Brixham Auxiliary Unit and OB By Nina Hannaford (cartdevon@gmail.com)

When my father informed me that my Grandfather was not really in the Home guard during the war I wanted to investigate further. With the help of CART I discovered he was a member of the Brixham Auxiliary Unit.

Further research has shown other family members were also in the same unit.

Sargent Walter Minns (DOB 5/10/1888) address “Burridge” Kingswear Road - A retired London police detective.

Frank Hannaford (DOB 21/1/1891) address Nut Tree Cottage, Milton Street (Grandfather) - A council road man.

Herbert Hannaford (DOB 22/6/1921) address as above (Uncle) - Worked at Noss Shipyard, later a navy diver.

Eric (John) Hannaford (DOB 28/6/1923) address as above (Uncle) - Left to join RAF, worked as a farmer/farm hand.

Francis Williams (DOB 27/7/1898) address 73 Milton Street (Great Uncle) - Worked as a Blacksmith.

Arthur Bedford (DOB 28/8/1910) address 123 Milton Street - Worked as a carpenter.

Clarence Hicks (DOB 8/11/1912 address Mathill Farm - Worked on his fathers farm.

Harry Salisbury (DOB 11/7/1901) address 76 Drew Street.

Frank Drew ( DOB 20/5/1896) address 2 Council Cottages, Penn Lane.

John Baker (DOB  15/2/1922) 39 Milton Street - Worked at Noss Shipyard and was transferred to Cornwall with work.

All apart from Frank Drew would have been able to see their Operational Base area from their windows.

The Base was dug out by the Auxiliers themselves, and when Arthur Bedford joined he put in wooden floors and shelves. It was a Nissen hut buried in the ground with a wooden ladder down into it and a concrete escape tunnel hidden by a stone wall (now exposed). The Army built an observational post in the copse below which was a small wooden hut looking down a valley towards the town and sea beyond.

I have interviewed John Baker and his memories include:

“We walked to the operational base  by a different route every time so we were not followed.....we trained every Sunday and 3-4 times a week in the evenings......me and John (Hannaford) were always late on a Sunday, Sgt Minns would shout at us then smile and shake his head !......We were given briefings and took exams in Sgt. Minns front room.......had great fun but was always reminded of how serious it all was whenever we went to Highworth...

Sticky bombs scared me the most........had no fear as a young man but, sometimes in the middle of the night I would think about what we were ready to do and it scared me.....”

Herbert Hannaford's wife remembers his mother (Mable) finding a box of hand grenades in the house and asking Frank Hannaford what they were. When Frank told her she didn't want to know she demanded they were removed from the house.

My father remembers, garden bonfires were often started with a small explosive and a fallen tree once blown up.