Looking towards the summit of Blaenavon Mountain

            A autumn visit to the remaining Auxiliary Unit Operational Base at Blaenavon, South Wales. The site is very accessible, being close to a car park and just off a public footpath to the summit of Blaenavon Mountain. It sits in an exposed location which is leading to its increasingly rapid deterioration.

I won't try to explain the history of the Auxiliary Units, only to stay that at the peak in 1941 there were estimated to be over 1,000 small units of highly trained volunteers that would inflict a guerrilla war on any invading force to the British Isles. They were highly trained, and often had regular jobs within the communities within which they served. One unit did not know the identity of neighbouring units, nor were Operational Base locations shared. The purpose of the OB was to be a place where fighters could rest and resupply. There were a number of stations designated Zero stations; the callsign allocated to the operator of the radio net. These stations would have coordinated operations. As far as I know, Blaenavon was not a Zero station.

While most OBs were underground, this one stands out as it is not. The terrain, and selection of site, led to the station being constructed at ground level and being covered with stone and earth to the level of the small rock face to the rear of the base. What is also intriguing, is that this OB appears to have a larger pre-fabricated building constructed at the front of the unit. While only building rubble remain of this structure, I am doubtful that this would also have been camouflaged in the same way as the OB itself. Nor am I able to ascertain if this is a later addition, after the requirement for Auxiliary Units waned, or if this was an ancillary building that would have covered the purpose of soldiers being in the area, and the OB was a separate, secret, part of the site.

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Taken on: October 11, 2020

Tags:

auxiliary unit patrol

auxiliary unit

operational base

stay behinds

second world war

home front

dad's army

hideout

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Sets appears in: • Auxiliary Unit Operations Base - Blaenavon

Camera: Sony ILCE-6000, f/8.0, 1/500 sec, 18mm (=27mm), ISO 160 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony ILCE-6000
Lens:	Sony E 10-18mm F4.0 OSS
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Focal Length:	18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
ISO:	160
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	ACDSee Photo Studio 5
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