Hawkchurch History Society presents

‘Churchill’s Secret Army: in Devon & Dorset.’

May 12 @ 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm at Hawkchurch Village Hall

Our friends at the Hawkchurch History Society are holding a talk titled, ‘Churchill’s Secret Army: in Devon & Dorset’, on 12th May 2025, 6:30pm – 9pm at the Hawkchurch Village Hall. Further details below.

Nicknamed ‘The Staybehinds’, Andrew Chatterton will talk about the highly secret, trained civilian groups who, as volunteers, were in reserved occupations or outside the age for the regular forces. Living along the coast, men & women (& sometimes children) formed a secret layer of defence in case of German invasion from the sea.  Highly dangerous – all signed the Official Secrets Act  – many died naturally without telling anyone, family included, what they were willing (and signed up) to do !

Andrew Chatterton is a WW2 historian and author, and is the Press Officer for the Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team (CART), with a fascination for the many Auxiliary Units set up in the southwest, and especially inland along the south coast.

Andrew will tell us about those local to us – the Axminster & Uplyme patrols – including our own ‘Out-Station’ at Fishpond Bottom; the home of the Briscoe family.