THE SECRET RESISTANCE MOVEMENT

THE BRITISH RESISTANCE MOVEMENT

ALETHORPE AUXILIARY UNIT

The Auxiliary Units of the Second World War, sometimes known as Churchill's Secret Army, were set up in 1940 in case of a Nazi invasion.

The Auxiliary Units formed a secret resistance network of highly trained volunteers prepared to be Britain's last-ditch line of defence. They operated in a network of cells from hidden underground bases around the country. Their secret underground hideouts were known as Operational Bases and Observation Posts. One of these Operational Bases was based at Alethorpe and was established the grounds of Alethorpe Hall owned by John Cedric Thistleton-Smith. Members of the unit are listed in the table below.

Two members of the unit, John Dudley Burgis and Alec Newstead both had Kettlestone connections

JOHN DUDLEY BURGIS 03 Mar 1918 - 28 Jun 1966

Listed as a farmworker. On the 1939 register John was living at The Lodge, Thorpland Road, Fakenham, Norfolk

Later he lived at Manor Farm Kettlestone.

John was the father of David Burgis who lived in the village all his life.

ALEC EDWARD NEWSTEAD 1921-2002

Listed as a farmworker. On the 1939 register Alec was living at

Alethorpe Hall Cottages, Fakenham, Norfolk

Alec was the nephew of James Newstead who lived in Kettlestone after returning from WW1.

THE OPERATIONAL BASE AT ALETHORPE

AN ACCOUNT BY ALEC NEWSTEAD

‘I am the only surviving member of my patrol and I have never talked about it before. I was 18 when I joined the Auxiliary Units after being approached by farmer Cedric Thistleton-Smith, who was commander of the local patrol. Our OB in Alethorpe Wood close to Little Snoring airfield, was built by the Royal Engineers. It had 4 bunks, a 200-gallon water tank, calor gas for light and heat, together with about 40lbs of explosives, time pencils, etc. The main roof of the OB has collapsed and part of the tunnel probably, though the main structure, including a booby trap still exists. Our training mostly by regular soldiers, took place at Leicester Square Farm where there was an army base. We were sent out on 5 mile patrols and had to blow up aircraft and ammunition dumps. We also did pistol training at Walsingham. If an invasion occurred in 1940, we would go there underground and remain there for 48 hours, before beginning a campaign of sabotage against the enemy. We were very separate from the Home Guard who sometimes trained above our OB which they knew nothing about’

From ‘Standing up to Hitler’ published 1997

ALETHORPE OPERATIONAL BASE

The OB was situated on the edge of a copse, known as Alethorpe Plantation located in the grounds of Alethorpe Hall, near Snoring airfield.

The main chamber was constructed from corrugated sheets held in place by a wooden frame, with a roof of curved corrugated iron sheets. Corrugated sheets, painted white, were used as end walls.

The north wall had a doorway with a crude wooden frame, made from wooden square timbers. Two 40-gallon drums each side of the exit doorway were placed with their long sides against the chamber’s walls. Just outside and above the exit end wall a large ceramic pipe emerged from the ground, presumably serving as a vent.

The Main chamber

Drums inside the main chamber

The doorway

STRUCTURE AND TRAINING OF THE AUXILIARY UNITS

The Auxiliary Units were trained to fight as uniformed guerrillas. In the event of an invasion, all Auxiliary Units would disappear into their operational bases and would not maintain contact with local Home Guard commanders, who were to be wholly unaware of their existence. The secrecy surrounding the insurgent squads meant that members had no military status, no uniforms and there are very few official records of their activities.

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. The 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.

Each Patrol was a self-contained cell, expected to be self-sufficient and operationally autonomous in the case of invasion. They were provided with elaborately-concealed underground Operational Bases 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 in England, Wales and Scotland.

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