By Isle of Wight Observer
A series of talks about the ‘Secret Home Guard’ on the Isle of Wight in WWII have excited considerable interest, and brought forward new anecdotes, photographs and information.
The talks have been delivered by Sam Biles, whose grandfather, Harold, was a member of one of the patrols, across the Island with more planned. The proper name for these highly secret units was the Auxiliary Units, and they were set up on the orders of Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, in the darkest days of the war, when France had fallen to the Nazi war machine and Britain and its Empire stood alone against Hitler’s forces.
Patrols of 4-6 men were established around the east coast from Scotland to Kent and along the south coast from Kent to Cornwall and South Wales. Each patrol had a secret underground base into which they were to disappear in the event of invasion before surfacing again once the Germans had invaded, to assassinate and sabotage behind enemy lines. There were over a dozen such bases on the Island and auxiliers were drawn mainly from the farming community – men who could live off the land and who knew their way around after dark.
Sam said: “I have always been interested in local history, and my late grandfather was involved in this secret organisation. I found a few clues in old family papers and have thoroughly enjoyed researching the Auxiliary Units on the Island. I collated all the information into slides for a talk and, after an initial trial in Calbourne, have now delivered the talk to more than 300 people on six different occasions. It seems to be something that Islanders are really interested in.
“Many have relatives who were involved, though they rarely spoke much about their experiences. I am doing the talks for charitable causes where the opportunity arises, and also because it encourages people to come forward with more information and photographs, and it is a good thing to collect these stories before they are lost forever.
“If anyone has any information, please do contact me on 07973 898615 or sam@bilesandco.co.uk”
The Shorwell talk was attended by a granddaughter of Sgt Ewart Rapkins, who led the Sandown Patrol – she kindly provided Sam with some photographs and paperwork which have shed new light on their activities. The photos were all labelled with the patrol members’ names, and titled the Whizz Bang Gang – no doubt because of the bombs and explosives they used. Sam is giving the talk again in the coming months and venues will include:
Tuesday, May 7, at 7pm for Freshwater Horticultural Society in the Methodist Hall, Freshwater, Tickets £3 from Dawn Everest on 07904 716655; Thursday, May 9, at 7pm for Brighstone WI (open meeting) at Wilberforce Hall, Brighstone, Tickets £5 including tea and cake from elaine.boyer1@gmail.com; and Thursday, June 6 at 6.45pm for Shanklin History Society at Falcon Cross Hall, Shanklin. Tickets £1 on the door.
There is also a website where research into the Auxiliary Units has been collated, with a search function which allows you to explore the Auxiliers and their patrols on the Island.
You can find it at staybehinds.com.
Mal Butler