Auxiliary Unit Relative Search

We want to learn as much as possible about the men who served in the Auxiliary Unit. If you have strong reason to think your friend or relative might have been a member of an Auxiliary Unit and you would like to learn more about what they got up to we will try to help you find out more.

Our experienced members will look into the person in question.  This is currently a free service but if we do manage to track your relative a donation to our work would be appreciated. We cannot promise anything so please don't get your hopes up!!

SIX STEPS TO DISCOVERING YOUR RELATIVE

1. Collect every known scrap of information about the individual. (Read our advice below)

2. Search our OB page here under the county you think your loved one may have been based at or try searching our site here.

3. Ask us to check our data base by applying for our help here.

4. Get contact details of our local area Information Officer (CIO). These can be obtained here.

5. Leave a request on our Q & A Forum.

6. Contact BROM (The British Resistance Organisation) Museum at Parham. This process can take some time.

We will help all we can and only ask that you share your findings with us and so expand our records.

CAN I RESEARCH THIS MYSELF?

Yes you can. Please read through our advice notes below.

Who are you researching and what do you know about them?  The ‘Volunteers’ who became Auxiliers acted out of patronism knowing that they were undertaking a dangerous task and the likelihood of them surviving was slim. They received no pay and no recognition. Many have since died taking their secrets with them. Very little was recorded officially and this is the problem when trying find out about them.

To those people who have inherited WW2 items from an ancestor but are unsure whether they served with Aux Units there are a few items that would indicate that they did.

A small enamel badge	Cloth Insignia with Nos. but only 201,202 or 203	A Fairbairn-Sykes dagger issued to Aux before Commando Units
Training manual disguised as the Countryman’s Diary or similar	Stand down letters dated July 1944 from General Franklyn (C-in-C Home Forces) and Colonel Douglas (GHQ Aux Units)

Some basic information:

Auxiliary Units was the non-descript name given to Churchill’s Secret Resistance Organisation. It was formed in 1940 and would become operational as soon as Germany had invaded Britain.

Organisation: The aim of Aux Units was to create resistance cells around the coast stretching from Outer Hebrides southward down to Kent, Westward to Cornwall and back North Eastwards through South Wales to Herefordshire. This coastal area was divided into areas or zones. Control came from the GHQ that was based at Coleshill House, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire).

Each area was commanded by an Officer called an I.O. Intelligence Officer who would oversee all the Patrols in his area. Patrols would act independently and did not normally know of the others.
To assist I.O’s with training and construction of underground bunkers they were allocated one or two Scout Sections – 12 man teams of regular troops lead by an officer. At each area H.Q there were a few more regulars.

Personnel:  For research purposes Auxiliary personnel Fall into three categories.

1. Officers – Career Officers and Temporary Commissioned or Territorial Officers also women ATS Subalterns’ serving in the Special Duties (Signals) Section.

2. Non Commissioned Officers and Other Ranks – Royal Signal’s, R.A.S.C., RE’s and Regiment’s.

3. ‘ Auxilier’s – civilian volunteers selected and recruited for their local knowledge and skills (Game keepers, poachers, farm workers and the like). At the start enrolment was simple with little paperwork if any involved. Later (1943+) the organisation became more official and Auxiliers were reorganised into three new Home Guard battalions. Aux Units in Scotland and Border Counties were grouped in 201 Battalion. Eastern English Counties down to the Thames in 202 and the South and South West 203.

Officers, N.C.O’s and Other Ranks will each have a personal Service Record at the MOD. Anyone who has permission from the next of kin can apply for a copy but Full Name, Rank. Army No., Regiment and Date of Birth are required. The is a charge of £30.

 Visit http://www.veterans-uk.info/service_records/army.html for more information.

Auxilers - NO official Service Records were kept. Some lists do exist and CART are endeavouring to collate these.  There are a few Public Record Office files,

WO 199/3390 - Lists some names in Dorset, Kent and Somerset.
WO 199/3389 - Lists some names in Northern and Eastern counties and Hereford and Carmarthen areas.
WO 199/3388 - Lists some names in Scotland and Northumberland areas.

Although the Auxiliary Units had no operational connection with the Home Guard these documents list names under the local Home Guard battalion numbers, possibly for security reasons so that Auxiliary Units would not be separately identified.

As at November 2010 there were 2758 names listed on the rolls. More are being added.