Resistance

Thinking, as one does at this time of the year, about wars past and present, I found myself in the vicinity of our only local World War Two pillbox. For those not familiar with the term, these were small, squat defense posts thrown up all over Britain in 1940 when a German invasion looked a serious possibility. They were located in strategic positions to guard routes and facilities that might be of advantage to the enemy. Most have long gone but some survive including this one on the edge of the secluded hamlet of Llanychaer. (External view of it here) It was one of two intended to defend an important munitions depot hidden in a nearby remote valley - sought but never found by the Luftwaffe.

This is the view from one of the embrasures in the thick concrete walls. Llanychaer does not have a war memorial and I wondered if that might be because it was one of the Thankful Villages that did not lose any members in the Great War. I'm not sure about that, but at least one local man did not return from World War Two - his name is on the war memorial in Fishguard a couple of miles away.

We naturally remember and celebrate those who have died in the national defence but a thought should also be spared for a little-known volunteer force whose services were never called upon in this country. The Auxiliary Units were hush-hush bands of resourceful local men recruited and trained in the early 40s to act as resistance fighters in the event of a military take-over. Around 3000 of these small patrols were formed nationally, their existence so secret as to have been unknown until fairly recently. Their instructions were to retire into concealed pre-constructed hide-outs in the countryside (mostly underground bunkers) in advance of the invasion force, stay hidden for two weeks and then emerge to carry out planned acts of sabotage and guerilla warfare. They were warned that they would be likely to remain operational for only a matter of weeks before being wiped out. There was one such cell in this very area, local farmers who knew the lie of the land and were ready to go to ground in defence of the country, just as did happen in France.

Anyone interested in the subject can find more information here, and I'd also recommend the novel Resistance by Owen Sheers, which is set in my own native region of the Welsh Border. Taking place against an alternative history of a WW2 enemy invasion, the story opens with six women in an isolated valley awaking to find that their menfolk have slipped silently away, in advance of the arrival of a detachment of German soldiers. During the subsequent winter isolation a variety of developments unfolds. Well worth reading for a glimpse of 'what might have been'.