Talk: Britain’s Secret Defences: Civilian Saboteurs, Assassins and Spies

Name: Talk: Britain’s Secret Defences: Civilian Saboteurs, Assassins and Spies
Start: 2026-04-23T19:00:00+01:00
Location: Winterbourne Medieval Barn, BS36 1SE Bristol, United Kingdom

Schedule

Thu, 23 Apr, 2026 at 07:00 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

Winterbourne Medieval Barn, BS36 1SE Bristol, United Kingdom | Stoke Gifford, EN

We are delighted to welcome Andrew Chatterton, author of Britain's Secret Defences, to The Barn to deliver his talk which focuses on the highly secret civilian organisations that were put in place the length of the country to defend the UK from a German invasion. All members of these organisations signed the Official Secrets Act with around 90% going to the grave without telling anyone of their wartime role.
This talk will focus on two key groups, the Auxiliary Units (men in secret underground bunkers who would have disappeared and then attacked the German supply chain using brutal methods) and the Special Duties Branch (women, teenagers, the elderly, vicars doctors etc who could stand on the street as the Germans passed through and then pass on information via dead letter drops, runners and wireless operators). For all involved in both groups the realisation that they could only be effective for a short amount of time meant they knew it was a suicide mission.
Come and hear their amazing stories.
This talk will also be live streamed via zoom. To book an online ticket please visit: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/winterbourne-medieval-barn-trust/t-yzaovzl
Book early and save with our early bird ticket prices. Available for all ticket types booked 2 weeks or more in advance of the event.
Parking for this event will be provided at The Barn. Parking is limited and must be pre-booked, so please advise at the time of booking if you need to a parking space.
We ask for audience to arrange car shares where possible to help reduce the number of cars on site.
If you need a specific parking space (eg. wheelchair accessible) or any accessible seating for the performance then please complete the relevant section at the time of booking.
Please follow the instructions provided in the pre-event email (sent up to 24 hours before the event) and parking stewards on the day to ensure we can fit as many people as possible safely in the designated parking areas.
Please do not park along church lane as this obstructs the road for other users and emergency vehicles. Please do not park anywhere other than designated Barn car parks for this event. We cannot control when other car parks are locked and may not be able to assist if you car is parked elsewhere.
There is plenty of bicycle parking at The Barn for those arriving on two wheels and space for drop off / collection if you would like to arrange this.
The Barn’s pop-up bar will be open for this event serving a small selection of drinks and snacks. Cash and card payments are accepted.
The primary purpose of this event is to raise money for WMBT and to support conservation, management, maintenance and improvement of the WMBT site.
If you wish to avoid the online booking fee then please contact the office to arrange a time to come and book in person.