Ivan Mower at the Secret Army HQ - Grove Wood

During WW2 there was a real fear of invasion and a secret army was established to slow down and hold back the enemy. The hope was that the delay would give the military forces time to regroup and establish an effective counterattack. The structure of the secret army was such that no-one knew the order of command and as such could not divulge that information if captured. Stradbroke had its secret army. Their job was to sabotage, infiltrate, assassinate and each of them had a life expectancy of just 10 days. Brave men. They wore the uniform of the Home Guard as cover but did not discuss with any one other than their recruited secret army comrades what they did. They were supplied with the best and latest weapons which were kept in a secret store. As far as we know these men were not called upon and when the war was over, they were not recognised as having served. No medals, no badges. That changed in 2013 when the government acknowledged their bravery and for the first time they marched past the Cenotaph.

SARA believes that six men at any one time served. When one recruit became unabled they would be replaced. Our understanding is that the following names served:

Ivan Mower, Ralph Clarke, Jack Warne, Ronnie Holmes, Russell Cattermole, Basil Hugman, Albert Mower, Bob Pitt, Walter Marjorum and Gordon Last.