During World War 2 Audley End House; or Secret Training Station 43 as it became known, was used by Polish agents who were stationed here and were trained in all aspects guerilla warfare before being parachuted into occupied Europe. In 1943 the house was placed exclusively under Polish control, a situation unique to the Special Operations Executive.
The training was tough and the pass rate was low, but a total of 527 agents passed through Audley End between 1941 and 1945.
A memorial to the 108 Polish soldiers who died in the service stands in the main drive.
A pillbox which stands in the grounds can be seen from the cache site.
This cache can be combined with our other caches Audley End - Sir Thomas Audley, WW2 at Audley End - Tank Barrier and Audley End - Thomas Howard to make a circular walk around the house and grounds of 2 miles. There are some lovely views of the house and surrounding area. There is no charge as the walk does not enter the English Heritage owned property. If walking from Sir Thomas Audley to Thomas Howard or vice versa there is a small stream to cross by stepping stones at N52.01.329 E000.13.715; however this can be avoided by walking a slightly longer way round to the east on the footpaths. This area can get quite muddy and boggy after rain.