This OB (Operations Base) is not open to the public generally, though you can get to see it on some open days etc. The Auxilliary was effectively the secret commando wing of the Home Guard. Suitable individuals were selected from their Home Guard Units and sent to Coleshill, a stately home on the Oxfordshire/Wiltshire borders. There they were trained in Sabotage techniques, explosives, silent killing and a whole host of other skills with a view to disrupting any possible German invasion plans. Most interesting of all was the training they received to build and use the OB's and Zero stations (see a good report Newage did on one of these a while back), which were small underground bunkers in which four to six Auxilliary operatives could hole up for two weeks, with a shed load of food, weapons and explosives and orchestrate merry hell if the Panzers ever arrived.This one at Coleshill was the blueprint from which several hundred others were built (some of which are still around, such as the ones in Sussex). The Auxilliary was set up by Colin Gubbins, who after his experiences at Coleshill, set up the SOE, which did exactly the same sort of thing all over Occupied Europe.
First the Guardhouse, which is quite large, because the guard presence was significant. Coleshill was top secret and the Army wanted it to remain that way. it is surround by huge yew trees which were pegged back while it was built and then released so that it would be invisible from the air.
Now the OB itself. In the first picture, you can see both the current door, which actually wasn't there originally, in the foreground, and the entrance hatch in the background. The hatch is where the operatives would have entered. If they needed to escape a hand grenade being shoved down it they would have egressed by an escape passage which went through where the door now is. There is also a flue for fumes to escape when food was cooked.
Inside the OB - the main living accommodation is in the front, where you can see the remains of a bunk. The kitchen and toilet were at the back.
An interesting place (if a little cramped), giving a good insight into "Britains secret Army"
More pics at http://s336.photobucket.com/albums/n353/mechagodzilla73/Coleshill%20Auxilliary%20Operations%20Base/
Enjoy!
Godzy
First the Guardhouse, which is quite large, because the guard presence was significant. Coleshill was top secret and the Army wanted it to remain that way. it is surround by huge yew trees which were pegged back while it was built and then released so that it would be invisible from the air.
Now the OB itself. In the first picture, you can see both the current door, which actually wasn't there originally, in the foreground, and the entrance hatch in the background. The hatch is where the operatives would have entered. If they needed to escape a hand grenade being shoved down it they would have egressed by an escape passage which went through where the door now is. There is also a flue for fumes to escape when food was cooked.
Inside the OB - the main living accommodation is in the front, where you can see the remains of a bunk. The kitchen and toilet were at the back.
An interesting place (if a little cramped), giving a good insight into "Britains secret Army"
More pics at http://s336.photobucket.com/albums/n353/mechagodzilla73/Coleshill%20Auxilliary%20Operations%20Base/
Enjoy!
Godzy
