Richard Banfield

Daughter - Shirley Hurford; "I was thrilled to find my fathers name on the website yesterday. Dad passed away October 2013 after suffering from dementia. He was a member of the Auxiliary. He told us lots of stories but as usual we never wrote anything down. His group I know was led by Norman Bartlett  [did Richard change Patrols ?] and the members that I remember him telling me were Frank Strawbridge, John Trott and Samuel Quick listed as living at Moorcox Cross. Sam must have moved to Cuthayes Farm, Sector, Axminster because Dad told us that the explosives were stored in the cellar of Cuthayes Farm. I was talking to to Frank Strawbridge's sister Betty Herrod yesterday and she has lots of memories of what they did during the war. Unfortunately all the members have passed away that I knew, the last one being Frank Strawbridge.

Mum [Joyce Bagwell] met Dad towards the end of the war and married in 1948. Mum says that Dad never told her that he was part of the Auxillary. We knew that he was in the Home Guard and that he handled explosive. I have asked Mum if she knew where his underground base was but she doesn’t know. We have one photo of Dad in his uniform stood outside of Parricks, his home.

The group would use explosives in the river and this would stun the salmon and bring them to the surface. Fish for tea !

They were training at the railway tunnel at Moorcox Farm one night and heard footstep on the gravel approaching. They thought it was the Germans invading but luckily it was another group of Home Guard.

Dad's group were issued with new boots and some of them attended a dance where a phosphorus flare was let off which they stamped out. The next morning he was shocked to find no soles left to his new boots.

The stories are all light hearted and we never realised that there was a serious side. As I said previously I wished we had asked more. Aunty Betty told me they were issued with hand guns and were taught how to kill".

In 1944 Richard Banfield was a lorry driver for J R Pratt & Son, Tytherleigh.

A few items from Richard's time in Aux Units were found in a now demolished shed including:

An empty No.27 Detonator tin (rusty outside, but with original felt pads either end),

5 inert (fired) No.8 detonators,

A Sterilising tablet tin (rusty outside, with original internal label)