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Chatabix

S9 Ep 328 Where's Joe Now - Underground bunkers at Coleshill House

07 Dec 2023

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 16.555 Joe

Hello, this is Joe. I just thought I'd come on at the start and tell you quickly that this episode with Andrew Chatterton is actually a follow up to a previous episode we did with him that came out on August the 30th, 2023.

0

16.535 - 41.057 Joe

um so it might be worth going back to that one first because this is a follow-up to that the previous episode is called um specialist guest world war ii historian andrew chaston and he tells us all about britain's secret defenses loads about bunkers and stuff and then this is this episode is a follow-up where where i go and uh uh basically look at bunkers and stuff uh all right cheers bye

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141.815 - 147.501 Unknown

Hello. Hello.

0

156.912 - 176.545 Joe

How's your cold? Oh, just dreadful. How are you? Look, Banjo. Hello, how are you? Can you hear, Andrew, if you speak? Can you hear me? Yeah. Can you hear? Oh, you can? Oh, brilliant.

0

Chapter 2: What is the significance of Coleshill House in WWII history?

176.646 - 192.355 Joe

Yeah. Oh, he's going to hold. Andrew's got... Andrew's got... Can you hear me? I can hear you, yeah. Oh, there we go. You're right. So should we explain where we are? Do you mind explaining where we are?

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192.375 - 194.22 Andrew Chatterton

Yeah. So we are at Coleshill House.

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195.584 - 196.707 Joe

In near Swindon.

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196.727 - 199.615 Andrew Chatterton

Near Swindon, the headquarters of the auxiliary units.

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199.595 - 225.462 Joe

And we should say, if you haven't listened to Andrew's episode, do you know where we are? Yeah, it's not a proper way to say it now. No, I won't say it. You sound like Bungle. Honestly, you know when you're right in the centre of a bad cold? That's what you're looking at. He sits right in the centre of our cold and he apologises. Well, I'm going to apologise. Yeah, he's sniffing.

225.502 - 234.715 Joe

No, no, I apologise. I apologise for David. Can you, right, should we walk in? Right, so we are at the head, right, do you explain this, Fred?

234.735 - 257.141 Andrew Chatterton

Yeah, so we're here. This was the headquarters of the auxiliary unit. So this is where the guys from these patrols all around the country would come and train and learn how to assassinate people and blow things up. and destroy tanks and railway tracks. Unfortunately, the house burnt down, the main house burnt down, but there's still loads of stuff to see.

257.822 - 259.303 Andrew Chatterton

So we're going to have a little wander around.

259.343 - 260.044 Joe

The house blew up?

Chapter 3: What training did the Auxiliary Units undergo at Coleshill House?

763.053 - 773.567 Joe

Oh, my God. You and your claustrophobia, David. But you've surely got to sit dead still so no one can hear you scratching around. You've got to be still and you can't make any noise.

0

773.547 - 775.95 Andrew Chatterton

Yeah, because you're waiting for the message to come.

0

776.551 - 788.925 Joe

David, you'd be sneezing at the moment. You'd be coughing and going, oh, that's awful. Yeah, I would. He admitted he would. Wow, that's some cracking stuff.

0

788.945 - 793.831 Andrew Chatterton

Well, that's Special Duty branch. That's nuts. An example of the type of place they are.

0

793.851 - 813.982 Joe

Isn't that mad? Yeah. Do you know what? I feel totally humpy that school wasn't like this. Because I feel like I'd have so much more excitement if we'd done a pod first as a kid and then come to visit. Right. Or something like it, you know what I mean? Go, well, you're going to teach it, then we're going to go and see it.

814.002 - 826.16 Joe

Yeah, school should be the other way around, shouldn't it, when you're like 40 or 50-odd, potentially. Yeah, exactly. Kids should go to work and we should, anyway. Yeah, yeah. Well, this is a fantastic start. So, look, that's the chicken shed.

826.2 - 828.023 Andrew Chatterton

If you imagine the chicken farm, there's like dozens of these.

828.475 - 836.185 Joe

So there'd be chickens all around here and in the middle of it, there's a lad in the back of that communicating messages all over.

836.686 - 839.129 Andrew Chatterton

But as you can see, he's stuck in there.

Chapter 4: What unique features were used for secret communication?

1256.064 - 1281.694 Joe

Just letting Andrew know what's going on your end, David. Has Andrew listened to the Julian Tagg episode? The what? He'll know, he'll know. Have you listened to the Julian Tagg episode? Yes, I have. Brilliant episode. Oh, great. Oh, is this my new football club? Basically, Exeter are in the shit, Joe, big time. I know. I feel like I'm the fucking scapegoat.

0

1282.555 - 1298.66 Joe

My brother said it was only 10 weeks ago Exeter and Gillingham were both top of their divisions. And I was like, oh, yeah, that seems a distant memory. We were talking about getting in the Prem within five seasons. That's gone a bit far.

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1298.68 - 1301.284 Andrew Chatterton

David's expectations have been slightly managed.

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1301.304 - 1308.096 Joe

Yeah, have you managed your expectations? I'd say you can hear that. I don't know why I'm repeating the stuff Andrew's saying.

0

1308.377 - 1311.222

LAUGHTER

1311.455 - 1336.398 Joe

Yeah, it's a real bump down to it. I do see the point in going to watch. He said he can't see the point of going. I think, David, I think you've become like a normal fan now. Oh, it's bollocks, isn't it? He said it's bollocks. I guess it was quite funny for everyone when it first started because everyone was like, oh, Dave, It's so up for all of this.

1336.759 - 1358.402 Joe

And then everyone was like, I wonder when he'll hit a massive low. Yeah. And it's happening. Anyway. Anyway, back to this. Yeah. Probably more important than League One struggles. Yes, I'll say yes. Yeah. Well, this is a... What's this?

1358.422 - 1365.097 Andrew Chatterton

So when the house was in private hands, it's been the... One of the houses up to the entrance.

1365.117 - 1366.799 Joe

Just a random... Courtyard.

Chapter 5: How did the underground bunkers function during the war?

1901.469 - 1910.141 Joe

Well, I don't know. Might have bought something. Right. We could have done local radio from down there. Right. So, is this the hatch?

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1910.161 - 1914.788 Andrew Chatterton

So, this is the hatch. So, this is a much more, obviously, a much more obvious hatch.

0

1914.808 - 1926.983 Joe

Yeah. So, how would it have been covered? Because at the moment, it's quite... Chippings over it, actually. Chippings? Yeah. We get some chippings. Oh, I see. But what would they have done in there?

0

1927.143 - 1941.358 Andrew Chatterton

It would be complete. So sometimes this, you'd stick on foliage, so you'd do it completely covered. Sometimes it's just a tray over the top of it. And honestly, it wouldn't be, it'd be completely flush to the floor. So this is there for health and safety, which they didn't tend to worry about.

0

1941.539 - 1942.92 Joe

No, no, I should have made it.

1942.9 - 1953.602 Andrew Chatterton

so this is much more obvious but if you can imagine it flush to the floor covered in leaves and foliage without a distinct path or a memorial

1953.852 - 1956.074 Joe

Or Petra. Or Petra.

1956.955 - 1959.317 Andrew Chatterton

You literally wouldn't be able to see it.

1959.337 - 1981.598 Joe

Yeah, amazing. Sorry, Joe. This is a reconstruction again. I just need to know. This is a reconstruction. But as Andy said, this would have just been, this would have been, in the woods, you wouldn't have seen anything. It would have been just all grass and mud and everything. And then you wouldn't have seen that hatch, basically. But that is what it looks like for the purposes of,

Chapter 6: What was the experience of soldiers using the escape tunnels?

3297.187 - 3303.363 Andrew Chatterton

Yeah. So hopefully going up there, fairly soon. Oh, you haven't been up there yet? Oh, man. Oh, wow.

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3303.383 - 3332.2 Joe

Well, what do you think, David? Can I ask another thing? He's got another question, sorry. In, like, where I am, like South Devon, South Hams. Where David is in South Devon. Yeah. Does he think there'll be bunkers undiscovered? Do you reckon there'll be undiscovered ones in South? Yeah. Do you think so? Let me... Are you Googling? He's Googling whether there are any. Devon, he's got an app.

0

3332.461 - 3333.362 Joe

He's got an app.

0

3333.382 - 3334.844 Unknown

He's got an app.

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3334.864 - 3345.28 Joe

He's got an app. A bunker app. A bunker app. South Devon. Near Totnes. Near Totnes. So read out the Devon.

3345.36 - 3351.175 Andrew Chatterton

So I've got that's North Devon. That's down near Plymouth. So Brixham.

3351.836 - 3352.076 Joe

Yeah.

3352.096 - 3352.877 Andrew Chatterton

Brixham nearby.

3353.338 - 3377.441 Joe

Harberton, Maldrums. Harberton. Harberton, yeah. Is that near you? Yeah. It's where Nomi grew up, yeah. Oh, really? Well, there was a bunker when she was out playing. There is one in Harberton, is it? Yeah. So she would have probably cycled past it. They found it, though. So that's the bunker in Harberton. That's it there. It's collapsed that you... Oh, it's quite a fancy Pinterest.

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