© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw
Coed y Caerau Auxiliary Unit Operational Base is a post-medieval and modern military installation located in Wales. The site was established as part of the Auxiliary Units scheme, a secret home defence network created during the Second World War to provide armed resistance in the event of German invasion. Like other operational bases of this type, it would have served as a concealed training and operational centre for specially selected and trained volunteers.
The base sits upon Lower Devonian rocks of the Early Devonian period, a geology of interbedded sandstone and conglomerate that characterises much of the Welsh landscape. This ancient bedrock provided a stable foundation for the military installations constructed at the site during the twentieth century. The local geology and remote woodland location made such sites strategically valuable for their inherent defensibility and concealment.
The site is protected and recorded by Cadw, the Welsh Historic Monuments Service, under reference MM346, reflecting its significance as evidence of Britain's civilian defence preparations during the Second World War. Auxiliary Unit bases like this one are now recognised as important historical records of the period, documenting both military strategy and the mobilisation of local communities in preparation for invasion.
Coed y Caerau Auxiliary Unit Operational Base is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MM346. View the official record →
Coed y Caerau Auxiliary Unit Operational Base is a post-medieval and modern military installation located in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference MM346.
Coed y Caerau Auxiliary Unit Operational Base dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a auxiliary unit site. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Coed y Caerau Auxiliary Unit Operational Base is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is MM346.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Round Barrow 57m South of Stock Wood (2.4 km), St. Mary's Churchyard Cross, Llanwern (3.7 km), Bishton Castle (3.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Coed y Caerau Auxiliary Unit Operational Base's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Coed y Caerau Auxiliary Unit Operational Base stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.