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Home Guard

Thanks, Pedrocut.

A bit more about the Home Guard.....

One gloomy afternoon in early December, 1941, a Birmingham Home Guard battalion, the one responsible for areas of Stechford and Bordesley Green, put on an amazingly ambitious fund-raising concert at the Alexandra. The programme survives and I have recently put all of it online. A number of local professionals, some of them members of the HG, performed, as well as amateur entertainers. It was clearly a memorable afternoon, but until the following day no one quite realised just how memorable it had truly been.
The full story can be read here.

Chris
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Thanks, Mike. Away at the moment but I know a bit about this wonderful publication and will post further on the subject in a few days time.

Chris
 
I have alerted Wythall museum, yesterday, about this book as it concerns BCT.

UPDATE: I had a rely and am pleased to say that the Wythall Museum already has a copy of the book.
 
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This is a wonderful booklet. It was produced by the City Council at around the end of the war, in order to commemorate the service given by members of the City Transport Home Guard.

Each Garage had its own sub unit, manned entirely by employees. Their job was to defend and protect all the facilities at their place of work. The membership was so large that the subunits made up two complete Battalions, 31 and 32 Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalions and we are talking here about 3000+ men. This booklet provides a history of their activities, many photographs and, especially useful, the name of every single man who served within the units during the 4 1/2 years of their existence. And so it is a particularly valuable resource for anyone whose father, grandfather or other relative worked within the City Transport during the years of WW2.

It was greatly to the credit of the Council that they went to the trouble of creating this booklet. They did a similar thing with the City Utilities – water, electricity, gas, refuse etc.

I am lucky enough to own a copy, very generously given to me by a member of this Forum. I have reproduced it in its entirety online and if anyone wants to look at it, it is here:
http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/DotherReminiscences122A3132WarksIntro.htm
The contents of the Utilities booklet are also to be found on associated pages.

Chris
 
ChrisM said:
This is a wonderful booklet. It was produced by the City Council at around the end of the war, in order to commemorate the service given by members of the City Transport Home Guard.

Each Garage had its own sub unit, manned entirely by employees. Their job was to defend and protect all the facilities at their place of work. The membership was so large that the subunits made up two complete Battalions, 31 and 32 Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalions and we are talking here about 3000+ men. This booklet provides a history of their activities, many photographs and, especially useful, the name of every single man who served within the units during the 4 1/2 years of their existence. And so it is a particularly valuable resource for anyone whose father, grandfather or other relative worked within the City Transport during the years of WW2.

It was greatly to the credit of the Council that they went to the trouble of creating this booklet. They did a similar thing with the City Utilities – water, electricity, gas, refuse etc.

I am lucky enough to own a copy, very generously given to me by a member of this Forum. I have reproduced it in its entirety online and if anyone wants to look at it, it is here:
http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/DotherReminiscences122A3132WarksIntro.htm
The contents of the Utilities booklet are also to be found on associated pages.

Chris
Click to expand...
chris. i love reading about the Home Guard.i will look at that lnk later thanks. i remember having a uniform from derby HG.
off my grandad, i played in that when i was a kid for hours,even though it was huge on me.
 

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mw0njm. said:
chris. i love reading about the Home Guard.i will look at that lnk later thanks. i remember having a uniform from derby HG.
off my grandad, i played in that when i was a kid for hours,even though it was huge on me.
Click to expand...
ChrisM said:
This is a wonderful booklet. It was produced by the City Council at around the end of the war, in order to commemorate the service given by members of the City Transport Home Guard.

Each Garage had its own sub unit, manned entirely by employees. Their job was to defend and protect all the facilities at their place of work. The membership was so large that the subunits made up two complete Battalions, 31 and 32 Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalions and we are talking here about 3000+ men. This booklet provides a history of their activities, many photographs and, especially useful, the name of every single man who served within the units during the 4 1/2 years of their existence. And so it is a particularly valuable resource for anyone whose father, grandfather or other relative worked within the City Transport during the years of WW2.

It was greatly to the credit of the Council that they went to the trouble of creating this booklet. They did a similar thing with the City Utilities – water, electricity, gas, refuse etc.

I am lucky enough to own a copy, very generously given to me by a member of this Forum. I have reproduced it in its entirety online and if anyone wants to look at it, it is here:
http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/DotherReminiscences122A3132WarksIntro.htm
The contents of the Utilities booklet are also to be found on associated pages.

Chris
Click to expand...
What a pity other units of the HG didn't produce similar publications. I'd love to know more of my Dad's experience.
 


​
​

NechellsArgyleSt.jpg
Within the area of responsibility of the 25th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion fell the factory of M.B. Wild & Co. Ltd. of Argyle Street, Nechells, Birmingham. M.B. Wild was heavily involved in the war effort as were all mechanical engineering companies at the time. Among its products were balloon winches* and the Wild military assault bridge** (see below). The Company also was one of a number of manufacturers of the Universal Carrier, better known as the Bren Gun Carrier, a light tracked vehicle which was an essential part of the equipment of the British Army and other forces. Some 113,000 of these were built worldwide. There are memories of the test route taken as each vehicle was completed at the factory and started up. It would go out along Argyle Street, then right into Wharton Street, and then right again
BrenGunCarriercrop.jpg
down Cuckoo Road, completing the circuit and no doubt accompanied by the mixture of roaring engine, whirring transmission and clattering tracks remembered by anyone who has ever witnessed one of these vehicles being driven on metalled roads. (It is safe to assume that the example shown right heading a column of prisoners-of-war was photographed a long way from the streets of Nechells). The employees of M.B. Wild were proud that their first production batch of carriers saw service at El Alamein.


​


i do remember the factory .that made the bren gun carrier. it had a shelter just by spion cob park,it was bricked up but we dug a way in.
 
mw0njm. said:
chris. i love reading about the Home Guard.i will look at that lnk later thanks. i remember having a uniform from derby HG. off my grandad, i played in that when i was a kid for hours,even though it was huge on me.
Click to expand...


Pity you don't still have it, Pete! These things fetch a fortune on eBay now.

Chris
 
ChrisM said:
Pity you don't still have it, Pete! These things fetch a fortune on eBay now.

Chris
Click to expand...
yes chris. i have been looking. repo are a lot of tat. when i went to the senitaf nov,there was folks with the real items,not repro. and ww1 uniforms, there was a child about 10 giving a wreath.wearing a full ww1 uniform.he looked so smart.
back to HG batledress i looked at one,no webbing. no belt.or boots £400.
 
maypolebaz said:
What a pity other units of the HG didn't produce similar publications. I'd love to know more of my Dad's experience.
Click to expand...

There were a few. Some are very rare and unobtainable. These are the ones I have identified so far for Birmingham and Warwickshire. The website reference is to my HG website, link below. (Sorry, the illustrations aren't in perfect order)

Have we discussed previously where your father served, maypolebaz?

Chris

Warwickshire (incl. Birmingham)
- The History of the 45th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion Home Guard (Birmingham, 1945, E D Barclay; and 2015)

- The Triumphs and Tragedies of a Home Guard (Factory) Company: B Company 41st Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion Home Guard (Birmingham, 1946, W P McGeoch)

WeYouSalute.jpg


- The 29th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion Home Guard, May 1940-December 1944 (Birmingham, 1946, reproduced in its entirety elsewhere within this website))

31st32ndWarks061.jpg


- We You Salute: An Illustrated Account of Your Local Dads Army 1940-1944 - 1st Warks (Warwick) Battn.(1990, Roy Rowberry)


A-Zone.jpg


- Record of the Birmingham City Transport Home Guard, May, 1940-December, 1944 - 31st/32nd Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battns. (1945, reproduced in its entirety elsewhere within this website)

Leamington.jpg


- The Story of "A" Sector Warwickshire Home Guard 2nd and 7th Battalions (1946; and 2014)

- 105 Warwicks. Home Guard Rocket A.A. Battery Souvenir of Service (1945, A E Palfreman)

xSutton.jpg


- The Home Guard of Royal Leamington Spa 1940-1980 (Leamington, 1980, A. Kelly)

- Handbook of the 6th Warwickshire Battalion Home Guard (1940, W. Bigwood)

- Record of the Birmingham City Utilities Home Guard - 29th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battn. (1945, reproduced in its entirety elsewhere within this website)
 
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ChrisM said:
This is a wonderful booklet. It was produced by the City Council at around the end of the war, in order to commemorate the service given by members of the City Transport Home Guard.

Each Garage had its own sub unit, manned entirely by employees. Their job was to defend and protect all the facilities at their place of work. The membership was so large that the subunits made up two complete Battalions, 31 and 32 Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalions and we are talking here about 3000+ men. This booklet provides a history of their activities, many photographs and, especially useful, the name of every single man who served within the units during the 4 1/2 years of their existence. And so it is a particularly valuable resource for anyone whose father, grandfather or other relative worked within the City Transport during the years of WW2.

It was greatly to the credit of the Council that they went to the trouble of creating this booklet. They did a similar thing with the City Utilities – water, electricity, gas, refuse etc.

I am lucky enough to own a copy, very generously given to me by a member of this Forum. I have reproduced it in its entirety online and if anyone wants to look at it, it is here:
http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/DotherReminiscences122A3132WarksIntro.htm
The contents of the Utilities booklet are also to be found on associated pages.

Chris
Click to expand...
very good
 
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mw0njm. said:
very interesting reading
A secret Birmingham base taught the real Home Guard how to kill in ...
Click to expand...

Yup, I DO get a mention, in relation to a play they put on for training purposes. But I suspect that most of the other material on which the article is based (including the odd photograph supplied to me from a private family collection) came from my online stuff as well. If anyone wants to look at it, there is a lot more, including some good images, here: http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/DotherReminiscences60BhamFightingSchool.htm
 
ChrisM said:
There were a few. Some are very rare and unobtainable. These are the ones I have identified so far for Birmingham and Warwickshire. The website reference is to my HG website, link below. (Sorry, the illustrations aren't in perfect order)

Have we discussed previously where your father served, maypolebaz?

Chris

Warwickshire (incl. Birmingham)
- The History of the 45th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion Home Guard (Birmingham, 1945, E D Barclay; and 2015)

- The Triumphs and Tragedies of a Home Guard (Factory) Company: B Company 41st Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion Home Guard (Birmingham, 1946, W P McGeoch)

WeYouSalute.jpg


- The 29th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion Home Guard, May 1940-December 1944 (Birmingham, 1946, reproduced in its entirety elsewhere within this website))

31st32ndWarks061.jpg


- We You Salute: An Illustrated Account of Your Local Dads Army 1940-1944 - 1st Warks (Warwick) Battn.(1990, Roy Rowberry)


A-Zone.jpg


- Record of the Birmingham City Transport Home Guard, May, 1940-December, 1944 - 31st/32nd Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battns. (1945, reproduced in its entirety elsewhere within this website)

Leamington.jpg


- The Story of "A" Sector Warwickshire Home Guard 2nd and 7th Battalions (1946; and 2014)

- 105 Warwicks. Home Guard Rocket A.A. Battery Souvenir of Service (1945, A E Palfreman)

xSutton.jpg


- The Home Guard of Royal Leamington Spa 1940-1980 (Leamington, 1980, A. Kelly)

- Handbook of the 6th Warwickshire Battalion Home Guard (1940, W. Bigwood)

- Record of the Birmingham City Utilities Home Guard - 29th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battn. (1945, reproduced in its entirety elsewhere within this website)
Click to expand...

Yes Chris,
I identified the location of a photo of my Dad's AA Regt, taken at the Maypole.
 
Hello,
Would anyone know which home guard unit was based in Tyseley? My wife's grandfather Frederick Smith was a WW1 veteran who was a Sergeant but we know little about him. We believe he worked in a chain making factory. Many thanks Cliff Southam.
 
Cliff,

It is difficult to answer your question with 100 percent certainty. I'll explain why in a bit of detail as this might be useful now and also to members who look at this thread in the future.

A man would normally be a member of a Home Guard unit which was EITHER located close to his home OR was the factory unit at his place of work. These two locations could of course be totally different. As far as the former is concerned, every square inch of the City was the responsibility of one Home Guard Battalion or another (and there were around 32 of them, excluding anti-aircraft batteries manned by Home Guard men). Each of these Battalions would be split down into Companies and then further into Platoons, each of these sub-units being responsible for an increasingly small area, in the case of city locations perhaps just a number of streets.

No detailed map showing the precise area of responsibility of each Battalion seems to have survived (or, even less, in most cases, showing the areas of Company or Platoon responsibility within that Battalion's territory). If anyone could ever unearth such a piece of information – whether for example any evidence lurks somewhere in the depths of the Central Library? – they would earn my undying love and devotion! So we are usually left with bits of fragmentary evidence on which we can make an interpretation with varying degrees of confidence or otherwise.

Detailed information does however survive about men who were Home Guard officers in February 1941. So that if a man was an officer and was known to have lived in a particular area there is a good chance of seeing what Battalion he probably belonged to and relating his home address to the area covered by that Battalion. But officers were only about 5 percent of the total and this is of no help for NCOs or Other Ranks.

As far as Tyeseley itself is concerned, I have yet to see any evidence identifying precisely which Battalion (or Battalions) was responsible for the area. And so we can only talk about possibilities or probabilities. I think it's very likely that much of the area, just on the basis of geographical proximity, would have fallen within the responsibility of two Battalions who had their HQ in Acock's Green (but obviously with Company and Platoon HQs further afield). They were the 26th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion and the 38th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion. Other nearby Battalions were based in Moseley and Small Heath but obviously these areas were further away and are less likely contenders.

I'm very sorry that this is all so vague but it may be as far as we can get without any further information.

Chris
 
Chris
What about the enrollment forms for the home guard. Would they not give any information?
 
Good point, Mike. It's a question again of the extent to which they survived. And how early a man volunteered. (Units evolved and changed during the summer and autumn of 1940 and the first confirmation of something like the organisation which would continue for the rest of the war didn't become apparent until very early in 1941).

The information MIGHT be on a man's record held by the MoD. And, as I should have said earlier, it may be worthwhile therefore for Cliff to pursue that line of enquiry. It takes an age, it costs 30 quid or so and there's no firm guarantee that anything firm will emerge. But it might be worth doing. I have a page online which gives information on how to go about this - AND also on various other ways of tracing an individual man and his service. Some of these ways can often appear pretty obvious but the list of possibilities I have provided might just spark off a thought about how to pin an individual down. It can be seen here: http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/J9GeneralInformationSearchingforMembers.htm

Chris
 
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