THE GOVERNMENT has been urged to honour civilians trained in the Oxfordshire countryside to be Britain’s last line of defence against a Nazi invasion.

They hope it will break a vow of silence by those who attended Coleshill House, on the Oxfordshire-Wiltshire border, and record their stories for posterity.

Hundreds of volunteers were given intensive guerrilla training to create a defensive network that would attack enemy supplies from secret bunkers across the country.

The group was sworn to secrecy about their experiences, with many taking their wartime mission to the grave.

Now time is running out to find surviving members and researchers believe an official badge would prompt them to come forward to tell their stories.

Tom Sykes, founder of the Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team, said: “Many are either unaware that they are now allowed to talk about their experiences or believe that no-one is interested.

“Nothing could be further from the truth.

“It would be a tragedy if information about this remarkable group of men and women disappears as that generation fades away.”

It is believed 47 patrols of eight men were established in Oxfordshire alone.

Mr Sykes said: “For 70 years, these volunteers have been unrecognised.”

He pointed to similar honours for the Land Girls, who worked on farms, and Bevan Boys, who worked the mines.

He said: “Knowing very well that their mission was almost certainly suicidal, this group of brave volunteers should be publicly recognised for their commitment and service to the country.”

Dozens are thought to have served in the county – but not one has been identified.

Volunteers dug and stocked the heavily disguised bunkers with arms after their top secret training at Coleshill.

They were trained to assassinate collaborators and destroy Nazi supplies. Volunteers were told they would only last a fortnight before they were killed.

Many of the military bunkers built by the volunteers are still hidden. Some are believed to be in the Wychwood Forest.