This is my first post, hope you all like it. My explore of a British Resistance Bunker.
This is a British Resistance bunker just outside Selkirk, Scottish borders. Acording to www.coleshill.com it was discovered in 2015, although looking at some of the graffiti the locals found it sooner but didn't know what it was. If your interested in these. www.coleshill.com has lots of info.
Some history and background
Selkirk’s secret bunker, built for the British Resistance to fight Nazi occupation
After the evacuation of British Army land troops from Dunkirk in 1940, when the United Kingdom was near defenceless against a German invasion codenamed Operation Sea Lion, Prime Minister Winston Churchill drew up plans for a secret British resistance network of civilian spies and saboteurs trained in guerilla warfare.
Highly secret Operational Patrols, termed OPs, operated in a network of isolated, self-contained cells consisting of four to eight men. They were expected to be self-sufficient and autonomous in the case of invasion, from 500 hidden underground Operational Bases, called OBs, around the UK. Many are still to be found – their concealed entrances are almost invisible, unless you know where to find them.
The patrols were also provided with an arsenal of weapons, including silenced pistols or Sten guns, commando knives, plastic explosives, incendiary devices, and food to last for two weeks. Their life expectancy behind enemy lines was around 15 days and, if captured, they would be condemned to death as spies. Members were expected to shoot themselves first rather than be taken alive.
Selkirk’s bunker was discovered in March 2015, by the research team of the British Resistance Archive, and recorded on their website www.coleshill.com – named after the British Resistance’s training school in England. The historically sensitive site’s exact location is still secret, but the website discloses it sits in once-thick woodland, “within a high plateau with commanding views. Looking west the town of Selkirk can just be glimpsed. The patrol base is situated near to the other Borders patrols of Newtown St Boswells to the east and Galashiels to the north.”
According to the website, the Selkirk Patrol was inaugurated in early 1941, and must have formed a lethal Dad’s Army, composed of Cpl. J. Walker, Pte. W. Reid, Pte. A. Dryden, Pte. J. McKnight and Pte. A. Hunter, led by bank manager Sgt. J. Allen. They were equipped with a Thomson submachine gun, plus six sten-guns, service revolvers and fighting knives.
Enterance
Looking back up, Air ventilation pipe above.
The Bunker, Water tank, bunk beds and exit door
Exit blocked
View back towards the entrance
This is a British Resistance bunker just outside Selkirk, Scottish borders. Acording to www.coleshill.com it was discovered in 2015, although looking at some of the graffiti the locals found it sooner but didn't know what it was. If your interested in these. www.coleshill.com has lots of info.
Some history and background
Selkirk’s secret bunker, built for the British Resistance to fight Nazi occupation
After the evacuation of British Army land troops from Dunkirk in 1940, when the United Kingdom was near defenceless against a German invasion codenamed Operation Sea Lion, Prime Minister Winston Churchill drew up plans for a secret British resistance network of civilian spies and saboteurs trained in guerilla warfare.
Highly secret Operational Patrols, termed OPs, operated in a network of isolated, self-contained cells consisting of four to eight men. They were expected to be self-sufficient and autonomous in the case of invasion, from 500 hidden underground Operational Bases, called OBs, around the UK. Many are still to be found – their concealed entrances are almost invisible, unless you know where to find them.
The patrols were also provided with an arsenal of weapons, including silenced pistols or Sten guns, commando knives, plastic explosives, incendiary devices, and food to last for two weeks. Their life expectancy behind enemy lines was around 15 days and, if captured, they would be condemned to death as spies. Members were expected to shoot themselves first rather than be taken alive.
Selkirk’s bunker was discovered in March 2015, by the research team of the British Resistance Archive, and recorded on their website www.coleshill.com – named after the British Resistance’s training school in England. The historically sensitive site’s exact location is still secret, but the website discloses it sits in once-thick woodland, “within a high plateau with commanding views. Looking west the town of Selkirk can just be glimpsed. The patrol base is situated near to the other Borders patrols of Newtown St Boswells to the east and Galashiels to the north.”
According to the website, the Selkirk Patrol was inaugurated in early 1941, and must have formed a lethal Dad’s Army, composed of Cpl. J. Walker, Pte. W. Reid, Pte. A. Dryden, Pte. J. McKnight and Pte. A. Hunter, led by bank manager Sgt. J. Allen. They were equipped with a Thomson submachine gun, plus six sten-guns, service revolvers and fighting knives.
Enterance
Looking back up, Air ventilation pipe above.
The Bunker, Water tank, bunk beds and exit door
Exit blocked
View back towards the entrance