This country is at war with Germany. We shall go on to the end.

I remember the sheets of flame which came up and almost blinded us from our guns.

Alone, unprepared and weak. These are the words often used to describe Britain's position in 1940, a narrative that has persisted since the end of the Second World War. But is that the

whole truth? The reality might surprise you.

Welcome to the World War II podcast.

I'm Angus Wallace.

And today we're uncovering the fascinating story of Britain's secret defenses during the dark days of 1940.

Joining me is Andrew Chatterton, author of Fortress Britain, 1940,

Britain's unsung and secret defenses on land, sea and in the air.

In this episode, we'll be delving into the vital yet overlooked roles played by pillboxes,

the Horn Guard, auxiliary units and other covert organisations preparing to resist invasion. If you have attended We Have Wearsfest,

you might have seen Andrew sharing his knowledge on this very topic. Andrew, actually,

what I thought would be interesting to start with, and as we were just touching upon this

before we started recording, Britain is an island and there is a history of invasion threats.

I know famously we haven't been invaded since 1066, though that, I think that's technically

wrong, isn't it?

I think William and Orange or somebody invades.

But throughout the Victorian period, we have threats of invasion, or at least perceived threats

of invasion. I wonder if historically, there are defences in place that are sort of there

through the First World War up to the Second World War, that they're continually used,

reused, built upon, you know, it's, you know, you get to Dover

and you have that, it goes back 2,000 years to the Romans, isn't it, Dover Castle?

...