 hour exercise which included a target recce and an attack on the target Other Courses included Small Boat Handling (mainly for Dutch and Scandinavians) at Swordland Winter Warfare - at Aviemore Foreign Weapons were taught at STS 22C Glasnacardoch Lodge. Mallaig These lodges could accommodate up a total of 75 students at any one time the normal length of Group A training was three to five weeks The schools were based in 10 shooting lodges numbered from 21 to 24c - the schools were segregated by nationality and training course. Following success in Scotland the students would normally do a parachute course at the SOE Parachute schools near Ringway, Manchester More info can be found in the book Commando Country by Stuart Allan,
Thanks for all that, very helpful! I've got that book on my list. So each hunting lodge taught a different course for a different nationality, or did they do the rounds of the houses? I take it also that women were in separate training programs? I assume the book goes into that kind of detail regarding how it worked and the ins and outs of training. Josh.
The houses were not in the main allocated to any particular National grouping - each course would be allocated to a school in turn - the women did the same training as the men though with possibly lower physical standards being met.
I happen to live not far from those training establishments - our terrain and weather conditions being ideal for that kind of specialist operations. With thanks to Brian Sims. Group A was overseen by STS21 at Arisaig House. STS22 was Rubana Lodge, Morar. STS22A was Glasnacardoch Lodge Mallaig. STS23 was Meoble Lodge, Lochailort. STS23B was Swordland, Morar. STS24A was Inverie House, Knoydart. Mallaig. STS24B was Glaschoille, Knoydart, Mallaig. STS25A was Garramor House, Morar. STS25B was Camusdarroch, Morar. STS25C was Traigh House, Morar. Regards Hugh
It would appear that SOE personnel while on the Ringway parachute course were accommodated in a somewhat genteel house in Bowden which is a leafy suburb of Altrincham and quite close to Ringway . The house would have belonged to Metropolitan Vickers,the steam turbine/electrical equipment manufacturing based at Trafford Park and was requisitioned during the war.....now in the ownership of successor companies.I worked for one of the successor companies and this was said to be the background to its role in the war.We used the house for gatherings off site from Trafford Park but I cannot recollect the name of the house (As an aside,MV from a dedicated factory on Trafford Park manufactured 1080 Lancasters out of a production total of 7377 built and 80 Lincolns from a production total of 624 built)
Interesting stuff chaps! So these schools were divided by nationality yes? Do we know the average size? I mean there weren't many Italians & Spaniards compared to say the French. Josh.
Further to the information relating to SOE activities and the training standards required for service in the field,the RAF Film Production Unit, through the Central Office of Information released "Now It Can Be Told" in 1946. This film is now available on DVD and contains additional official films of the war in France....a good insight of the happenings in France from the phoney war to the action in the liberation of Paris. The main film featured two real characters who had operated in occupied France as SOE agents.One was Harry Ree and the other,Jacqueline Nearne who replayed their wartime roles... reflects an accurate clandestine record of SOE's involvement in France.
The courses would be between 4 > 20 personnel in size depending how many were ready for the course - there was an attrition rate through illness and injury. From 1943 onward all prospective operatives had to go through the Student Assessment Board (SAB), before proceeding to Group A which cut the washout rate drastically.
I did post some pictures of a training camp if you look at my profile you should see a post with them. think my grandfather taught judo at a camp with the rocky mountain rangers..
