Malcolm Atkin Military Research
AUX. UNITS WEAPONS - 1940
The system of 8-man patrols operating from buried ‘operational bases’ was not introduced until mid-August 1940. The first iteration in July had placed the men under the responsibility of local LDV commanders who would consequently have been responsible for their supply. It was not, therefore, until August that the Auxiliary Units directly faced the problems of the supply of their men and then they faced a temporary ban until 1 September on the supply of arms to the Auxiliary Units. Even them, until late May 1941, local Territorial Army Associations (TAAs), who were responsible for the administration of the Home Guard within their counties, held the supplies of clothing, arms, ammunition and equipment for Auxiliary Units. This may have been responsible for some of the delays in issue. Only from late May 1941 was the responsibility for holding supplies formally transferred to the local HQs of the Auxiliary Units.
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Auxiliary Units manual Countryman's Diary 1939 (published June 1944, just as the decision was taken to disband the organisation) showing 'Unit Charge' comprising 8oz gelignite with plastic explosive primer and two No.10 time pencils.
Replical Sticks of PE2 explosive
(Arterra Picture Library / Alamy)
Plastic Explosive
The most urgent weapon for the Auxiliary Units was explosives and the most advanced type currently available was the new plastic explosive 'plastic HE' or PE2. Technically, the first commercial plastic-type explosive was a Nobel gelignite, invented in 1875. This was improved in 1938 as Nobel 808 but during the 1930s Woolwich Arsenal was also working in a different direction, using the cyclonite-based RDX for what became PE2 – more stable, better mouldable and easier to attach to a target, faster and even more powerful. It also did not give the user the dreadful gelignite headache! When used as a primer with gelignite, the end explosion was four times more powerful and this cost-effective way of using the new, expensive, explosive was used in the early years of the war when supplies were limited. Seen initially as a tool for sabotage rather than the bulk supplies required by regular forces, Section D supplied its British agents in Sweden with small quantities of PE2 in November 1939 and in May 1940, 730lb were hidden in a cache in Norway, 129lb were left with the Dutch resistance and 1,107lb in secret French arms dumps.
As far as is known, Lampe's assertion that the Auxiliary Units were the first British troops to receive PE2 may be correct (although notice of its distribution had been first given to army units in June 1939). However, it would be surprising if it had not been included in the explosives supplied to the Independent Companies for their intended sabotage operations in Norway during April - May 1940 or to the specialist explosives saboteurs of the Section D's own Home Defence Scheme in May/June 1940. The threat of invasion to Britain in late May caused a rapid increase in production and most of the existing stocks at that time were then supplied to the Auxiliary Units as being the most likely unit of the British army to require compact explosives packs. By 25 August Section D Technical Section at Aston House claim to have had supplied them with 7,200lb. However, manufacture was both complicated and expensive. Training Officer Nigel Oxenden maintains that by the Summer of 1941 plastic explosive was no longer used by the Auxiliary Units, replaced entirely by the less satisfactory Nobel 808 gelignite, although the use of PE2 as a primer was still copied from earlier manuals into the Auxiliary Units manual Countryman’s Diary 1939, published in June 1944. This may reflect a recognition that the expensive PE2 was increasingly unlikely to be used in action and could be better deployed elsewhere. The new Nobel 'Plastic 808' was an effort to reduce costs and became the standard plastic explosive for demolition work in the British army in the latter part of WW2 - but this was not issued to the Auxiliary Units.
Commercial Nobel/Ibberson Crimping Tool (Model No.520505) as issued to Auxiliary Units. Used in the setting of explosives by crimping a standard No.27 detonator onto a fuze. The pointed end of the handle could be used to make a hole for the detonator in the end of a stick of explosive. Coil of Bickford instananeous fuze also shown.
Concealed Explosives
The use of explosives disguised as coal was yet another of Lampe’s claims for the Auxiliary Units. These, along with explosives disguised as animal dung and iron ore was an early piece of research carried out by Section D at its research laboratories in Aston House. The Brown Book of Section D, distributed from late 1939 to its agents abroad, refers to explosives concealed in pieces of coal or logs of wood.
In October 1939, Section D considered using ‘exploding iron ore’ to sabotage the loading facilities at Oxelösund and the ore transport system in Sweden. In June 1940 Section D and MI(R) established a joint store in Alexandria with six tons of ‘toys’ including Section D plastic explosives designed to look like camel droppings. In September 1940 Section D officer Geoffrey Frodsham had a stock of ‘explosive coal’ in his room in Zagreb intended to sabotage railway engines. With this long history and Section D organising sabotage across Scandinavia and the Balkans, particularly targeting railways where 'exploding coal' could be surreptitiously tossed into a locomotive coal tender, there is no reason to suggest that such booby traps were first used by the Auxiliary Units. A version was, however, included in their first supply packs. Oxenden explained: ‘The first dumps, ... included, besides 10lbs of Plastic Explosive and a mass of feeble and uncertain incendiaries, a hollow bronze casting of a lump of coal that could hold two ounces of H.E. and a detonator’. The reference to a bronze casting is interesting. The early experiments by Section D used real coal and necessitated the invention of a special borer that could cut through the coal without it splitting.
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Incendiaries
The predecessor of the Auxiliary Units, the Home Defence Scheme of Section D, relied on incendiary devices rather than explosives as, in the time thought available before invasion, these required little training for its civilian operatives and could be easily hidden. There were also advantages in that, placed so that the fire would quickly get out of control, incendiary devices could have a more powerful impact than explosives, cause additional confusion, and could be used to create effective diversions. They would be particularly useful in destroying the key targets of enemy fuel dumps.
The Auxiliary Units continued to be supplied with incendiaries which could be used alone, in combination or with explosives and delay fuses. In 1940 there were Tyesules - five-inch long gelatin capsules filled with paraffin and with one half coated in the chemical used to make match heads. These could be tied around magnesium incendiaries (large and small) to increase the effectiveness of the latter. There were also the AW phosphorous bombs (SIP grenades - see below) although their glasses bottles were more dangerous to carry on a mission.
Tyesule
Incendiary Tyesule invented by Section D and issued to HDS and Auxiliary Units.
(Photo: Dave Sampson)
The Tyesule comprised a 5in-long by 1.25in diameter gelatine capsule filled with 2oz of paraffin, with one half coated in the chemical used to make match heads. As well as being incendiary devices in their own right they could be tied around magnesium flares (Flares, type M) to increase their effectiveness. They were considered obsolete by mid 1941 but still continued to be used by the Auxiliary Units until 1943, with the obselescence not confirmed until the February 1944 amendments to Calendar 1938.
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Large Magnesium Incendiary
Thermite explosive contained in a black tin 8 inches tall. Fitted with match-headed fuse for immediate use. The match-head could be cut off and fitted with a No.10 Time Pencil or L Delay for a delayed action explosion..
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Medium Magnesium Incendiary
Medium Magnesium Incendiary 1940
The size of a fountain pen. A length of fuze is pushed through a thin washer that isolates the contents before use. The fuze could be match-headed or attached to a No.10 Time Pencil. A Time Pencil could also be directly inserted into the device. Described in Calendar 1937 (1940) as 'for its size, one of the most efficient incendiaries known' but it does not appear in later editions.
No.76 (SIP) Grenade
No.76 Self Igniting Phosphorous (SIP) Grenade
The No.76 Self-Igniting Phosphorus (SIP) grenade was invented by Albright and Wilson Ltd of Oldbury in association with Section D (and are therefore also known as ‘AW bombs’) in a desperate effort to provide an anti-tank grenade in 1940. It is a more sohisticated molotov cocktail, consisting of a half pint capacity glass bottle filled with a white phosphorus / benzene /water mixture. There was also a rubber strip that upon ignition would make the burning liquid sticky and more likely to stick to the side of a target. The bottle was then closed with a ‘crown cap’. The grenade could be thrown by hand or later fired from the Northover Projector. In June 1940 staff at Section D technical HQ at Aston House had taken a trial delivery of 5,000 SIP grenades from Albright and Wilson. They were sufficiently impressed to claim in their July report to have to have quickly distributed 4,000 of their stock to the Auxiliary Units HQ although this may have been an exaggeration. This may have been the source of Lampe's claim that the Auxiliary Units were 'the first to have phosphorous hand grenades' (p.78). 1,200 AW Bombs ar listed as being supplied by Section D to the Auxiliary Units in July 1940 but there is no evidence these were actually distributed until after 10 September. A progress report to the Prime Minister of 4 September 1940 advised that 'the distribution of arms has been held up pending decisions on policy a high level'. Consequently 5,000 AW Bombs (possibly including the original 4,000 from Section D) were expected to be finally delivered in the next ten days. This delay did not stop a demonstration of the AW bomb being included in the syllubus for the ‘Auxiliary Units Weekend Courses for Home Guards’ produced on 4 September. The first record of a distribution to the patrols is consequently after a distribution to Home Forces and the LDV/Home Guard. Apart from the temporary ban on supplying arms to the patrols, another reason for delay was possibly due to concern as to where they would be stored and an understandable caution to see how Home Forces would first handle the volatile new grenade.
Meanwhile, from mid-July, the SIP grenade had begun to be distributed to Home Forces with the priority being frontline army anti-tank defences and it is important to note that only 25% were allocated to the Home Guard at this time. Nonetheless, concerns were being raised by the Home Guard Inspectorate as early as 30 July over the storage of their SIP grenades, then described as 'Molotov bomb' but with an entry on 9 August making it clear they were discussing 'AW Bombs'. As it was vital to prevent the phosphorous from coming into contact with the air, at first they were simply buried by the Home Guard in garden trenches or in dustbins! Some were also submerged under water in ponds. Consequently the location of many caches was lost and they are still being discovered. Six million SIP grenades were produced by August 1941 but by then the army had been relieved to find better alternatives as an anti-tank weapon and the SIP grenade was now established as a primarily Home Guard / Auxiliary Units grenade.
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Booby Trap Switches Nos 1, 2 and 3
Booby Trap Switches
No.1 Switch (Pull)
No.2 Switch (Pressure)
No.3 Switch (Release)
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Invented by MI(R) in late 1939/40 and issued to conventional forces and then to Auxiliary Units as standard stores. With the changing role of the Auxiliary Units, the later devices produced by SOE from 1942 onwards do not seem to have been issued.
The No.1 (Pull), No.2 (Pressure) and No.3 (Release) Switches were issued to troops from late 1939/ early 1940. They are not mentioned in the original Auxiliary Units manual Calendar 1937 (1940) although 50 Pressure switches are, however, listed as being supplied by Section D to the Auxiliary Units in July and it is presumed more quickly followed. Both the No.1 and No.2 Switches were then described in Calendar 1938, published in 1942. The Switches were designed by MI(R)c (whichin November 1940 became MD.1) for general issue by troops, not just to clandestine forces. Stuart Macrae of MI(R)c / MD.1 explained that MI(R) ‘was to run a more or less legitimate outfit which was to produce unusual but legitimate weapons, the gentlemen concerned all being in uniform and therefore not to be confused with saboteurs’. The pressure, pull release and AP switches, together with the L Delay switch were consequently all later classed as standard stores.
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No.1 (Pull) Switch
No.1 (Pull) Switch with its internal mechanism below. The spring snout could hold either a detonator for a booby trap, or a length of instananeous fuze if being used as a simple igniter. A moveable bracket around the main tube allowed the Switch to be fastened in place.
Designed in September 1939 by MI(R) and went into production within a fortnight, being first used in the Finnish War. The novel internal mechanism design was based on the contemporary shirt collar stud. A screw cap at one end of a turned brass cylinder held the standard percussion cap and fuze holder. At the other end a larger diameter brass assembly contained the release mechanism. The striker pin was at one end of a hollow tube which was split at the other end had a bulbous head. The latter was pushed, against a compression spring, through a hollow plug where the split head was held in position by the sprung loading pin. secured by a safety pin. A brass ring at the top of the loading pin allowed a trip wire to be easily attached. A direct pull on the loading pin with around 4 pounds of pressure would then release the striker, allowing it to spring back through the plug and fire the percussion cap, attached to an explosive charge. The Pull Switch was usually chemically treated to give a dark green finish. The overall length was 4” (10 cm).
No.2 (Pressure) Switch
No.2 (Pressure) Switch Mk2
Originally designed by MI(R)c in early 1939 by Millis Jefferies for destroying railway lines. It was designed to be hidden under an object or camouflaged. If trodden upon, a plunger sheared off a metal pin which released the spring-operated striker. This then triggered the explosives connected by a standard percussion cap/fuze holder.
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The original pressure switch was based on a large brass casting which proved too heavy to be practical. It was
redesigned with a body and base cast from alloy in a single piece. A small boss is formed on the top of the body to accept the pressure plunger, capped with a small circular plate. The safety pin goes through holes in the boss and through the pressure plunger. This version weighed only 6 ounces and costing only 3/6d. The imprtance of the No.2 switch may be judged from the fact that 50 Pressure Switches are recorded as being supplied to the Auxiliary Units by Section D of SIS in July 1940. This may well reflect the original rationale of the No.2 Switch and the anticipated role of the Auxiliary Units in disrupting enemy supply chains, including sabotage on railway lines.
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No.3 (Release) Switch
No.3 (Release) Switch Mk1 in open position, with fuze adaptor incorporating firing cap. Beside it is the safety pin.
​The No.3 (Release) switch, invented in late 1939 became the main British release switch of the British army. Surprisingly, it is not included in the three Auxiliary Units weapons manuals but is known to have been issued to some patrols. It operated in reverse to the pressure switches. Resembling a small box with a hinged lid, it was placed inside or under something with the mechanism held in place by placing a a weight of at least 1.5lb on top. When the weight was removed the device sprung open, releasing a striker which triggered an explosive charge. This switch went from design to full production in only two weeks and about two million were made in Britain during the war at a cost of just 2/3d each. The original version has only a leaf spring and is commonly marked MD1 for those manufactured after November 1940. The design was then modified by having an additional wire spring fitted so that the striker hit the firing cap with greater force. The design was very effective and was produced in Italy towards the end of the war and afterwards. ​​​​
Fog Signal
Fog Signal Mk1A from SOE Catalogue of Devices 1944
This device is based on commercial railway fog signals, in use since the late 19th century. Smaller than the commercial version, the grey painted brass bowl, with a sheet metal base is clipped to the top of a railway line. It contains three percussion caps and a wad of quick match. If run over, the percussion caps would be squeezed against small anvils soldered to the base plate and would then ignite a hidden explosive charge. The advice was to use these in pairs, 1m apart.
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The initial target of many of the Auxiliary Units patrols was the railway network, in an effort to disrupt the enemy supply chain. This is emphasised by the inclusion of 1,560 fog signals in the equipment provided to the Auxiliary Units in July 1940.
Switch, No.8 Anti-Personnel
Switch No.8 AP. Designed in Spring 1940 as an anti-personnel device. Buried vertically in the ground, it would fire a bullet when trodden upon and was consequently known as the de-bollocker. (Photo: Dave Sampson).
Designed by MI(R) and issued in spring 1940 as a simple anti-personnel device that could be carried by all troops. A short spring-loaded tube with a pressure-sensitive trigger fired a modified .303 rifle cartridge (with a pointed steel bullet). With the tube buried in the ground, the tip of the bullet lay half an inch above the ground and when trodden upon would release the compression spring and striker. The short delay in firing gave it the nickname ‘the debollicker’ or ‘castrator’. 1,439,450 were produced at a cost of 2s each plus 1s for the cartridge. There is no evidence for Lampe’s statement that they received it before anyone else. It is not mentioned in the 1940 manual Calendar 1937 and is first mentioned in the 1942 Calendar 1938.
Switch No.10 Time Pencil
No.10 Time Pencils and tin.
In this early pattern, the time delay was denoted by coloured bands. Red = 0.5hrs and White = 1.5hrs.
In June 1939 Section D developed the No.10 Time Pencil. The early versions comprised a 5.75 in long tube made in three sections of copper, aluminium and brass, with a detonator attached over one end. A thin wire held back a spring-loaded steel striker. A glass ampoule containing an aqueous solution of copper chloride (developed by Bailey) would be broken by squeezing the copper barrel and would dissolve the wire at a set rate, determined by the concentration of the acid, and release the striker which would in turn ignite a percussion cap and thence a detonator. This would then set off the main charge. To avoid failure, the advice was to use them in pairs. Some of the prototypes were given to the Poles and their copies then brought back by Gubbins, leading to some confusing accounts of their origin. The first production batch of 3,700 time pencils was delivered to Section D in September 1939 and were immediately supplied to its agents in Sweden. They were supplied to the Finnish army in March 1940 during the closing stages of the winter war and to Section D contacts across Poland, Scandinavia and the Balkans. Some were even delivered to Johannes Jahn, an ITF member who had been recruited to Section D in January 1940 for sabotage in Germany. Having been supplied with explosives and Time Pencils, he was believed responsible in April for the derailment of a goods train between Aachen and Cologne. Some were then left with the early Dutch and French resistance in May 1940. Time Pencils were also used in the first sabotage expedition to Norway in May 1940, which damaged a power station. Unexploded examples then allowed German Intelligence to link Section D to railway sabotage in Austria.
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Exploded view of Mk.1 No.10 Time Pencil in which the detonator is crimped over end of percussion cap.
White Band = 1.5 hours
As with plastic explosives, under the imminent threat of invasion, production increased dramatically after Dunkirk (which has led to earlier production being overlooked) and distribution shifted to supply forces in Britain, with a stated supply of 67,400 to the Auxiliary Units by 25 August. They were designed work with military stores and explosives and so were not supplied to the HDS, it being stressed that the SIS organisations had to be ready to operate without outside support (so there was an emphasis on incendiary devices able to be renewed after occupation). By the end of 1940 over a million No.10 Time Pencils had been produced, with over twelve million produced in several variants by the end of the war.​
No.10 Time Pencil versions. Mk.1 is at bottom (red band = 0.5 hours). Here the detonaror has to be crimped to end of percussion cap. Mk.2 in middle is shorter and has a push fit detonator holder together with a removable strip that gives the time delay (yellow = 12 hours). Top is a later war tropical variant, sealed in an airtight, waterproof, sleeve.
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Switch No.9 L-Delay
No.9 L-Delay (photo: David Gordon)
The L-Delay was developed in February 1940, but because of the complexities of its manufacture, it only went into production in September 1940. It was probably issued to the Auxiliary Units soon thereafter. It does not appear in Calendar 1937 but was included in the 1942 manual Calendar 1938.
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Differing from Section D, as a War Office department, the technical section of MI(R) focused on devices with broad military application. Stuart Macrae explained the distinction, describing Section D as the ‘Cloak and Dagger boys’ while MI(R) ‘was to run a more or less legitimate outfit which was to produce unusual but legitimate weapons’ Along with the pressure, pull and release switches, the L Delay was consequently classed as a standard stores item.
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The L-Delay was of more sturdy construction than the Section D Time Pencil, better suited to general military use. It was based around a brass tube containing a time delay switch operating on the principle that a lead alloy wire will stretch and break at a set time at a particular temperature. Once the safety pin was removed, the wire was held under tension. The wire would then stretch and break, causing the striker pin to ignite a percussion cap, and thence an attached detonator and explosive charge. A tag attached to the safety pin stated the number of hours delay of the device and so once removed, any enemy discovering the device would have no idea of the time delay (as opposed to the different coloured bands painted around the early time pencils).
The methodology was, in theory, more reliable than the No.10 Time Pencil but also suffered from temperature variation. MI(R) did not believe that this was a serious problem as long as the users were ‘good guessers’ or carried a table of temperature variations. The L delay also suffered from the handicap of ideally having to be set vertically (to allow gravity to take its course.
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No.36M Mills Grenade
No.36M Mills Grenade with white dummy training grenade in background.
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The standard British army grenade from the 1930s. It is a 1lb 11oz weight fragmentation grenade with a 4 or 7 second fuse and a principal blast zone radius of 20yds. Fragments could, however, potentially travel up to 100 yards and as it could only be thrown a distance of 25 - 35yds it was recommended to be thrown from behind cover. This grenade was in very short supply in 1940 but is included in the 1940 Calendar 1937 (as it was, optimistically, in early Home Guard manuals). A progress report to the Prime Minister of 4 September 1940 advised that 'the distribution of arms has been held up pending decisions on policy a high level' but 10,000 grenades were expected to be supplied in the next 10 days. How many were actually issued to the Auxiliary Units at this time is not known.
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M1917 (P17) Rifle (and Ross Rifle)
The .300 calibre P17 (M1917) rifle became the iconic weapon of the Home Guard and two were also provided for each Auxiliary Units patrol. It is differentiated from the otherwise identical .303 calibre P14 by the red band painted on forestock.
(IWM)
The M1917 (known in Home Guard service as the P17) was a US modification in .300 calibre of the British .303 calibre Pattern 1914 (P14) rifle (listed officially in British Service as Rifle No. 3). It was accurate but heavy and, had a 5 round magazine (as did most contemporary rifles) as compared to the 10 round magazine of the British SMLE. It was the main rifle of US forces during the First World War but was then replaced by the Garand. Even so, some US artillery units in the Tunisian campaign used the P17 and it continued to be issued to rear echelon troops throughout the war.
In June 1940 an order was placed with the US government for 500,000 M1917 (P17) rifles, specifically for the Home Guard in order to relieve pressure on the limited number of British .303 calibre rifles. It became their iconic weapon. Special trains were used to distribute the first consignment of 12,000 carried on SS Eastern Prince around the country on 8 July 1940. By the end of July 500,000 had arrived in the country and by February 1941 733,710 P17 rifles had been distributed to the Home Guard. Two P17 rifles were also issued to each patrol of the Auxiliary Units with a report to the Prime Minister on 8 August stating ‘the men are equipped with rifles and grenades’. Some patrols did not, however, receive their rifles until October.
The issue of the rifle to the Auxiliary Units was part of the general issue to the Home Guard, despite it being widely considered unsuitable for their role. The reasoning behind the long and heavy rifles was certainly a mystery to the men and a March 1941 note on patrol methodology simply stated ‘rifles and bayonets are not suitable for the tasks undertaken by scout patrols’. Training Officer Nigel Oxenden commented : ‘American rifles, on a scale of two per patrol, were an early issue, nobody quite knew why, and this item was never afterwards changed.’ The rifles only became useful and ‘came into their own’ (Oxenden) from the summer of 1942, when the Auxiliary Units had the less covert mission as a reconnaissance force against the threat of German commando raids but even now this threat was mainly met by an increase in the issue of the now readily-available Sten gun. But in 1940 a rifle was still the mark of a soldier and this is seen most clearly in the fact that when the C-in-C Home Forces made the Home Guard a priority to receive the Thompson sub-machine Gun it wa because this would allow Home Guard Ross rifles to be released to the Field Army.
Even the P17 could not escape the mythology that has surrounded most aspects of the Auxiliary Units. Bob Millard recounted in 2008 to the Bath Blitz Memorial Project that his patrol had two P17 rifles ‘which we scrounged, or won, from the Home Guard. I don't know whether they knew they had disappeared or not but they turned up in the patrol’. There is no reason to suppose this legend was correct but in view of claims in 2022 that the Auxiliers received the rifle before the Home Guard, it may be noted that Millard believed these rifles were obtained from the Home Guard.
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A small number of patrols were issued with the Ross rifle instead of the P17. This was a pre-First World War .303 rifle of Canadian design. Although excellent for target shooting, the rifle aquired a poor reputation in the First World War for robustness in the field and was withdrawn from front line service in 1916 . It continued in service in the Second World War as a second line rifle and as such was issued to the Csnadian Navy, some coastal artillery units and the Home Guard.
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M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle
Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). The first automatic weapon supplied to the Auxiliary Units and the main light machine gun of the Home Guard
The .300 calibre Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) had a history going back to the First World War, but only became a standard issue to US forces in 1938 as a light machine gun. Technically a cross between a rifle and a light machine gun with a 20-round magazine, in effect it was seen as an approximate equivalent of the British Bren gun. 25,000 BARs were included in the June 1940 contract between the USA and Britain and it became the standard light machine gun of the Home Guard. Along with the P17 rifle, the first shipments of arms from the USA to the Home Guard included the BAR, with 2,000 BAR issued by 23 July 1940 and 7,400 by 26 July. Each was supplied with 750 rounds of ammunition. As with the P17 rifles, delays were caused by the onerous task of having to de-grease them.
This became the first automatic support weapon to be supplied to each Auxiliary Units patrol but was heavy and cumbersome to take on patrol. There is no evidence that the Auxiliary Units (as recently claimed in 2022) received it before the Home Guard although HQ might have had at least one for training purposes from mid-August. The 4 September 1940 syllabus for the weekend courses had a clear focus on training with the BAR but a progress report to the Prime Minister on the same day advised that 'the distribution of arms has been held up pending decisions on policy a high level'. Consequently 500 BARs were expected to be finally delivered in the next ten days. At the time there were c.400 patrols in the country. Given its unsuitability for their work, it is interesting that it was not replaced by the Thompson sub-machine gun until after May 1941.
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Fighting Knives
Britain had no tradition of officially issuing fighting knives. The early Scout Sections of the XII Corps Observation Unit made do with their pre-war issue clasp knives. These substantial knives had a spearpoint blade and were more suited to the purpose than the 1940 and later clasp knife with sheepsfoot blade.
Types of fighting knife issued to the Auxiliary Units
Rodgers commercial sheath knife (1940)
2nd pattern Fairbairn Sykes fighting knife (1941)
3rd pattern Fairbairn Sykes fighting knife (1943)
Knives were the obvious choice in the primary task of the Auxiliary Units patrols in creeping silently onto a target, with the possibility of having to eliminate sentries. A specialist fighting knife was not in the tradition of the British army, although in the First World War many soldiers had become accomplished in making their own ‘trench knife’ from discarded bayonets or even broken swords. At the start of the Second World War many of these still survived and many Home Guard enthusiastically continued the tradition and made their own knives or simply bought a stout sheath knife from a local gun shop. In 1940 at the Osterley Home Guard training school and in the publications of Wintringham, Levy and Langdon-Davies, the Home Guard were exhorted to equip themselves with a long slender fighting knife and many answered the call, buying up and converting the surplus bayonets that were still on public sale.Initially, the Auxiliers also had to find their own knives although some Intelligence Officers may have made their own arrangements, buying up stocks of cheap sheath knives from local retailers. The West Surrey 'Battle Patrol' of XII Corps Observation Unit simply made do with their pre-war issue army clasp knives. One Dorset Auxilier was even issued with a Stanley kitchen knife! Even later, some Intelligence Officers gave the Auxiliers the task of making their own fighting knife as a test - as in the training of the early Commandos. The first knives officially supplied by the War Office did not arrive until the end of August. These were the the cheapest sheath knives they could find! The Joseph Rodgers knife had a flimsy-looking 5.6 inch clipped blade, jigged bone scale handle and a cast alloy guard. This was a widely-available type, marketed by the Army and Navy Stores and reputedly already provided to local patrols by an Intelligence Officer in the South West. The first contract with Joseph Rodgers for 300 knives was not placed until 20 August. This was followed on 14 September 1940 with a contract to provide 1,000 more hunting knives specifying for ‘Aux Units’. A further order for 1,100 of the same knife was made on 6 November. 2,400 of these knives were therefore supplied by the end of 1940, enough for the current strength of Auxiliers. Far from the trope of Gubbins' 'blank cheque' to supply the Auxiliary Units, these knives retailed in 1939-40 for just 3/6d and were bought by the War Office for a contract price of 2/10d each. By comparison, a good quality 4.5 inch Rodgers sheath knife retailed for 9/6d and an order for 1,500 hunting knives from Wilkinson Sword on 14 November 1940 for SOE / commandos was priced at 13/6d each.​
In 1940, the Auxiliary Units were perhaps not thought likely to survive long enough to make any more substantial investment worthwhile and it is quite likely that the earlier Home Defence Scheme was issued with the same type of knife. As the risk of invasion lessened, however, ironically their equipment improved! From mid-1941 the Auxiliary Units began to be issued with the Fairbairn Sykes fighting knife,
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NB The distinctive Joseph Rodgers sheath knife is now widely sold as having 'Auxiliary Units connections' with a premium price to match. This type of knife (also made by William Rodgers) was produced in huge numbers before, during, and after the war and so any claim of a direct Auxiliary Units connection must be treated cautiously.
Handguns
Two types of handguns issued to the Home Defence Scheme and Auxiliary Units.
Colt 'Official Police' .38 revolver
Colt 1903 .32 automatic
In August 1940, Churchill famously added a marginal note to one of Gubbins’ weekly reports, 'these men are to have revolvers.' The precedent had been set earlier with the six-man sabotage teams of the Section D Home Defence Scheme who had already been equipped from 31 May with unattributable .38 Colt revolvers or .32 automatics together with 80 rounds of ammunition. Some of these may well have been retained by early Auxiliary Units cells which were formed from the HDS. Otherwise, handguns were only issued to the Auxiliary Units from September. Despite Churchill's intervention, a progress report to the Prime Minister of 4 September 1940 advised that 'the distribution of arms has been held up pending decisions on policy a high level'. Consequently 400 pistols were expected to be finally delivered in the next ten days. it is tempting to suggest that these were the 400 .32 Colt automatics supplied to the Auxiliary Units. By the end of September a 100% issue of .38 handguns had been made, mainly US Smith & Wesson and Colt revolvers but also with Colt and Beretta .32 automatics. According to Training Officer Nigel Oxenden, the ammunition followed much later and was on a much smaller scale than that supplied earlier to the HDS (12 rounds) - presumably because their role was anticipated to be only short term. The revolvers therefore only had a symbolic value during the invasion threat of 1940.
The revolvers became the main defining firearm that demonstrated the status of the Auxiliary Units to others. Indeed, they had to be dissuaded from openly toting their revolvers on the train to the Coleshill training courses as the sight of Home Guard other ranks with revolvers excited obvious curiousity. Hand guns were in short supply in the early years of the war and the rest of the Home Guard initially relied on those souvenir weapons from the First World War already owned by officers or their families. There was a consequent underestimate in the original reported numbers because many were nervous of admitting to an unlicensed firearm! The official supply eventually increased but there was never a general issue to other ranks. It seems likely the early issue of pistols and revolvers to the Auxiliary Units shared in the miscellany of handguns that were procured by the government from the stocks of British gun dealers or those being sourced by SIS from around the world. This procurement was continued by SOE from 1941 onwards as well as the thousands from the USA purchased under lend-lease. Although one of the initial defining elements of the Auxiliary Units' status, eventually they played a part in their downfall. Rather than keep a low profile to avoid scrutiny over their diminishing role (as Oxenden advised), they persisted in making demands for priority treatment in the supply of arms. On 2 February 1944 the Auxiliary Units had to be firmly told that they did not have priority for .38 pistol ammunition over field army units.
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Truncheons and Coshes
WW2 Lead-weighted wooden truncheon, studded with hobnails.
Worcestershire Auxilier with wooden club
(courtesy Mick Wilks)
One simple weapon of the Auxiliary Units was a lead-weighted wooden truncheons or rubber cosh. These were another inheritance from the savage trench fighting of the First World War. For the Auxiliary Units they were an obvious weapon to use in silently eliminating enemy sentries and rubber truncheons had already been issued to cells of the Home Defence Scheme. Their issue in 1940 might have been driven by War Office economics as much as utility. Many Home Guard, who knew of their use in WW1 also took the initiative in making such weapons, some studded with hobnails or six-inch nails. In the shortage of weapons within Home Forces they became an official issue and in July 1941 the War Office circulated designs for cudgels made from 19-inch lengths of gas pipe with industrial gears or sprockets welded to one end, or 15-inch lengths of rubber hose filled with concrete. In September 1941, Home Guard units were circulated with the offer of a 14-inch lead-weighted rubber truncheon weighing 1.25lb. These are a type previously issued to the HDS and also known to have been used by the Auxiliary Units. It would be interesting to know if this was the date of a general issue to the Auxiliary Units. The use of these crude weapons went beyond the Auxiliary Units or Home Guard. General Pile, head of Anti-Aircraft Command admitted that due to the shortage of rifles his men, like the Home Guard, were issued with cudgels and pikes but ‘we were asked to keep quiet about having them too.’
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Magnets and Limpet Mines
Large and small Magnets for use in improvised limpet mines. These are the type of magnet retained by a number of Auxiliers as a souvenir of their service. (IWM)
No mention is made of the official supply of limpet mines of the time to the Auxiliary Units. Instead, magnets were suplied to allow the auxiliers to build improvised limpet mines for land use against tanks, other vehicles and infrastructure. The concept evolved into the SOE Clam Mine, but there is no evidence that these were ever issued to the Auxiliary Units. Norman Matthews of St Levan patrol in Cornwall recalled making an anti-tank bomb using 2 ½ lbs dynamite attached to a magnet. Geoff Ratcliffe of East Bergholt, Norfolk patrol similarly recalled making a limpet mine by moulding plastic explosive around a magnet. The tactic was used in training how to attack parked vehicles, with a mock tank laager being laid out in the woodland surrounding Coleshill House. At a local level, a competition between patrols in Herefordshire involved each patrol having to place a magnet with the patrol's name attached on a piece of farm equipment in a local farm,]. The men had to get in, set the mines and then exit the farm without being spotted. Always useful, it is not surprising that magnets feature in the souvenirs retained by a number of veterans.
Secton D supplied 2,336 magnets to the Auxiliary Units in July 1940. These were 'large' magnets, with four specified for inclusion in each ‘Small Dump’ and sixteen in the ‘Large Dumps' distributed in 1940. These magnets were the standard ordnance store used in the hand-cranked magneto of the Type F Field Telephone. They weighed 10.5oz (300g) each,
A list of contents for the new Aux Pack Mk2 for Kent in December 1942 (15 distributed per patrol) contained five pairs of 'small' magnets and implies an earlier issue of these by including a note that magnets should be taken from the old packs. These were of the type used in the Type 6 limpet mine (introduced in January 1942) and weighed 7 oz (200g) each. The supply of such magnets may have been later dropped as the list of contents compiled for return in August 1944 makes no mention of them.
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Some Auxiliary Units patrols may, however, have had more unofficial access to regular Limpet Mines, supplied (officially or not) by SOE. This may be the case with the limpet mines as recorded as being held by a number of Cornwall and Devon patrols, where a key SOE base on the Helford river was under the command of Gerard Holdsworth, a former regional officer for the Section D Home Defence Scheme in East Anglia.