The Coats Mission was a special

British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

unit established in England in 1940 for the purpose of evacuating King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and their immediate family in the event of a German invasion of Britain during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was led by Major

James Coats Lieutenant colonel Sir James Stuart Coats, 3rd Baronet MC (13 April 1894 – 26 October 1966) was a British skeleton racer who competed in the late 1940s. He finished seventh in the men's skeleton event at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Mo ...

, MC,

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

, later Lieutenant-Colonel Sir James Coats, Bt. The force consisted of: * A special company of the Coldstream Guards. There were five officers and 124 Guardsmen based at

Bushey Hall Golf Club Bushey Hall Golf Club, founded by Robert Stewart Clouston in 1889, is one of the oldest parkland golf courses in Hertfordshire. Originally opened as a nine-hole course, it was extended to the full 18 holes by 1893 and is now a 6,005-yard course ...

. Every officer and Guardsman was personally interviewed by Major Coats before being assigned to the company. * A troop of the 12th Lancers based at

Wellington Barracks Wellington Barracks is a military barracks in Westminster, central London, for the Foot Guards battalions on public duties in that area. The building is located about three hundred yards from Buckingham Palace, allowing the guard to be able to ...

commanded by Lieutenant W.A. Morris, known as the Morris Detachment. They were equipped with two

Daimler Armoured Car The Daimler Armoured Car was a successful British armoured car design of the Second World War that continued in service into the 1950s. It was designed for armed reconnaissance and liaison purposes. During the postwar era, it doubled as an inter ...

s and four Guy Armoured Cars. Their role was to evacuate the King and Queen. In addition, the four Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars based at the

Royal Mews The Royal Mews is a mews, or collection of equestrian stables, of the British Royal Family. In London these stables and stable-hands' quarters have occupied two main sites in turn, being located at first on the north side of Charing Cross, and ...

would be attached to the troop in the event of an evacuation. * A troop of the 2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry based at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

commanded by Lieutenant Michael Tomkin. They were equipped with four Guy Armoured Cars. Their role was to evacuate Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. * A

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

section of 12 men with four

Leyland Tiger The Leyland Tiger, also known as the B43, was a mid-engined bus and coach chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1981 and 1992. This name had previously been used for a front-engined bus built between 1927 and 1968. It replaced the Leyland Le ...

buses based at Bushey Hall Golf Club. Their role was to transport the Coldstream Guards company. *

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

from the Provost Company of the 1st London Division for escort and traffic control, commanded by Captain Sir

Malcolm Campbell Major Sir Malcolm Campbell (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948) was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times, using vehicles called ''Blue Bird'', including a 1 ...

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

. At Campbell's suggestion they were equipped with fast Norton International Model 30 racing motorcycles rather than the standard military Norton WD16H of the era. Initially, two of the Guy Armoured Cars in each troop had their guns removed and additional seats installed to carry members of the Royal Family. These were replaced by four specially built Daimler armoured limousines. Several country houses in remote locations, reportedly including

Newby Hall Newby Hall is a country house beside the River Ure in the parish of Skelton-on-Ure in North Yorkshire, England. It is 3 miles south-east of Ripon and 6 miles south of Topcliffe Castle, by which the manor of Newby was originally held. A Grade ...

, North Yorkshire;

Pitchford Hall Pitchford Hall is a large Grade I listed Tudor country house in the village of Pitchford, Shropshire, 6 miles south east of Shrewsbury. It was built c.1560 on the site of a medieval building and has been modified several times since, particula ...

, Shropshire;

Madresfield Court Madresfield Court is a country house in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. The home of the Lygon family for nearly six centuries, it has never been sold and has passed only by inheritance since the 12th century; a line of unbroken family ownersh ...

(

Earl Beauchamp Earl Beauchamp () was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The peerage was created in 1815 for William Lygon, 1st Baron Beauchamp, along with the subsidiary title Viscount Elmley, in the County of Worcester. He had already been creat ...

's home in Worcestershire); and a fourth, unnamed house (possibly Bevere Manor, Worcestershire) were designated as refuges.

reportedly replaced

Croome Court Croome Court is a mid-18th-century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Upton-upon-Severn in south Worcestershire, England. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown for ...

, Worcester (the home of the

Earl of Coventry Earl of Coventry is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation for the Villiers family was created in 1623 and took its name from the city of Coventry. It became extinct in 1687. A decade later, the second ...

), in 1940. It was also a

safe house A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is, in a generic sense, a secret place for sanctuary or suitable to hide people from the law, hostile actors or actions, or from retribution, threats or perceived danger. It may also be a metaphor. Histori ...

for King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

in the late eighteenth century, in the event of an invasion by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. Should invading German forces have reached the Midlands, the Royal Family would have been taken to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and evacuated by sea to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Hatley Castle Hatley Park National Historic Site is located in Colwood, British Columbia, in Greater Victoria. It is the site of Hatley Castle, a Classified Federal Heritage Building. Since 1995, the mansion and estate have been used for the public Royal Ro ...

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

was purchased in 1940 as part of this contingency. If that last resort option had been required, the family were to travel to Holyhead for transport to Canada by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. The mission was disbanded in 1942 and the task of evacuating the Royal Family in an emergency was transferred to a detachment from the

Household Cavalry Composite Regiment The Household Cavalry Composite Regiment was a temporary, wartime-only, cavalry regiment of the British Army consisting of personnel drawn from the 1st Life Guards, 2nd Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards. It was active in 1882 for service in the ...

References

{{reflist Military units and formations of the British Army in World War II Ad hoc units and formations of the British Army Protective security units Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942 Coldstream Guards Continuity of government British royal family

See also

References