Churchill’s Secret Army Encouraged To Resurface For One Final Parade

SWINDON, U.K. - April 8, 2013 - PRLog -- Over 70 years ago a group of British civilians volunteered to be part of one of the country’s most secretive organisations during the Second World War. Up until now there has never been any official recognition of their bravery and dedication because of the sheer secrecy behind their mission, something that the researchers at the Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team (CART), the group behind the British Resistance Archive, have been campaigning to change.

The recent news that after a CART campaign the Royal British Legion has agreed for ex-members of the British Resistance, made up of the Auxiliary Units and Special Duties Branch, to march past the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday, has, at last meant that veterans are able to remember those they trained alongside and for the British public to thank them for their service.

The Auxiliary Units and Special Duties Branch were groups of civilian volunteers, who during this country’s darkest days in World War Two answered Churchill’s call and volunteered to ‘stay behind’ in the event of a German invasion. They were to disrupt and where possible destroy the enemy’s supply chain and reserve troops, ‘deal’ with collaborators and take out strategic targets within their local areas. Every member from both groups signed the Officials Secrets Act and never told families and friends about what they were up to – many taking their secret to the grave.

Auxiliary Units were highly trained, well equipped volunteers that would literally go underground in the event of an invasion and strike at targets from their operational bases, buried beneath the British countryside. The Special Duties Branch would also go underground to pass on messages about enemy movements and the types of units in the area. Such was the danger of their mission these volunteers had a life expectancy of just two weeks after the invasion.

Their commitment to the country and the signature they made on the Official Secrets Act has in meant in many cases veterans have been carrying their secret to the grave. Aux Unit and Special Duty Branch members are now being encouraged to end their silence and come forward as founder of CART, Tom Sykes explains:

“The Royal British Legion’s decision to allow members of the Auxiliary Units and Special Duties Branch to march past the Cenotaph in November is probably the county’s final chance to thank these civilian volunteers. Every year we are losing more of these men and women, most of whom are taking their secrets to the grave. Since Cart was founded in 2009 we have been encouraging these veterans to come forward and tell us their stories – now more than ever we believe the time is right for them to break their silence.  

“Many them were in reserved occupations during the war, especially those in the Auxiliary Units, and therefore could not join the regular forces to do their bit – however when the call came they did not hesitate to join what essentially would have been a suicide mission to confront the enemy invader. Thankfully the invasion never came which meant those that did join up often feel that they did not contribute, nothing could be further from the truth in our mind and I’m sure a majority of the country would agree,” Sykes concluded.

Andy Gwynne who is co-ordinating the Cenotaph march in November said: “We understand that some might be reluctant to come forward for the march but we believe that the British public is interested in and keen to thank the British Resistance members for what they were willing to undertake for the country. CART will of course be present during the day to help with any logistical issues. We are very aware that those that will be marching are no longer as young as they used to be, and will be on hand throughout the day to ensure it goes without incident.”

Those interested in taking part in the march or have information about those that might qualify to take part should contact Andy Gwynne at auxpoppymarch@gmail.com or call on 0872 045 9940.

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About CART & The British Resistance Archive.

The Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team (CART) publishes its findings on the British Resistance Archive (BRA) website.

CART also provides an internal network for serious and dedicated researchers who focus on the British Resistance and agree with CART's core value of making the research public.

·         CART is made up of select volunteer historians and published writers known as County Information Officers (CIOS) and also public members.

·         CART is not a business or an academic body of professional researchers.

·         CART is non-profit making and has no financial support from any company or organisation. It is funded solely by donations and the revenue it makes from the sale of various items sold in the shop.

·         Since CART's birth in June 2009 the website has seen over 110,000 unique visitors and has attracted TV, Radio and national press attention.

For further information about CART please go to this page http://www.coleshillhouse.com/about-us.php or call 0872 045 9940 or email hq@coleshillhouse.com