Introduction

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On May 14th 1940, as 2,000 German tanks under Lieutenant-General Heinz Guderian raced westwards across northern France, Anthony Eden, the War Secretary, made an appeal on the Home Service following the nine o'clock news. He asked for men aged 17 to 65 to serve in a new force, the Local Defence Volunteers, which was intended to deal with any German paratroops arriving as part of an invasion, as they had in Holland.

Within twenty-four hours he had 250,000 volunteers and within eight weeks this had risen to over one million. Our area, with a large proportion of men in reserved occupations - miners, farmers and those in the arms industry - had more than its share of volunteers. Chopwell and Blaydon Police Stations were kept rather busy for weeks taking the names and details of previous service of the many men coming forward to offer their services. There was no medical; if you could walk you were accepted.

The Lords Lieutenant of the counties and senior army officers then appointed area, zone and group organizers who in turn picked the battalion, company and platoon commanders, mostly men with previous military service. The man appointed to lead Rowlands Gill's intrepid band was George Cocks Willis, a veteran of the Royal Flying Corps, who lived at Wingrove. His normal employment was with a shipping company with offices on the Quayside in Newcastle. Of the men, roughly half had served in the Great War and several in the South African War.

At first there was no organisation, no premises, no supplies, no funds, no weapons except those owned by the volunteers themselves, and no uniforms apart from an armband bearing the letters "L.D.V.", but volunteers were allowed to wear the badge of their previous regiment or service -Lieutenant Willis proudly wore his Royal Flying Corps badge and wings.

The L.D.V. were unkindly dubbed the "Look, Duck and Vanish Brigade", but the name was not to last because, on July 14th 1940, Winston Churchill referred to the L.D.V. as a "Home Guard" and the name stuck. It was officially adopted on July 31st. During the following month the Home Guard units were affiliated to their County Regiments and allowed to wear the regiment's cap badge ; in Rowlands Gill this meant the badge of the Durham Light Infantry. Home Guard units to the north of the Tyne were affiliated to the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers.

The Home Guard units in individual villages were platoons. These were grouped together into companies and the companies were grouped into battalions. Rowlands Gill Platoon was part of Blaydon Battalion or, to give it its full title, the "1st Durham (Blaydon) Battalion, Home Guard", which had its H.Q. in a large requisitioned house at Blaydon called "Stella Holme" (It is still there -the first house on the left going up Summerhill). Blaydon Battalion was one of 26 battalions in Durham County, and drew its members from the Blaydon and Ryton Urban Districts together with Byermoor, Marley Hill, Sunniside, Whickham and Swalwell. As well as platoons in every town and village in the area, there was also one at Derwenthaugh Coke Works near Winlaton Mill. It was quite common for larger firms to have their own Home Guard units and many men from our area served in these; the Vickers Armstrong's Home Guard, in particular, seems to have poached several Rowlands Gill men. Burnopfield Platoon was part of the 5th Durham (Hamsterley) Battalion, which drew its members from a wide area including Lintz, Tantobie, Dipton and Hamsterley Colliery. Burnopfield had a Company H.Q. at Leazes Hall as well as a platoon. The larger towns and cities had more than one battalion - Gateshead had two (10th and 21st Durham Battalions) as did Sunderland (9th and 24th Durham Battalions), while Newcastle had three (9th, 11th and 12th Northumberland Battalions).

There are problems when we try to find out how the Blaydon Battalion was sub- divided. It is known that Rowlands Gill Platoon was the 3rd Platoon of the 2nd, or "B", Company, but very few records have survived, and it is by no means clear which other platoons formed the rest of the 2nd Company or, indeed, where the 2nd Company was based. However, from various snippets of information it would appear that Rowlands Gill was associated with platoons at Whickham and Sunniside, while Highfield Platoon was grouped with High Spen, Victoria Garesfield, Chopwell and Blackhall Mill. There were apparently Company Offices in Nissen Huts at both Winlaton Mill and High Spen so we might guess that Rowlands Gill together with Winlaton Mill, Byermoor, Marley Hill, Sunniside, Whickham and probably Swalwell Platoons formed the Winlaton Mill Company while the platoons grouped with Highfield formed the High Spen Company.

Mathew Lamb who served 2.2.41 to 31.12.44

Courtesy of Steve Lamb

Platoon premises were varied; a room above Rowlands Gill Co-operative Store, which is now part of a gymnasium, was requisitioned as a Platoon Store but in practice more use seems to have been made of the garage behind Dowson's house, "Hazledene", on the main road at Lockhaugh. For their twice-weekly meetings -Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.30 - they hired a room at Rowlands Gill Council Schools. Highfield Home Guard had its Platoon Office and Store in Potters Shop on the main road and their meetings were held at St. Patrick's Church Hall which they hired at 2s6d (13p) per night. Occasional use was also made of the Tea-Room beneath the Methodist Chapel on Highfield Road.

As well as the Company Office in Cardiff Square, High Spen Platoon had the use the whole of the Social Welfare Pavilion, better known as the White Elephant, in the park -and the bandstand there was handy for the High Spen Home Guard Band. The Pavilion was provided rent free, as were the Colliery Offices at Victoria Garesfield for the use of that village's platoon. Along at Winlaton Mill, the Platoon used the Huntley Wells Social Welfare Club, while up on the hill religious property was preferred - Byermoor used the Mission Hall and Marley Hill, the "Wesleyan" Chapel, both were requisitioned. Perhaps the luckiest platoons were those of Blaydon and Chopwell; they had the use of the Territorial Army Drill Halls.

Above the Battalion there were Zones and Groups but by 1943 this was changed - Batallions were grouped into Sectors, Sectors into Sub-districts and Sub-districts into Districts. Blaydon Battalion, along with those of Chester-le-Street (2nd Bn), Lanchester (3rd Bn), Consett (4th Bn), Hamsterley (5th Bn) and Stanley (6th Bn), formed the Consett Sector which had its H.Q. at Hamsterley Hall (3 rooms on the ground floor and a W.D. Hut No 13). Consett Sector and those of Houghton-le-Spring and Weardale, together with Sunderland Garrison, made up the Durham Sub-District which was one of the three sub-districts in the Northumbrian District of Northern Command -the others were Alnwick Sub-district and the Tyne Sub-district. The Northumbrian District comprised all eighteen of Northumberland's Battalions and all but one of County Durham's -the exception was the 19th Durham (Stockton-on-Tees) Battalion which was part of the North Riding District.

The legal position of Home Guard officers caused a problem because the "Defence (Local Defence Volunteers) Regulations" of May 17th 1940 and the further regulation of July 31st which changed the name to the "Home Guard", had failed to address the issue. Officially the only rank in the Home Guard was "Volunteer", all other ranks were "appointed ranks" with no legal status. This was sorted out with the passing of the "Home Guard Officer's Commission Order" on 12th February 1941. Ranks in the Home Guard were then exactly the same as in the regular army, except the lowest rank which remained "Volunteer". A year later, on February 16th 1942, this was changed to "Private" when Parliament gave itself the power to order men to join the Home Guard.

What of the Rowlands Gill personnel? As far as "other ranks" are concerned, it seems that no lists exist, but the ranks included among many others Privates Forster, Thompson, William "Winky" Lowes, Mathew Lamb, Norman Shorten (who still lives in the same house in Stewartsfield which he occupied all those years ago), M.Shotton, P.J.Carter, R.W. Reynoldson, Sergeant Jackson and Corporals Peter Wise and O.P.M. Conway. Of these, the only Home Guard number recalled is that of Private Carter - he was "No. 553 Private Carter P.J.".

Two lists of officers have survived, apparently dating from the end of 1943 and 1944 respectively, but there is a drawback, the lists cover the whole battalion and give no indication whatsoever of the companies or platoons to which the men belonged. So it is really a question of recognising names, but we do know a little about two of the men who led Rowlands Gill Platoon. The first C.O., as mentioned above, was George Willis and his successor was Fred Winfield, an engineer with Merz & McLellan Ltd, who lived at "Woodlands", Derwent Avenue. The change may have occurred on November 11th 1943 when George became a major and Fred became a captain, but it may have happened earlier when George became a captain -platoons could be led by a captain or a lieutenant. The only other Rowlands Gill name I recognise on the list is 2nd Lieutenant John Dixon Summerside, but another officer is often mentioned in connection with the Platoon. He was Colonel Kitson, a retired professional soldier, who was living at Fred Winfield's home on Derwent Avenue. He does not appear on either list of officers - perhaps he moved away or died before the lists were prepared, or perhaps he fell foul of the directive of 20/10/41 which prohibited men aged over 65 from holding senior ranks.

Other names will be immediately recognised by many -from High Spen there were James Cumberledge, Norman Greener and Joseph Armstrong; from Highfield, Newark Smith, Bob Emerson, John Sanderson and Sydney Twizell; and then there were Basil Simpson from Bradley Hall near Crawcrook and Doctor "Willie" Henderson, the Medical Officer. A composite list of Battalion Officers is included here in the hope that readers might spot more local names.

Rather surpisingly the Home Guard officer best remembered in Rowlands Gill was the Lieutenant-Colonel in charge of a neighbouring battalion - the 5th Durham (Hamsterley) Battalion. He was the Honourable Standish Robert Gage Prendergast Vereker M.C. of Hamsterley Hall - perhaps better remembered now as Lord Gort (7th Viscount Gort), a title he inherited in 1946. His brother, the 6th Viscount, was John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker V.C., known as Tiger Gort because of his World War 1 exploits. In World War 2 he was Commander-in-Chief of the ill-fated British Expeditionary Force, then he held a number of positions including Governor of Gibraltar, Governor of Malta and High Commissioner for Palestine and Transjordan. He was promoted to the rank of Field Marshall in 1943.

The first Home Guard uniforms consisted of denim overalls with armbands, forage caps and boots but these was later replaced by something closely resembling the regular army garb - Regulation Battledress, Steel Helmet, Field Service Cap with D.L.I. Badge, Greatcoat, Army Boots, Service Respirators, Capes, Leather Gaiters and Leather Belts with Brass Buckles. Unfortunately the leather items were of a light shade - they had apparently been part of the uniform of the old Volunteer Companies which became the Territorials in 1908, and they had been in storage since then. Great efforts were made to darken them and, after much experimentation, a reliable method emerged - soak them overnight in a chamber-pot! Home Guard armbands were worn over either the battledress or greatcoat, but Home Guard shoulder flashes were eventually produced. A number of men, including many of Rowlands Gill Platoon, also wore the D.L.I. Green Lanyard but this was an entirely unofficial embellishment. Navy blue identification letters and numbers were also worn on both sleeves of the battledress and greatcoat; Durham Battalions all wore the letters "DHM" and beneath this was the battalion number -"1" for Blaydon Battalion. Northumberland and North Riding Battalions had the letters "ND" and "NRY" respectively.

Real weapons too made their appearance. American Springfield rifles of 1917/18 vintage were obtained and proved quite satisfactory, the only drawback was the calibre, .300, which made then incompatible with the standard service rifle, the .303 Lee Enfield No 4 Mk1. A limited number of "Tommy Guns", Thompson Submachine guns, were also supplied, but later these were withdrawn and replaced by the lighter Sten Guns. Target practice for the village platoon took place at the riverside near Lockhaugh Viaduct, while the High Spen lads used the old pit-heap behind the park and the Highfield Platoon used an area near the Alloy Works. Local children often dug the bullets out of the targets as souvenirs.

Anti-tank weapons consisted of Northover Grenade Projectors which apparently could also propel Molotov Cocktails or Phosphorus Bombs, "Blackie Bombers", which were 29 mm Spigot Mortars*, and "Sticky Bombs" which, as their name suggests, were explosives which could be stuck onto the vulnerable parts of passing tanks. There was also a rather menacing weapon known as "Flame Fougasse" which comprised forty-gallon drums containing a mixture of tar, lime and petrol. These were to be buried on the roadside and, if the need arose, a string was to be pulled which would fire a small explosive charge to ignite the contents and spray them over the road creating a huge impenetrable and long-lasting wall of fire. *(A Spigot Mortar base, one of very few still surviving, can be seen on the roadside between Blackhall Mill and Hamsterley Colliery; presumably it belonged to the Hamsterley Colliery Platoon. Nearby there are depressions which appear to be filled- in trenches).

In 1941 the standard army hand grenade was also supplied and there was a suggestion that the Home Guard might employ the "pike" which was to consist of a length of drainpipe with a 17 inch bayonet on the end; the suggestion was not popular! With all the explosives and ammunition around, there was the problem of storage. The Rowlands Gill Platoon used the Lilley Drift entrance, while their High Spen colleagues used a watertight container in the "Square Pond" behind Glossop Street. Neither seem to have been particularly sensible choices, especially the pond; it was the village's unofficial swimming pool!

Sunday mornings were spent on exercises or training; for the Rowlands Gill Platoon this was often at Gibside or Lockhaugh, and from time to time they had mock battles with the Special Constables. One example of Platoon Orders has survived and is reproduced below. I do not know whether the "enemy" succeeded in taking the Derwent Valley that day; perhaps the "battle" would still be discussed by learned military historians with war-games enthusiasts painstakingly moving model Home-Guardsmen over a miniature Rowlands Gill, if the Japanese hadn't chosen that very same day to attack Pearl Harbour!

Platoon Orders for the 3rd Platoon, 2nd Coy, 1st Bn Durham Home Guard.

(From material deposited by Pte. P.J. Carter:- courtesy of the D.L.I. Museum, Aykley Heads, Durham City -Accession No 2081).

One former member recalls two other exercises; they may sound apocryphal, but I am assured that they actually happened. In the first, the Rowlands Gill Platoon had to take the Battalion H.Q. at Blaydon. The Blaydon lads dutifully manned their look-out posts protecting every approach to Blaydon, but the atackers chose a rather unorthodox route -they hung onto a slow-moving coal train at Derwenthaugh, jumped off at Blaydon and entered the Blaydon H.Q. without ever meeting a defender. The opposition C.O. then foolishly accused them of cheating and he was promptly inverted and his head ended up in the wastepaper basket, an action which nearly led to the demotion of George Willis.

In the second, the object was to attack a building near Burnopfield - it was probably at Byermoor. Many of the Rowlands Gill lads were miners and their knowledge came in useful because this time their chosen route was underground; they entered a drainage tunnel on the side of the valley and came out behind the "enemy" defences. Both exploits were apparently led by a corporal who is variously described as either "resourceful" or "quite mad". Although there is some doubt about the identity of this corporal, he was probably Peter Wise from The Grove.

Another training exercise is still talked about, this time involving the Highfield Platoon. They were apparently part of the force defending their headquarters at High Spen. The "enemy" were from Chopwell and Blackhall Mill Platoons and to add a touch of realism they were dressed in German uniforms. During the course of the exercise the defenders captured one of the opposition and took him to their headquarters for questioning. Unfortunately they had forgotten to search him and, when he produced a "hand grenade", the umpire -the man who judged the exercise- declared the headquarters blown up. The excitement was not over; as the attackers made their way home they caused quite a stir among the residents of Towneley Terrace at High Spen - a crowd of German soldiers casually walking across the golf course, laughing and joking as they went, was not an everday sight in those parts! While dealing with the Highfield Home Guard it may be of interest to note that they had a Cadet Force associated with the Platoon, but I do not know if this was a feature unique to Highfield - perhaps all platoons had similar units.

Messing about with guns and explosives can be risky of course, but the Rowlands Gill Platoon was rather lucky; only two injuries are recorded for the entire war. On Sunday September 21st 1941, Volunteer John Dixon Summerside of 3 Derwent View "Slipped and fell on shoulder when returning from duty" -unofficially it was believed that the fall might not have been wholly unrelated to a session in the Towneley Arms- and on Sunday May 17th 1942, Private R.W.Reynoldson of "Valetta", Taylor Avenue "Sprained ankle on extended drill with platoon". Other platoons suffered more serious injuries; Private William Stacey of 46 Long Row East, High Spen, for example, received "Phosphorus burns on knee while demolishing a faulty A.W. bomb" on Tuesday October 19th 1943, and the late Tucker Middleton recalled that a member of his battalion, the 5th (Hamsterley) Battalion, received near-fatal stomach wounds when practising with a "Sticky Bomb".

Rowlands Gill Platoon had a number of look-out posts on the approaches to the village. One of these was located in the woods overlooking the road to Lintzford, not far from Holmewood Drive, and the others were probably at the end of the railway viaduct overlooking the Derwent Bridge and at Lockhaugh in the woods beside the main road.

Home Guard units in coastal towns and villages were often attached to Regular Army units manning coastal gun batteries and, from April 1942, many Home Guard Anti-Aircraft units were formed. By 1944 these units had taken over a large number of anti-aircraft batteries, including the "Heavy" units, thus releasing regular troops for invasion duties. There were two Home Guard anti-aircraft units based in Gateshead -the "71 Durham Home Guard Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery" and the "110 (101 County of Durham Home Guard) Anti-Aircraft Rocket Battery". The identification codes worn by the members on their sleeves were "DHM/71" or "DHM/101". (All counties numbered their Home Guard H.A.A. Batteries from 71 and their Rocket Batteries from 101 - the "110" prefix is a Royal Artillery serial number). The Rocket unit had its headquarters at the Old Masonic Hall, Half Moon Lane, Gateshead but manned Rockcliffe Battery at South Shields.

Rocket Batteries were on the secret list and were known at first as "Z Batteries"; they were formidable weapons which fired salvos of 144 six-foot by three-inch UP3 rockets at enemy aircraft formations. Manning units like this with part-timers was quite a problem; they needed eight shifts each of 178 men so that the men were only on duty one night in eight. On April 1st 1944 the two Home Guard units mentioned above, together with an H.A.A. unit at Newcastle and Rocket Batteries at Sunderland and Whitley Bay, were grouped under the "8 Anti-Aircraft Regiment Home Guard" with its H.Q. at Low Fell ("Harewood", Belle Vue Bank, and Hawk's Assembly Rooms, Durham Road). A 3.7" H.A.A. gun manufactured in 1943 by Vickers Armstrongs is on display at Tynemouth Castle. This gun is in pristine condition having been part of Portugal's air defences until very recently. Guns of this size were used at the Lobley Hill H.A.A. Site.

At Durham City there was another Home Guard Rocket Battery, the "228 (104 County of Durham Home Guard) Anti-Aircraft Rocket Battery". This, together with units at Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesborough, formed the 11 Anti-Aircraft Regiment Home Guard which had its H.Q. at Norton. There were also seven Light Anti-Aircraft Troops in County Durham, these, unlike the units already mentioned, were not attached to Anti-Aircraft Command of the Royal Artillery, they were sub-units of ordinary Home Guard battalions. They were set up to defend important factories and took their manpower entirely from the factory workers. "A" Troop protected the premises of the British Periclase Co. Ltd at Hartlepool, "B","C" and "D" Troops were at I.C.I., Billingham, "E" and "F" Troops defended the Royal Ordnance Factory at Aycliffe and "G" Troop, attached to the 23rd Durham (Washington) Battalion, were situated at the factory of the Washington Chemical Co. Ltd. These L.A.A. units often reverted to the first Home-Guard uniforms -armbands. They were usually at work when called to "Action Stations", and they would hardly have time to change! There were no Home Guard L.A.A. units on Tyneside because this area was well protected by the "Heavy" guns of the Tyne Gun Defended Area.

On May 29th 1941 the formation of Home Guard motor-coach and transport companies was authorized and in September 1942 such units were expanded and their names standardized as Home Guard (Motor Transport or M.T.) Companies. They were were trained to operate and maintain civilian transport, mostly lorries, which would be requisitioned in emergencies. On January 11th 1944 the companies were grouped into M.T. Columns in readiness for their possible use as a back-up to R.A.S.C. units in the build-up to the invasion of Europe. Four Home Guard M.T. Companies based in Newcastle formed the Northumberland Home Guard Transport Column, while companies at Gateshead, Bishop Auckland and Darlington formed the corresponding Durham Column. The Gateshead company -the "2081 (Durham) Home Guard M.T. Company- had its headquarters at "Lorraine House", 13 Lorraine Terrace. Members of the M.T. companies wore the identification letters "MT" beneath the County letters. It is worth noting here that the Blaydon Battalion seemed to have had its own transport, at least they had a garage at Market Lane, Swalwell which was earmarked "for W.D. Vehicle"!

The Home Guard was partially stood down on September 6th 1944 and the stand down was made complete eight weeks later on November 1st with final parades all over the country on Sunday December 3rd. Requisitioned property was handed back to its former owners and uniforms and equipment handed in. In Blaydon Battalion, the Robert Young Memorial Hall at Crawcrook, which had served as a Platoon Office and Store, became the Battalion Store where all collected materials were put until such time as the War Department were able to pick it up. No doubt, in typical army fashion, it will still lie in some M.O.D. warehouse just in case it is ever required again! The Home Guard was actually disbanded a year later on December 31st 1945.

Mention must be made of the Home Guard Cavalry and Navy! The former were officially called "Mounted Patrols" and were allowed where the terrain was best suited to such transport. By 1943, 44 Battalions had one or more; the nearest was the 2nd Northumberland (Alnwick) Battalion which, on May 27th 1942, was authorized to have a Mounted Patrol with eight horses. The "Navy" comprised 178 small boats on the Rivers Fal, Trent and Thames and six on Lake Windermere. This might also be the place to mention the Home Guard Carrier Pigeon Service which flourished throughout the war despite a ruling that after June 30th 1943 no more pigeon food would be supplied from Army Food Stores.

The "Dad's Army" image of the Home Guard, which the above examples can only reinforce, and which certainly has a basis in fact, is not the full story. We must not forget the reason for its existence - the very strong expectation of a German invasion, and we should reflect on the terrifying order stamped in crimson ink on the Home Guard defence plans - "LAST MAN, LAST ROUND". Who can doubt that this order would have been carried out. As it was the Home Guard did a marvellous job manning the coastal and anti-aircraft batteries and assisting police and A.R.P. during and after bombing raids - and they did suffer casualties: 1,206 died due to their service in the Home Guard and of these, 438 were killed in action or died of wounds due to enemy action. These men rightly occupy War Graves and are commemorated on war memorials, just like any other soldiers.

Before closing this chapter on the Home Guard, there are two other organisations involved in home defence which should be mentioned. First the National Defence Companies. The Durham Group of National Defence Companies was formed early in 1939. These companies, based at Gateshead, Sunderland, Durham, Bishop Auckland and Stockton-on-Tees, were set up to guard certain Vulnerable Points. A number of men from the Rowlands Gill and High Spen areas served in the Gateshead Company, but unfortunately their names are not known. In charge were Lieutenant-Colonel J.E. Stafford and Major R. Boyes-Stone, and their total strength was 18 officers and 500 men, mostly first world war veterans, with an average age of 45 to 50 years. They were mobilised on August 22nd 1939, when the code word ALLENBY was issued, and were immediately renamed 41 Group, National Defence Companies with headquarters at the offices of Messrs. Liddell and Stafford in the Royal Exchange Buildings, Hood Street, Newcastle (above Mawson, Swan and Morgan).

They were immediately enlisted, armed and provided with uniforms, and on August 24th they were ordered to occupy the 17 airfields, docks, ammunition depots and other Vulnerable Points assigned to them. They suffered their first casualty before war was declared; Private G.R. Milburn was killed on August 29th by a train on Croxdale Viaduct. In December 1939, 41 Group, National Defence Companies was renamed the 13th (Home Defence) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry. The Battalion also performed a useful function in training young soldiers until the Young Soldier battalions were formed. Officers and men trained by the 13th Battalion provided a nucleus of personnel for both the 70th (Young Soldier) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry and the 70th (Young Soldier) Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. (Most Young Soldier battalions disappeared early in 1942 when the conscription age was lowered to 18 years, but the 70th D.L.I. became a demonstration battalion at the newly formed G.H.Q. Battle School at Barnard Castle and survived until September 1943.)

In September 1940 the 13th Battalion gave birth to another, the 2nd/13th, and was itself renamed the 1st/13th (Home Defence) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry. However the 2nd/13th was renamed the 18th Battalion in December 1940 and the 1st/13th then reverted to the 13th Battalion once again. The 18th Battalion continued to carry out the original role of the 13th -guarding airfields and other Vulnerable Points- but the men of the 13th became anti-raid troops mostly at the radio stations of the Bomber Command airfields in Yorkshire. During 1941 the battalion was gradually converted into field force unit, as physically fit younger men took the place of the older ones. In November 1941 the 13th Battalion became the 30th Battalion D.L.I. and this battalion also absorbed the 18th D.L.I. which latterly had been guarding Vulnerable Points in Lincolnshire. Early in 1942, in preparation for taking on an anti-invasion mobile counter-attack role, all remaining older and low category men were posted to the 30th Battalion Royal Northumberland Fusiliers in exchange for all their fully fit men. Training proceeded over the summer of 1942 and then, in typical army fashion, on November 20th 1942 the 30th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry was disbanded.

People familiar with Home Guard organisation might well have been suspicious if they encountered men in Home Guard uniform with the identifications DHM/202, ND/202 or NRY/202 on their sleeves. If they challenged such men, however, they would have received no explanation, because these men belonged to highly secret organisation, details of which remain classified to this day. The 202nd Home Guard Battalion was merely a cover name for what would have been a nucleus of highly trained resistance fighters if the invasion had occurred. These men would have operated from specially constructed and well concealed bunkers scattered around the countryside. 500 such bunkers were constructed nationwide of which 27 were in Northumberland and 12 in County Durham. Such was the importance attached to these Auxiliary Units, as they were officially known, that mock air-raids were staged when the Tunnelling Companies of the Royal Engineers (184th Tunnelling Company in Northumberland) were blasting holes for the bunkers.

There was an Auxilliary Unit just four miles from Rowlands Gill; it was in the woods to the north of Beamish. The man in charge was the colliery engineer, Joe Harker. He recalled that when he was first recruited he had to go down to Sunningdale, between Bracknell and London, for an initial briefing. Naturally he was told not to talk about the reason for his journey, and when he arrived he was rather surprised to see that among the other recruits were the three men who had shared his railway compartment all the way from Newcastle!

The members of the Auxilliary Units had the most sophisticated equipment available and were highly trained in concealment, sabotage and killing; much of the training took place at a Guerrilla Warfare School at Coleshill in Oxfordshire. They even had a training manual with an inocuous cover which read "The Countryman's Diary 1939". They were generally recruited from men who were familiar with the countryside -poachers, gamekeepers, mole-hunters, farmers, woodsmen and miners were favoured. Their role was to create as much havoc among the enemy troops as possible - although it was generally acknowledged that they would be lucky to survive for more than a month. The Durham and Yorkshire units had their H.Q. at Whitby and those in Northumberland were run from a well hidden building at Shiellow Castle to the north of Belford. There were apparently a total of twenty such area H.Q.s around the country.

The headquarters of the "202nd Battalion" was initially at Earls Colne in Essex but later moved to nearby Witham. It covered the whole of England north of the Thames. The 201st Battalion covered the area south of the Thames and the 203rd Battalion covered Scotland. The administrative headquarters of the whole network was at 7 Whitehall Place in London and the officer in charge was Colonel (later General) Colin McVean Gubbins who was later to take charge of the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.).

Little has leaked out about the Durham units, but a few newspaper articles have been written about their colleagues over the Tyne. The man responsible for training the Northumberland units was Anthony Quayle, the actor; he was the "Intelligence Officer for Northumberland". He has written of his exploits - one in particular occurred when he assigned a unit to attack his car which he parked on a remote road. After waiting beside his car for 2½ hours he decided that the men were not going to make it, but when he got back into the car he found two of them in the back seat and then he noticed that two more were under the car and the remainder had him covered from a ditch on the other side of the road. Anthony Quayle was later parachuted into Albania to set up a resistance network there; he must be one of the few actors whose real life adventures surpassed anything he was called to do on the screen. The men of the Northumberland units were so highly regarded that they were given the job of protecting the Royal Family when they were staying at Balmoral.

Although members of the Auxiliary Units wore Home Guard uniforms as a cover, their unorthodox training activities were always likely to arouse the suspicions of police or genuine Home Guard units. To prevent the men being arrested as saboteurs, they carried a special pass which made it clear that the bearer was acting in an official capacity; it included the words "NO QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED BY THIS OFFICER".

The Auxiliary Units were stood down in November 1944 by which time they mustered around 3000 men. Their hideouts were blown up when the war ended, except for one in Northumberland which was, and presumably still is, underneath Inlandpasture Farm near Scremerston. Why are the files still secret? The answer is that the units had another task -the assassination of potential collaborators, prominent men believed to have been earmarked by the Nazis to set up a puppet government in this country. It is said that each unit had a "hit list" and were to carry out the executions by whatever means they could as soon as an invasion occurred. The people on the lists were never told that they had been targeted and, after the war, many potential victims and their would-be assassins continued to live in the same villages, sometimes even as neighbours.

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