The Wartime Memories Project

Information

The Home Guard was begun from the outbreak of war as local volunteer units which were formed in several regions, as an unpaid voluntary part-time force organised in county battalions under War Office control. In May 1940 the Government asked for men aged between 17 and 65 to serve with the Local Defence Volunteers, they were given military style training and sparsley equiped with army uniforms, weapons and amunition. Many of the men made their own weapons, a lethal mixture of pikes, clubs, knifes, molatov cocktails and fire traps. Due to the shortage of issued weapons the men used sporting guns if they were available. By the end of June one and half million men had joined and were undertaking training and mounting patrols to defend the British Isles against invasion. At the end of July 1940 the name was changed from Local Defence Volunteers to Home Guard.

Their duty was to form a back-up to the regular army should the Germans invade.

Whilst the main ranks were made up from men in reserved occupations, boys as young as 14 were allowed to join as messengers and the oldest volunteers were up to the age of 80. Each man was were expected to do 48 hours of voluntary service each month, on top of their daytime work.

It was not until April 1943 that "nominated women" were officially allowed to join in the roles of cooks, clerks and drivers. In July the women's branch was renamed "Home Guard Auxiliaries"

The Home Guard was officially disbanded on the 1st November 1944 as the threat of invasion had by that time evapourated.

My grandfather Frederick Richardson served in the local Home Guard and was awarded the George Medal for bravery. However, I cannot seem to find any record or reference to it.

I joined as a messenger 3rd. C.O.L.Battn.at 10 stone bldgs. Lincoln Inn (Inns of Court T.A.) in August 1940. Our O/C was Maj. Rose, a QC, a lot of members were either barristers or lawyers. I was 14yrs old at the time and lived at Drury lane, before going into the army at 171/2 yrs. Through the day I worked as a vanboy in Smithfield meat mkt. When I first joined with my bicycle, the only weapons we had were Pikes, which were nearly twice my height,later we got the american p14 rifle,and later still got a Piat gun,we also got a lot of training from the Hampshire regt. Before I got my uniform I just had a forage cap with the Royal Fusiliers badge and an L.D.V. armband, later we got issued with just denims before khaki issue.

George Burton

I am doing some voluntary work for Osterley Park which is now a National Trust property, as I am sure you are aware it was also one of the first places that the Home Guard used for training.

To mark the 60 years since the war there are a series of events that Osterley are running including exhibitions, memories books and a memories weekend. The weekend is geared specifically at anyone who was connected to Osterley Park during World War Two including all the members of the Home Guard who trained there. We would like to hear from anyone who was involved.

I am looking for Home Guard records and service numbers of soldiers who served in West Bromwich during WW2 does anyone know where I can obtain these from?

Thanks, Maurice

As an underage member (graduating from the Army Cadets aged 15) of No 1 platoon, 3rd (West Leicester) Battalion, Home Guard, I vividly remember during our training sessions, being shown a road block entry to the village which consisted of holes set across the road, into which we had to insert upright lengths of tram track cut into about six foot lengths. We were then shown how we should take one of these lengths, and ram it into an enemy tank track. Another masterpiece which we were instructed to do, was to use our Boyes anti tank rifle, which fired a half inch bore bullet, to dent the rim of a German "Tiger" tank gun turret so that it could not be traversed. The bullet itself was insufficient to penetrate the armour plate of the tank.

We later had a "PIAT" launcher issued to us. This had a missile loaded into a cradle and was fired from on the shoulder like a bazooka. The missile itself looked like a small bomb, with fins, but also it had a long point at the front. The principle was that the charge would go down this point, after penetrating the armour, and explode inside the tank. Fortunately, we never had need to try out these items in real life. After D Day, a lot of Home Guard units were used, on a voluntary basis, and at weekends, to pack various items of ordnance for use by the Army in France. Our particular task seemed to be make bundles of cross pieces for for the top of signal posts to attach the wires to,like telegraph poles.

I was called up just 4 days before Christmas in 1944, and went to Cameron Barracks in Inverness. I was told to report in my Home Guard uniform.

F J Swan

If you served with the Home Guard we would love to hear from you.

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As 2005 is the 60th anniversary of the end of World War Two, we are celebrating by extending the Wartime Memories Project to collect as much material as possible. If you or any of your family or friends would like to contribute we would love to hear from you.
If you live in the UK we may be able to arrange to have our professional video crew record the telling of wartime stories, to create a lasting resource which will be used for education.
We would love to hear from anyone who would be interested in taking part.

List of those who served in the Home Guard.

Cecil Adams (Feltwell)
Warren Back (Feltwell)
L/Cpl. J. Bacon( Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Sgt. A. Banks (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Alec Banham (Feltwell)
George Baxter (Feltwell)
Sgt. W. Hubert Bayliff (406th Coast-Battery, 562nd Coast-Regiment. HG) Read his story
Lt. T. Bell.('C' Company, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Pte. H. Boswell (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Walter Brown (Feltwell)
George Burton Read his story
Pte. A. Byers (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Sid Carpenter (Feltwell)
2/Lt. W. R. G. Carter. ('C' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Captain A. J."Jack" Caterer (Company Commander, E-Company. Workington Battalion)
2/Lt. S. Caux. ('C' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Major J. G. Chicken. ('D' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Capt. A. E. Church.('C' Company, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Cpl. W. Cockton. (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Alan Cooper (Feltwell)
Pte. T. H. Cowan (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Pte. W. Coyle. ('A' Company, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Lt. Crellin. ('D' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Sir George Crichton. (Windsor)
William Frederick Crosson. (Windsor)
Lt. L. L. Cunningham.('B' Company, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Frank Curtis (Feltwell)
Lt. F. Dempster. ('D' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Arthur Dennington (Feltwell)
Lt. J. Doggart. ('B' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Major C. A. Donnithorne, DCM. ('B' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
William Dryden (Greatham)
Lt. Dixon. ('D' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Col. T. Dix-Perkin. (Sub-District Commander, Workington, Cumbria)
Lt. W. Edgar. ('A' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Pte. J. Edwards (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Private W. Edwards, LAA Gunner, (E-Company Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Capt. W. G. Elliot. ('A' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
William Eyres (Feltwell)
Lt. J. Ferguson. ('C' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Lt. J. S. Ferguson.('B' Company, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Pte. R. Fishwick (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Charles Fletcher (Feltwell)
Len Fletcher (Feltwell)
Lt. T. Fletcher (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Jack Garner (Feltwell)
George Goss. HG Battery Sergeant Major of the 406th Coast-Battery, 562nd Coast-Regiment. Read his story
Capt. F. Gregory (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Bdr. W. Grimshaw (406th Coast-Battery, 562nd Coast-Regiment. HG) Read his story
Joe Grindale (Skelton, Cumbria)
Hicks (Feltwell)
Lance Sergeant Alfred Hall (406th Coast-Battery, 562nd Coast-Regiment. HG) Read his story
Lt. N. Hambler. ('B' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Major Patrick. J. Hammond (Company Commander, E-Company. Workington Battalion)
Lt. H. Harper.('B' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Lt. R. W. Harrison. ('A' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
William Harvey (Feltwell)
Major K.W. Hawker. (4th Billingshurst Unit.)
Gnr. Tom Hetherington (406th Coast-Battery, 562nd Coast-Regiment. HG) Read his story
Lt. G. Heyworth.('B' Company, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Major M. S. Hodgson. ('C' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Lt. J. Houghton. ('C' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Stephen Howlett (Feltwell)
Pte. J. Hunter (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Cpl. Ned Hunter ('A' Company, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Capt. Irving. ('D' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Edwin Irving (Skelton, Cumbria)
Major L. R. G. Jenkins, M.C. ('A' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Henry Johnson. (Feltwell)
Earnest King (Feltwell)
Lt. G. Kirkbride. ('D' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Ken Lambert (Feltwell)
William Land (Feltwell)
Lt. W. L. Laurie.('B' Company, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Lt. R. G. Lawson (406th Coast-Battery, 562nd Coast-Regiment. HG) Read his story
Margaret Leemans. (NAAFI Manageress on the 406th Coast-Battery, 562nd Coast-Regiment R.A. HG Workington.) Read her story
Kenneth Lemon (Feltwell)
Percy Lemon (Feltwell)
2/Lt. J. E. Little.('B' Company, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Tommy Llewellyn (Feltwell)
Capt. T. G. McKeating. ('D' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Lt. W. McKeating. ('D' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Pte. A. McMullen (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Pte. R. McNarry (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
T. Mitchell (Black Watch - Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Capt. J. Moffatt. ('A' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Mervyn Morley (Feltwell)
Lt. J. Mounsey (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Gnr. Will Muscott (406th Coast-Battery, 562nd Coast-Regiment. HG) Read his story
Pte. B. Needham ( Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Private H. G. Neill. ('C' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Capt. S. Ogilvie. ('B' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Jack "John" Orange (Feltwell)
Lt. T. Ousby. ('C' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Pte. R. Park. ('A' Company, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Sid Payne (Feltwell) Read his story
Cpl. S. Price (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Maurice Pryer (Feltwell) Read his story
Geoffrey Pylon (Feltwell)
Pte. S. Ray (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Herbert Reeve (Feltwell)
Reeve (Feltwell)
Col. Reid. (Windsor)
Frederick Richardson. Read his Story
Mr. Rothery. (Henfield.) Read his story
Sid Ryan (Feltwell)
Mr. Sandbash. (Woodmancote.)
Pte.R. Simpson (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Lt. E. Small. ('D' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Lt. H. Smith. ('B' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Raymond South. (Windsor.) Read his story
Jack Southgate (Feltwell)
Les Spencer (Feltwell)
Jonty Stalker (Skelton, Cumbria) Read his story
Lt. R. Stevenson. ('B' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Philip Steward (Feltwell)
F J Swan. (No 1 platoon, 3rd West Leicester Battalion) Read his story
Lt. E. W. Usher, DCM, MM. ('C' Company, Workington Battalion.)Read his story
Billy Vale (Feltwell)
Ernie Vine (Feltwell)
Stan Walker (Feltwell)
Wilfred Wash (Feltwell)
Pte. J. Watchorne. (Signal Section, Workington Battalion.) Read his story
Sergt. Major. Tommy Wilkinson (Skelton, Cumbria)
Bdr. Ernie Wilson (406th Coast-Battery, 562nd Coast-Regiment. HG) Read his story
Douglas Wing (Feltwell)
Jack Wing (Feltwell)
Dan Wortley (Feltwell)
Charlie Wright (Feltwell)
Ken Wright (Feltwell)
Raymond Wright (Feltwell)

If you have any names to add to this list, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch.

Links

The Home Guard