The Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team was set up in June 2009 by Tom Sykes after he was informed about Coleshill and its wartime involvement. Tom set up a website as it seemed the easiest way to collate the information he was finding out. Tom is a marketing man so he knew the site would soon attract attention but had no idea just how big the project would become.
The site has seen over twelve thousand unique visitors and has attracted TV, Radio and national press attention and the group has many expert members. Most of these are authors on the subject or have a direct relation to the Auxiliary Unit. In August 2009 the team organised a filming day at Coleshill which saw the largest display of Aux Unit weapons ever displayed since 1940 and a surviving Auxilier visit the bunker for the first time. This DVD is now for sale here. You can become a friend of CART here.
CART is non profit making and has no financial support from any company. All web design and web based contributions are done in the members own time.
CART's aims are;
• To raise general public awareness of the Auxiliary Unit and their training.
• To research the Auxiliary Unit using the skills and experience of group members and the general public.
• To collect local history and information on Coleshill House both war related and non war related.
• To build an online database of related articles and information which are available to all and mostly free
of charge.
• To record and document as many surviving members as possible to preserve their memory.
• To provide a relatives search service.
• To educate younger people by using video and audio and social media platforms.
Some of our 2010 goals are;
• To continue adding articles to our website, with as much unique content as possible.
• To start a campaign to ensure the Auxiliary Unit are awarded a national medal.
• To distribute a DVD about the Auxiliary Unit and their weapons. Buy it here.
• To attend the special weekend at Coleshill in July with lectures from our members and other specialists.
• To establish a permanent base for the Project where we can start to collect artefacts and hold documents
as well as eventually open to the public. This will ideally be at Coleshill.
• To produce a range of merchandise to help generate revenue for the Project.
Some of our 2011 goals are;
• To continue adding articles to our website, with as much unique content as possible.
• To organise day trips for members to related Auxiliary sites around the UK.
• To finalise our plans for “The Experiment” - A proposed televised living history programme taking modern
men and letting them live as Auxiliers underground.
If you would like to join our team please see here.
Coleshill House, Coleshill, Mabel Stranks, Highworth, Highworth Post Office, Colonel Gubbins, Auxiliary Units, Churchill's secret army, Special Operations Executive (SOE), Home Guard, The Countryman's Diary-1939, Peter Fleming, Ian Fleming, Pleydell-Bouveries, Sir Thomas Freake, Sir Henry Pratt, guerrilla warfare
