Bachelors Hall

Radio construction

Bachelors Lodge sits in the grounds of Bachelors Hall which was a secret lair of the British Resistance, requisitioned by the army in the Second World War. The main house and coach house (where soldiers were billetted) was the nerve centre of what would have formed an underground network of resistance fighters ready to repel a German invasion. It was kept under wraps by the Official Secrets Act for 50 years.

Auxillary Units, the official name of The British Resistance Organisation, consisted of two groups; the “Home Guards”  who were trained in unarmed combat and  the less publicised ‘Signals’,  comprising around 100 men of the Royal Signals and 43 women from the Auxiliary Territorial Service. These women were called the ‘secret sweeties’ and were interviewed in Harrods of all places and then asked to catch a train to Haverhill and were picked up by an Army car and brought to Bachelors Hall!  The Signals,  who were also known as radio “hams”, were detailed to design a radio telephone set and the Signals HQ was established at Bachelors Hall where the sets were constructed in wooden cases, simple to use, able to withstand damp and to operate at ultra high frequency.  Signals personnel were trained here in the operation and maintenance of the sets, and from Bachelors Hall, three-man units were established in key positions around the coast from Scotland to Wales. 

This network of radio outstations involved over 3,000 civilians who gathered intelligence and all this from the Signal HQ at Bachelors Hall!  But in view of the fact that their lives depended on secrecy, no public recognition was possible but the current owners feel very proud and honoured to know the amazing history surrounding Bachelors Hall. Very little hard evidence of what went on remains but previous owners used to joke about the staircase being so worn because of all the hobnail boots and the current owners are known to have discovered an unusual finding in the grounds when exploring and digging and wonder if they’ve fallen upon an old “Dug-out” created for caches of ammunition and food.