28 • AUXILIARY UNITS
staff attached to the Allied High Commission in the capital, as was
his wireless operator, Nicolae Turcanu.
Althoughautonomousnever quite achieved what was expected,
and most of its members experienced a lengthy period of imprison-
ment, never certain whether they would be handed over to the Ge-
stapo, it was nearly instrumental in organizing a separate peace with
the Allies but, for whatever reasons, the link was to prove disastrous.
It was also to lead to a further clash between SOE and the Foreign
Office, with theEarl of Selborneaccusing Foreign Minister Eden,
in a memorandum in May 1944, of being too weak in dealing with
the Russians, and even of following a policy of appeasement. This
stinging criticism led Eden to rebuke Lord Selborne for ‘‘gross im-
pertinence.’’AUXILIARY UNITS.Created in 1940 in anticipation of a Nazi inva-
sion of Britain, the Auxiliary Units were trained at Coleshill House
in Wiltshire in tradecraft and techniques intended to harass an enemy
occupation. They were led byColin Gubbinsand John Holland of
MI(R), who trained clandestine patrols and distributed a sabotage
handbook,The Countryman’s Diary. Early in 1944, the organization
was sworn to secrecy and stood down, with most of its weapons
caches returned to the army. The existence of the Auxiliary Units
remained secret until referred to in 1957 byPeter FleminginInva-
sion 1940.
AYER, A. J.There was certainly no more improbable intelligence of-
ficer than Freddie Ayer, who gravitated intoNigel Clive’s section of
theSecret Intelligence Service(SIS) after a series of disappointing
postings. His initial efforts to join up were thwarted because his oc-
cupation, as an Oxford don, was considered reserved, and his experi-
ences at the Guards depot at Caterham and the officers training
course at Sandhurst did little to engender interest in regimental life
with the Irish Guards. Instead, with the dubious claim to fluency in
Spanish, German, and French, made on his behalf by the enthusiastic
daughter of his landlady, Ayer was posted to Headquarters London
District with the task of interrogating enemy prisoners of war.
Following the intervention ofRobert Zaehner, Ayer was offered
a transfer to theSpecial Operations Executive(SOE) branch in