AUXILIARY UNITS & THE LEGION OF FRONTIERSMEN

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by Bala, Aug 13, 2018.

  1. Bala

    Bala Member

    The GHQ of AUXILIARY UNITS was on the Coleshill Estate near Highworth.
    On the Estate are a number of Memorial Trees, one of which reads

    "Dedicated to the memory of the men who served in the British Resistance Movement
    known as Auxiliary Units"

    Can anyone tell me how members of the Legion of Frontiersmen were involved in Auxiliary Units?

    The person who arranged for the memorial tree to be planted may have been John Hutchings. Was he in Aux or the LOF or both?

    Any help appreciated. - thank you
     

    Attached Files:

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  2. ARPCDHG

    ARPCDHG Member

    I've never heard of that connection before: from what I have read, the LoF were not taken particularly seriously, were not official or allowed to wear official military uniform or badging and were generally kept at arms' length as a quasi-extremist militia.
     
  3. Swiper

    Swiper Resident Sospan

    I just wish we'd ditch this bloody

    "British Resistance Movement" or "British Resistance Organisation"

    Bullshit.

    Bloody modern populist factoids penned by pompous marketing twazzocks or hack historians.

    Coleshill needs to get into a box over this stupidity.

    /rant
     
  4. Bala

    Bala Member

    Aux Units has that one plaque that mentions "The Legion of Frontiersmen" nothing else found.
    The LOF website mentions WW2 and being involved in ARP and Gas Training
     
  5. ARPCDHG

    ARPCDHG Member

    I agree Swiper - always been against this title, especially with the capital letters, as it makes it sound like an official wartime title, which it wasn't. Although technically, Auxunits formed an immediate element of specialist resistance, recent record releases now show that the 'real' resistance movement would have been MI5 and the civilians of MI5's Section VII.
     
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  6. Bala

    Bala Member

    Sorry guys that you don't like it being called British Resistance but that is what Churchill called the organisation during the initial briefing. In 1968 David Lampe titled his book "Last Ditch - Britains Secret Resistance and the Nazi Invasion Plan" and Veterans were calling it Resistance. When the Veterans opened their Aux museum at Parham they chose to call it BROM (The British Resistance Organisation).

    It does no harm and yes there was an even more secret Resistance Organisation but Auxiliary Units is better known don't let it worry you
     
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  7. ARPCDHG

    ARPCDHG Member

    Think you're missing the point here Bala: Churchill did not call it the 'British Resistance Organisation' - it was a post-war designation made up by historians. Looking at The Last Ditch, With Britain In Mortal Danger etc etc when the Auxunits were formed, all memos referred to 'stay-behind parties' 'cells' and of course, the deliberately ambiguous 'Auxiliary Units' - but no 'British Resistance Organisation'.

    This was because the War Office's thinking and determination was that there would be no permament successful invasion. The Auxunits were expected to last 20 days and harrass and undermine the invasion bridgehead from the rear. Essentially, they were a sort of SAS Home Guard.

    As I previously posted, long-term resistance was planned by MI5 and Section VII. The phrase 'British Resistance Organisation' was termed by 20th century researchers who did not know of MI5 and Section VII's long-term resistance plans because they have only been released in the last 5 years.

    This has all been made clear in the excellent book 'Fighting Nazi Occupation: British Resistance 1939-1945', by Malcolm Atkin, Pen & Sword (2015) which uses the latest released records from the National Archives to clarfiy this all. Similarly, despite some Auxunit researchers desperately trying to distance the organisation from the Home Guard, the book shows that Auxunits were part of and were an integral arm of the Home Guard. I recommend it.

    Yes, it sounds like splitting hairs, but it's an important point - and in no way reduces the importance of the task the Auxunits were assigned to.
     
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  8. Bala

    Bala Member

    ARPCDHG - I agree with you completely about Malcolm Atkin's book - "Fighting Nazi Occupation British Resistance 1935-1945" being a brilliant book. Well researched and in my opinion now the best reference book on Auxiliary Units. I haven't read D - for Destruction" yet but that should help clarify things. I am looking forward to his next book - ‘To The Last Man: the Home Guard in War and Popular Culture - escaping the myth of “Dad’s Army”.’ due out in September.

    Best wishes
    Bala
     
  9. ARPCDHG

    ARPCDHG Member

    Next month? It is not yet listed on Amazon and the author's website says '2018/2019'?
     
  10. PsyWar.Org

    PsyWar.Org Archive monkey

    Both books by Malcolm Atkin are excellent, I highly recommend both.

    Lee
     
  11. Bala

    Bala Member

    You could be right - quoting from Malcolm's email to me his book is going to Pen & Sword in September

    I am just getting the final text of my Home Guard book ready to go to the publisher in September. It includes a chapter on Aux Units with some new detail on the Isle of Wight and Balmoral deployments so that will be something to look forward to for the new year (plus previously unpublished info. on the campaign to donate private arms from the USA - which may upset our former allies!!).

    I am looking forward to it - sounds really interesting
     
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  12. Bala

    Bala Member

    An Update - Malcolm Atkins book "To The Last Man: the Home Guard in War and Popular Culture - escaping the myth of “Dad’s Army” is now being advertised by Pen & Sword for release on 30 June 2019 - It can be pre-ordered from them.
     
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