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  #61  
Old 10-02-2013, 01:53 PM
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There is a website devoted to recording evidence of the "Auxiliary Units" formed in World War 2, and a section dealing with Northumberland. http://www.coleshillhouse.com/acklin...liary-unit.php
There was an Acklington cell based on Chevington Woods and some of its members were: Len Crackett, Jimmy Jobson, Harry Moscrop, JT Dalby, R Scott, TG Simpson, AE Smith.
Apparently these resistance groups were primarily set up on the east coast and the north east England one was, for a time, led by the actor Anthony Quayle.
The Evening Chronicle did an article on them way back in 1968 and the Northumbrian magazine has done some articles recently.

Having a bit more time today to study that website you link to. I see the underground base in Chevington Woods was built by 184 (s) Tunnelling Company R.E I can't find any reference to that unit except on that website? what am I doing wrong?
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  #62  
Old 10-02-2013, 02:08 PM
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I've been looking for the Amble Home Guard Battalion war diary, "16th Northumberland (Amble) Battalion, Home Guard" in the online indexes to the archives, and it looks like it's missing.
Do you know what platoon that was? I'm browsing Woodhorn catalogue for anything on there. There's a photo of No. 9 Platoon, "C" Company, 16th Battalion. Sadly I can't get a sharp enough image to show the names listed.
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  #63  
Old 10-02-2013, 02:16 PM
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Looks like "C" Company might be Alnwick District under the command of Major Millar. Woodhorn has his diaries (4).
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  #64  
Old 10-02-2013, 02:47 PM
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I think Alnwick was a separate battalion?

Good question as to how the companies of the 16th were distributed. Were they organised like a regular battalion? A HQ Company and 4 other companies?

Guessing: East Chevington and Red Row, North Broomhill and Acklington, Amble, and Warkworth?

I'll have a look at the Alnwick documents next visit to see what they're like.
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  #65  
Old 10-02-2013, 02:51 PM
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Originally Posted by janwhin View Post
Do you know what platoon that was? I'm browsing Woodhorn catalogue for anything on there. There's a photo of No. 9 Platoon, "C" Company, 16th Battalion. Sadly I can't get a sharp enough image to show the names listed.

The photos that Woodhorn has online - a while back you could click on the thumbnail and download a massive image. I think the website was broken but someone must have fixed it since then!
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  #66  
Old 10-02-2013, 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Coquet View Post
Having a bit more time today to study that website you link to. I see the underground base in Chevington Woods was built by 184 (s) Tunnelling Company R.E I can't find any reference to that unit except on that website? what am I doing wrong?
I've had a look at a Brian Pears website ( www.bpears.org.uk/Misc/War_NE )dealing with the auxiliary units and the home guard. He refers to the Royal Engineers (184th tunnelling company in Northumberland). Apparently a lot of this stuff is still classified because of assassination targets (likely collaborators). Another titbit, about the 170th tunnelling company, suggests that they were Great War units reformed, on the basis that trench warfare might recur. Very strange

Last edited by janwhin; 10-02-2013 at 02:56 PM.
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  #67  
Old 10-02-2013, 02:54 PM
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The photos that Woodhorn has online - a while back you could click on the thumbnail and download a massive image. I think the website was broken but someone must have fixed it since then!
You can double click to get a bigger image but now you need to buy them. Not broken just smarter!
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  #68  
Old 10-02-2013, 03:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by janwhin View Post
I've had a look at a Brian Pears website ( www.bpears.org.uk/Misc/War_NE )dealing with the auxiliary units and the home guard. He refers to the Royal Engineers (184th tunnelling company in Northumberland). Apparently a lot of this stuff is still classified because of assassination targets (likely collaborators). Another titbit, about the 170th tunnelling company, suggests that they were Great War units reformed, on the basis that trench warfare might recur. Very strange

The more you look the more units you find serving round here! What about those AA and HAA Gunners, and searchlight units.

Specialist Tunnelling companies was not something I was aware of for WW2. Especially not for Chevington Woods. Although I think the Royal Engineers turned Gibraltar into Swiss cheese during WW2.
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  #69  
Old 10-02-2013, 03:22 PM
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So much to learn and so little time I wonder when the Northumberland Home Guard records will be released, I think Brian Pears might be making use of some of the recently released Durham stuff.
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  #70  
Old 08-03-2013, 04:02 PM
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Default National Archives material

I was at the National Archives yesterday with my 'big list of stuff to look at'.
Managed to get through 3 documents in five and a half hours of work.

BUT... they're beauties

1. The Fort record book for the Amble Battery. (The Wellhaugh guns)

2. The war diary for the local Territorial battalion, The 7th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers in WW1 Apr 1915 - Jan 1918

3. RAF Acklington operations record book Aug 39 - Dec 45.

I took 1656 photos of the pages within these three. The Acklington book is about 420 pages (now photographs) and contains some fascinating stuff, including some accident reports for non-combat air crashes.

There's two small aerial photos in the Fort book taken in 1940 which shows the Wellhaugh area and our Lord Mayors Camp, with slit trenches around it.
Also a number of other plans, even the electrical system. Also part of the Fort war diary which refers to mines exploding, German aircraft, bombs being dropped by aircraft between the coast and the island, incessant air raid warnings and other stuff. There are a variety of other structures around the guns shown including a pair of BOPs (Battery Observation Posts).
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  #71  
Old 08-03-2013, 04:19 PM
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My main target doc. was no2 above (7th NF war diary), I promised myself to go and copy the war diary, I've kept that promise for 30 years and finally got off my butt and gone and done it.



I've probably wasted my time though as the National Archives are digitising the WW1 war diaries to be published on-line as part of the 100th anniversary of the start of WW1, but they won't appear until close to the actual time (Aug 2014). Note -some (a small percentage of) WW1 war diaries are already on line with the national archives but not this one.

Thing is - this box of documents at the NA described as the 7th NF War diary contains a vast amount of casualty lists and movement records of the men as well as the standard war diary pages. I'm not sure if the NA are planning on copying everything or if they are just sticking to the basic war diary pages, its quite a task if you include all the accessory lists and other material as well.
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  #72  
Old 08-03-2013, 06:07 PM
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In the Fort record book I'm looking at a sketch of the arc of the two guns. The beach at Amble (the 'big shore'), and the beach from Warkworth to Alnmouth are marked as 'landing zones'. the arc of the two guns is shown, with the extreme end of one being just able to shell Amble beach. The extreme of the other gun is shown as being able to shell the northern half of the Warkworth- Alnmouth beach, but I see the shells would be passing over the piers at Amble.
The south end of Warkworth beach is marked as "Dead Water" as it's outside the arc of the gun.
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  #73  
Old 08-03-2013, 06:32 PM
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A pair of 90cm Search Lights for the battery are shown, one to the south and another appears to be at the Salt Pans. Each had a generator building with a 22kw Lister generator in it.

I've noticed an old concrete 'ww2 looking' building behind the salt pans (directly behind the hill at the coast side of the east cemetery), I wonder if that is the generator building? anyone else noticed that one?
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  #74  
Old 08-03-2013, 06:36 PM
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Hollydog, there was a Lewis gun emplacement at the north corner of the quarry area at Wellhaugh, I bet those .303 bullets of yours came out of that!
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  #75  
Old 08-03-2013, 07:06 PM
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The establishment of the battery was 108 men and 4 officers, 103 from the Home guard, 80 of the Home Guard as gunners.

This appears to be a very significant part of Amble's wartime history. Ashamed to say I knew very little of this until this site started, apart from some notion of there being a 'gun on the hill' down the beach.
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  #76  
Old 08-03-2013, 07:41 PM
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Keep posting Coquet - its all very interesting stuff. Fantastic that you have the time and ability to go searching and sharing this information.
Thankyou.
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  #77  
Old 09-03-2013, 09:34 AM
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Default National Archives.

Couquet, will we see some of your discoveries?, they are very interesting you have whetted my appetite.
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  #78  
Old 09-03-2013, 02:00 PM
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I've asked the NA if we can use the small number of sketches included in the fort book, if we get the ok we can have a closer look at them on here.

I'll merge this thread onto the other WW2 Defence thread to keep this stuff together.
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  #79  
Old 11-03-2013, 01:25 PM
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We can add these now to this password protected site.
Can't escape the fee though for use elsewhere!
Copyright resides with the National Archives, I have had to watermark them and downgrade them somewhat, as per their rules. Although much quality is gone anyway as they are photographs of photographs taken with my camera.

This is an image of section of Amble beach. Early in the war. Date is 25.7.40
I'm assuming at this early date defence construction is just stating to get going post- Dunkirk?

one is an enlargement of the other. The guns are in the bottom right hand corner.

I wonder what the two cuttings are in the back dunes? looks like something dark coloured resides within.
Rifle range?
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File Type: jpg amble_beach.jpg (64.8 KB, 64 views)
File Type: jpg amble_beach2.jpg (54.8 KB, 61 views)
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  #80  
Old 11-03-2013, 01:31 PM
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Lord Mayor's Camp. The Guns (or the concrete housings anyway) are visible on the cliff.
Looks like tented accommodation at the quarry at this date.
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File Type: jpg lord_mayors_camp.jpg (139.5 KB, 59 views)
File Type: jpg lord_mayors_camp2.jpg (118.8 KB, 50 views)
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