No, I haven't gone off the rails, this still has a significant, and apparently unrecorded, Scottish element:

Although it never had to operate in anger, the British Resistance Organisation (BRO) was readied for action throughout the British Isles, should they have been invaded and occupied.

Although not in the official Home Guard, the patrols were formed into three special Home Guard battalions as a cover - 201 for Scotland, 202 for Northern England, and 203 for Southern England.

Invasion was generally considered as a potential threat via the English Channel, but later analysis indicated a second threat, through Wales via neutral Ireland. From whatever source, the BRO was intended to be in place, with weapons and other resources hidden in secret location, placing them behind what would have become enemy lines.

For detailed information on the BRO, its history and the resources it had in place, please visit the online pages of the British Resistance Organisation Museum.

We have no references to specific BRO operations in Scotland, and have noted that other sites relating to the history of the BRO have also been unsuccessful in locating such information.

It may be that there are no longer any remaining survivors from the period, or that there was little activity since the invasion potential for Scotland was significantly less than that of the more southerly options, and resources would have been limited.

Any information, memories or recollections would be welcome, before they are lost completely, and would be most appreciated.

Aha! You have completed some of your homework but there is mention on the web of one Willie Ingram of Buckie and his association with the Auxilary Units, including a pic of a "found" bunker in Buckie so the proof exists that the Scots were involved. Personally I would be surprised if there are not some bunkers around the Clyde somewhere.  As you say finding anyone who knows anything about them will be difficuly owing to the passage iof time.

Good stuff...

Wish I'd known that a few years back.  I was up in Buckie hunting some other relics, and the only thing with a sign seemed to be the area's (apparently) sole attraction, related to its maritime heritage, the Buckie Drifter. Everywhere I went, there seemed to signs and leaflets design to coerce me into visiting. Time meant I couldn't, so it's still on big list of things I haven't done.

If there are any surviving bunkers, and they haven't collapsed (or even been filled in long ago), they may now only come to light when someone falls into one accidentally, as they were particularly well hidden, for obvious reasons.

I wonder if I was anywhere near when I visited the Grange ROC post? You can see the post's location on the ROC location maps given on the main site. The current post owner wasn't aware of anything else in the area, as I was 'spotted'. He had been there when the post was stood down and locked, and hadn't been back inside since, recalling that the Observers had more or less emptied it anyway.

Did too much high-speed homework, and had shot through the Ingram page http://www.btinternet.com/~david.waller/grangepatrol.htm, observing in passing only that the gravestone that appeared at the head of the page was remarkably similar to that that marked the site where Rudolph Hess had arrived in Scotland in 1941. Still, I suppose they are relatively standard.

I saw a TV prog ( yes I watch obscure TV Progs too) about the British Resistance many years ago and it showed some brick built bunkers so they have probably survived somewhere. Finding one/them will be nigh on impossible.

Saw it too   Can't remember what the core subject was though. As you note, it did go into some detail, with post war footage of the hidden entrance being shown, and also showing how they were designed so that the fighter could retreat to it, and escape from pursuers via a concealed 'rear entrance' while they were searching the bunker.

The site's British Resistance page has been revised following the discovery of new information relating to activities in the north east of Scotland, and research carried out by a group in Caithness.

I've plotted the locations, and linked to the source text of the article concerned. I might ask for repro permission, but the link will do anyway.

I've also added links to some of the English hides and Zero Stations (Zero Stations were devoted to espionage, the hides were for sabotage), as there are no Scottish sites that can provide the same level of detail for anyone that's interested. I have to admit, the list of these stations wasn't mine, so I don't actually know if Sub-brit has any Scottish ones reported, as I'm afraid I haven't looked.

If not, maybe they'll be a future addition.

Hi Folks,
            I have just joined this site and noticed your interest in the Auxiliary Units. I have been researching/ compliling information on the Scottish involvement for a number of years and hope to publish my findings.I am still keen to find out more and although time and tide wait for no man,few former members of the secretive organisation are still with us sadly. If anyone has anything on the Scottish Auxunits it would be very welcome. Geof Leet (Caithness) was very kind to have sent me details a few years back of the caithness and surrounding areas Operational Bases (OB's) Have not come across much over in the west of Scotland, Stirling area had 2 OB's.But where abouts unknown. lots do remain in fairly good condition. I have 4 in Fife one of which is in excellent condition.Anyway I can go on at length about this subject...Once again folks. Anything, no matter how trivial may lead to further discoveries on this very secret army.Many thanks for taking the time to read my request.kind regards.David Blair.

Hi David, nice to hear from you.

Always good to know that there are other people out there tracking down the lost and unknown before they're lost altogether.

Geof Leet's Caithness article was a bit of surprise when we came across it recently, and it must have gone on the BR site just after we found it.

I think we're sort of 'Jack's of All Trades' in here at the moment, digging up the forgotten and dropping in a few notes and links to preserve them. That said, we do have some personal favourites, I'll admit to ROC posts. There are others.

Do feel free to go on at length if you wish

You can create a page on the Main Site, and can post a request here with contact details, and we'll repeat it on the Blog too.

I have read through all of the postings dealing with this topic and read what the  British Resistance Organisation Museum page had to say. I have never heard of any BRO in Scotland either during or after the war; but of course this isn't at all surprising, since during the war, unless one were an involved member of the organization, one is unlikely to have heard of it. I find myself somewhat sceptical nevertheless. There appears to be a lack  of substantial confirmation of what went on in this regard during 1940, the peak year for the threat of an invasion.

Yes, there was a widespread fear of an invasion in the UK in 1940. This fear was clearly evident throughout Scotland. The part of Scotland with which I was familiar, the Firth of Clyde region, had constructed countless anti-invasion obstacles: fields, flat and hilly, were covered with high posts to prevent aircraft landing ; trenches were dug all around regions which were considered susceptible to enemy landings ; main roads were provided with tank and vehicle blockage material; pill boxes were constructed at strategic locations; mile stones had cement plastered on them; direction posts were removed.

These kinds of anti-invasion precautions seem to me similar to the type of anti-occupier work to help the BRO in their intended guerilla war. However, while I saw many examples of this kind of work being done, it was done by the regular Home Guard (or the LDV, "Local Defence Volunteers" as it was originally known), not by any covert organization such as the BRO.

Let me give you a few specific examples of these anti-invasion precautions:

(1) A block house was built at the side of the Inchinnen road on the west side of the River Cart, beyond the swing bridge, beside the church. A number of cylindrical concrete blocks (easily rolled onto the road) were also located beside the pill box.

(2) Fields around Campbeltown, Argyll, were dotted with high posts. These posts were also planted on the side of the high Knockscalbert Hill in Dalintober. A deep substantial slit trench was dug near the top of this hill in the vicinity of what appeared to be a radio mast.

(3) A number of the permanent granite milestones between Tarbert and Campbeltown were plastered over to hide mileages (evidence of this can still be seen today on some of these stones).

It's just possible these precautions were undertaken simply to keep the Home Guard occupied... I mean, who was going to land invading troops on the Argyll peninsula! Over and above this, one wonders just how real the threat of invasion in 1940 really was. Oh yes, it was a threat, but if it were really as serious as we were led to believe, why did Churchill send Britain's only fully-equipped post-Dunkirk  armoured division to the Middle East? Might the invasion-hype not have been a ruse to convince the Americans to jack up their help us?

I notice the BRO Museum piece shows a picture of a Tommy gun among other weapons. Is this supposed to mean we had these weapons stashed away for guerilla warfare? Yes, I think it is, yet the idea of a Tommy gun being stashed away in 1940 when there was hardly a score of them in the UK, and the Home Guard were using WWI Ross rifles (not to mention the broomsticks!), just doesn't make sense.

It's an interesting topic Apollo! Cheers, Dugald.

The BRO was very real in Scotland.David Lampe wrote a book titled 'The Last Ditch' published in 1968,Opened the lid on this secretive part of home defence, the  book has since been reprinted this year.Chapter 10 is all about Scotland.
Training was conducted early on in the war with most members wearing civilian clothes and trained at private houses/Large farmhouses and the like Most being in a reserved occupation and knew the land intimately.Later when they were formed into Battalions (201 batt was Scotland down to Nothumberland) 202 and 203 Middle England and the South East, they wore Home Guard uniform and titles with 201 underneath titles. Weapons were given to the units long before regular troops had a chance to get hands on, theThompson was one of them. Operational bases (OB's) dug by hand and sometimes by Royal Engineers were dotted all over the UK. Mainly coastal sites..I have intervied lots of former members over the years as part of my research and they all tell an interesting account of the Auxunits and their training.Many went on to join Special Forces (sas mostly) when Auxunits were stood down 1944. operation Bulbaskedt was on such Op that a few ex auxiliary were involved in...Iam looking for any info as I mentioned in my last thread.I can be contacted from the wanted page on the BRO website.Thanks for listening... David Blair.

Very interesting David. I might mention that the description you give of the people who were involved in the BRO would also describe most of the Home Guard members around the Glasgow area: they wore civilian clothes except on duty; were in reserved occupations; knew the land intimately. They also trained at a variety of places: private houses/large farmhouses, shipyards, churches, garbage incinerators (the "destructor" in Govan).

Except for your BRO types receiving weapons before the regular army, and specially-designated batallion numbers, I can't see any significant difference in their respective duties. Anyway, if you have spoken with people who actually served in these units, one must accept this as confirmation of the existance of a "non-military" force which was not simply a part of the regular Home Guard.

After reading this material about the British Resistance Organisation (BRO) I had a look around our library to see if I could find something on this topic. The only book I found was one by Norman Longmate entitled, "If Britain Had Fallen" (BBC, 1972). Apparently this story had been made into a BBC play in 1972. I usually avoid books of the "If" variety, but this one informed the reader that of its 20 chapters only three included "imaginary" stuff. I have quoted and paraphrased most of the following from Longmate's book:

According to Longmate, in 1940  an army of independent "Striking forces" was set up for the region from John o' Groats to Cornwall. A "Striking force" consisted of 12 soldiers. According to the book's author, there were 20 different regions each containing an "Auxiliary Unit". (The most critical region was that of the south east coast, where the Germans were expected to land, and the officer in command of this region was the well-known author, Peter Flemming). The book informs us further that:

"Eventually some 20 Auxiliary Units, as they were known, manned by soldiers, were set up, but they were reinforced by a far larger number of "cells" recruited solely from civilians, who carried on with their ordinary jobs, but were expected, if the Germans arrived, to retire to their secret hideouts and become full time guerillas, emerging after dark to blow up an enemy petrol dump or sabotage a troop of tanks."

The basic aim of these "cells" was to throw enemy plans into disorder by destroying equipment, petrol dumps, ammunition dumps, lorries or anything that might hinder the enemy.

According to Longmate, it was doubtful if many members of the Auxiliary Units, even though they wore the Home Guard  uniform, were really Home Guards at all, for their former units had disowned them, or they had never belonged to the organisation, and no central records were kept of the three special battalions on whose strength they were supposed to be. It seems they only existed 'on the ground' rather than on paper.

It seems that by the end of 1940 about 300 of these "Observation Posts" had been constructed and the total strength had reached 5000 men, well equipped with the latest weapons and explosives, such as the invaluable "sticky bomb" (but no mention of 'Tommy guns'). I didn't come across the use of "British Resistance Organisation" in the book.

Over and above these Auxiliary Units, and independent of them, a few selected Home Guard officers and others had prepared caches and hidden them for some future need. They were even buried in dummy churchyard graves, and in water.

In this chapter dealing with intended post-German-invasion plans, I think some of it is fanciful, and might well have come out of one of Peter Flemming's thrillers (the plans for signaling and picking up messages for example). I acknowledge a measure of truth in the British Resistance Organisation, but as to just how much of it was independent of the regular army and Home Guard, I am not at all sure. How 'few' were the "selected Home Guard officers and others" as mentioned in the book? I know that in the "Thermotank" in Govan, special tasks had been assigned to selected members of its regular Home Guard unit, and this involved actions much like those described in Longmate's book.

That's a pretty good find, and certainly ties in with the info I've been aware in the past, and which has appeared in TV documentaries covering the subject. That the Home Guard connection was a cover at the time is an approach that would have seemed in line with the thinking of the time, and the men wouldn't have been able to be 'real' Home Guards in the conventional sense - imagine trying to do your work, then your Home Guard stint, then your clandestine bit. Even the chosen need a bit of sleep squeezed in somewhere. There would need to have been essential liaison with selected, trusted, Home Guard officers in order for the subterfuge to be perpetuated successfully.

I'm beginning to fall out with the term British Resistance, and suspect it may be purged from here at some point in the future, with only a single inclusion for search and reference to find it. Basically, the names's beginning to smell like a 'modern' invention, and I don't like it.

They didn't have Tommy Guns, there should be a reference somewhere to them being issued with a single shot Sniper Rifle or similar, with sights to allow distant targets to be picked off, as they were not intended to take part in close-quarter action, which is what the fully automatic is designed for.

Here's a link to reminiscences by Major R F 'Henry' Hall, describing the Auxiliary Unit training, how it wasn't needed since there was no 'Invasion', and how he went on to use the lessons taught when he was fighting in Normandy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/16/a4601116.shtml

I have made some comments on this thread which I'm sure indicate an inclination to simply include the so-called "British Resistance Organisation" as a part of the regular Home Guard. "BRO" certainly attracts a bit more attention than "Home Guard": maybe a bit more 'prestige' attached to "BRO"; oh, and there's the just a suggestion of a bit the "cloak and dagger" stuff in the BRO's job description. ( The Home Guard, by the way, served as a butt for many jokes).

There is something else too. The BRO's alleged purpose, as I perceived it anyway, was really just that of  a terrorist organisation. I do not  believe terrorism would quite have fitted into the British way of life in the 1940's: "terrorism" as we know it today, was not a part of the British psyche. I might mention too, that I don't think it was a part of the German psyche. Oh yes, both the Germans and the British were not averse to acts of sabotage behind enemy lines, and many such acts were carried out. But this differs a great deal from an organised movement of resistance by a civilian population following a military defeat.

We might recall what happened in the only part of Great Britain which the Germans conquered, the Channel Islands: there was no organised sabotage against the invader; there were virtually no acts of terrorism against the Germans. Likewise, we might also note that despite the rumoured Nazi "Werwolf" operation, acts of terrorism against the Allies following the defeat of Germany just never materialised ...the "Werwolf" plan was non-existent, despite the wild American reaction to the rumour.

I have to admit I'm mystified by at the thought of including the Auxiliary Units as part of the Home Guard, especially in the face of documented records regarding their organisation and mission. The Home Guard connection was purely a diversionary ruse, and I doubt that many Home Guard members would have been given the the training accorded the Auxiliary Units, or for that matter, the resources. Then there's the shocking revelations that were kept quit until a few years back, that the Home Guard was populated by thugs, out to use the position as little more than an excuse to exercise bigotry and criminal activities. Being an volunteer force (originally the Local Defence Volunteers) made it an ideal tool for them to infiltrate, and manipulate to thier own ends. Do bear in mind this is not a slur on the Home Guard itself, but a reflection of the use it was put to at a local level.

There's no justification for referring to the BRO as a terrorist organisation. Their actions would have been targeted at a hostile, occupational force, which practised mass murder, executed those that stood in its way, and subjugated those it considered inferior. They wouldn't have been out to indiscriminately attack the public at large, which would have been counterproductive given the small island they'd have been active on, if they turned the population against themselves, they'd have had nowhere to hide. Terrorism is another of those terms that's been sadly cheapened by being hijacked today. Real terrorism was seeing a gang of Nazi Stormtroopers march into your village, and know what was coming for yourself and your neighbours, ad it happens again and again, not some demented, brainwashed teen with a home made bomb strapped to his back, hiding until he can get into a big enough crowd to set it off. That's just murder.

The Channel Islands (conquered? I think you meant occupied, as a token holding) bear no comparison, apart from the fact that they were in no way prepared for what happened, believing they had distanced themselves from events,being demilitarised in 1940?, they were quite literally overwhelmed by number, and forced to accept what had happened, were deported, or enslaved by the aggressor and put into slave working camps to build the massive defences that Germans installed on the islands. The Channel Island are minute by comparison with the UK mainland, and any attempts at resistance would have been wiped out both mercilessly and swiftly, ashere was nowhere to hide.

I forgot to ask...

What went on at Thermotank in Govan, other than their 'normal' production? You've intrigued me (think)

(1) "I have to admit I'm mystified by at the thought of including the Auxiliary Units as part of the Home Guard,..."

Well Apollo, I did provide a couple of reasons which might explain this thought of mine which mystifies you.

(2) "...especially in the face of documented records regarding their organisation and mission".

Would these be the same 'documented' records that tell us about the mustard gas that was going to be used around the British coast? I read the link about the reminiscences by Major R F 'Henry' Hall, and while I found it very interesting, there was nothing that would lead me to change my ideas about the BRO versus the Home Guard.

(3) "I doubt that many Home Guard members would have been given the training accorded the Auxiliary Units,..."

According to the book I read,  Home Guard members were included in this training. The book also informs us that over and above these Auxiliary Units, and independent of them, a few selected Home Guard officers and others had prepared caches and hidden them for some future need.

(4) "The Home Guard connection was purely a diversionary ruse,..."

That's the kernel of our disagreement: I believe the so-called Auxiliary Units were Home Guardsmen, except for the regular army military types in charge of them.

END OF PART ONE

BEGINNING OF PART TWO.

(5) "Then there's the shocking revelations that were kept quit until a few years back, that the Home Guard was populated by thugs, out to use the position as little more than an excuse to exercise bigotry and criminal activities.".

You have me at a disadvantage here Apollo. I have never ever heard of any such behavior by the Home Guard, and hence, cannot speak about it nor the source of such allegations. I knew quite a few of them, none of whom, was a thug, and none of whom, to the best of my knowledge, used his position to exercise bigotry and practice criminal activities (hmmmm, depends what is meant by "criminal activities", during a war).  I think you bestow on the Home Guard a great deal more power than they had: their job was never such that they could "infiltrate, and manipulate to thier own ends". Certainly there'd be bad apples among them, but no more than one might expect to find among any such BRO ranks; and one might mention, the H.G. serving as "BRO" types would have a great deal more scope for dirty deeds.

By the way, I think this blatant defamation of the Home guard might well afford another reason for a "BRO" to distance itszelf from the Home Guard. (See Item (1) above).

(6) "...bear in mind this is not a slur on the Home Guard itself..."

Wow! That's tough to bear in mind. I feel it is, and at any level, an unfair, sweeping, generalisation. (By the way, I thought the Home Guard became compulsory).

(7) "There's no justification for referring to the BRO as a terrorist organisation."

If people dressed in civilian clothes are used in the killing of troops, these civilians are terrorists. According to what I have read on this thread and elsewhere, the "BRO" intended to employ civilians. Whether the military targets attacked by the "BRO"-civilians practiced mass murder, executed those that stood in its way, and subjugated those it considered inferior, has nothing at all to do with the definition of a ' terrorist'. The meaning of "Terrorism" today is no different from what it was in the 1940's. It manifests itself in a whole variety of forms.

( "...some demented, brainwashed teen with a home made bomb strapped to his back, hiding until he can get into a big enough crowd to set it off."

A bit of a digression, but I feel I must comment. What's the difference between a brainwashed teen with a home made bomb strapped to his back attacking his target, and an F16 Fighter pilot firing missiles into a civilian building? Maybe the difference is that one earns a handsome salary for his killing, while the other pays a helluva price  for his killing. One is no less a murderer than the other...you're right , just murder.

(9) "(conquered? I think you meant occupied, as a token holding)"

To conquer is to subdue by force. The Channel Islands were subdued by force: the Channel Islands were conquered.

(10) "... [the Channel Islands] bear no comparison,..."

They might not bear a valid comparison regarding the magnitude of what happened and what could happen; but serve nevertheless, as a perfectly valid example of the British psyche  about which I was talking.

(1) "What went on at Thermotank in Govan, other than their 'normal' production?"

I know of a member of the Thermotank's H.G. who stopped parading with the Thermotank, but continued to work there. He started parading with other selected HG 's from Fairfield's, Harland's, and Stephens' Yards. I do not know what these HG's assigned special tasks had to do, but the modus operandi of the 'special assignments' was much like what Longmate's book described.

Did I hear someone there  mention "War and Peace"? Yes Apollo, I do go on, don't I. Ach, that's what happens when one's enjoying one's self. Cheers, Dugald.

War and Peace?

Not at all...

It's a pleasure, and I for one appreciate the odd (as in occasional!) insight into the 'thoughts behind the words'.

Much better than other folk (not in here) who take the hump if you post more than one reply that doesn't fall in line with their view, then spout abuse or storm off if you post another.

Just a quick follow up on on the 'defamation' of the Home Guard (comments I clearly directed at the individuals using, or perhaps abusing, the Home Guard, not the Home Guard itself). This was revealed a few years ago, either as a single documentary or a series, I'm not sure. One thing I seem to be hopeless at is finding info about TV programmes (other than Sci-Fi and Fantasy) on the web, so I can't point you at it or name-drop, but maybe someone else will come up with it.

I used to have a link for a site that had a list of Auxiliary Units on the Western Isles, with the commander's names but I have lost the URL.  I wonder if anyone knows it though I suspect the site has probably gone which is why I cannot find it.

MB