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Stechford and Rover Home Guard, the Alex and December 7th 1941

ChrisM

ChrisM

Super Moderator
Staff member
Saturday, December 7th 1941, exactly 67 years ago, was a noteworthy day. Apart from anything else, on that day the Stechford Home Guard (one of whose Companies was a Rover factory unit) put on a Grand Concert in aid of its Welfare Fund at the Alexandra Theatre.

The programme of this concert contains a number of local names. It, together with images of the units and details of one of its members, Eric Pain, can be seen here.

If any forum member has further information about these matters it would be very interesting to hear of it.

Chris
 
ChrisM, When i was 13yrs old 1942, i joined the Army Cadet Force at the former Wathes, Cattell & Gurden (Wacaden) shop on the corner of Coventry Rd/Gladstone Rd, S/Yardley there was a Home Guard platoon using the former dairy shop as their H/Q, on Sunday morrnings we cadets would march down Coventry Rd turn right into Clay Lane down to the Rover factory, the H/G`s would pass out to us a mixture of Ross & Long Lee Enfield rifles we then crossed over the Lane and were trained in arms drill on what was an old sewage works that had been filled in with boiler ash, Gilbertstone School is on the site now and opposite where the rifles were passed through the factory railings is now the DVLA driving test centre, our officer was Lt.Baugh and our H/Q Battalion was in Mary Rd, Stechford. Len.
 
Thank you, Len, fascinating memories and very relevant to what I have been trying to do on my Stechford HG page.

Dependent on how (and if!) this thread develops, I should like to include further relevant information like this - subject of course to your prior approval and that of any other contributor.

The background of some of the expanded images looks distinctive and I wonder if anyone could help establish where they were taken.

Chris
 
Chris, You have permission to use my memories on your site, if i remember more i will post them, my older brother was in 38 Battalion H/G based at Barrows Lane, Sheldon circa 1941 do you have any info on them?, i have searched with no result..Len.
 
Thanks, Len, good of you.

All that I know about the 38th is that officially they were regarded as covering the Acocks Green area. And I have a list of its officers - some 35 or 40 - who were serving in the Battalion on 1/2/1941. No NCOs or ORs, regrettably.

The Battalion was probably of a typical size, perhaps 800/1000+ strong (and you can multiply that up by the 30+ battalions which served in Birmingham). That's a heck of a lot of blokes. A number may still be with us and many of them will have descendants in the city - children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and even, as in your case, younger brothers. Nevertheless it's a problem bringing many of them to the surface so that they can be remembered!

Chris
 
Correction Chris, he is my older brother told fibs about his age said he was 17yrs but was only 16yrs will quiz him for more info (he will be 83yrs in a weeks time). Len.
 
Len,

I'm wondering if conversations with your brother brought to light any further information.

Should still like to use your own memoir but wanted to check first whether there is anything to be added.

Chris
 
My Bro Dennis Copsey told me there HQ was a large house off Coventry Rd, Sheldon in Barrows Lane they would spend nights on duty and do fire watching on the roof, he remembers the name of the Quartermaster officer was A.E.? Clarke, they went to the butts rifle firing at Minworth range, he applied for and received his Veterans badge it joins his Bevin Boys badge. Len.
 
i was on the ack ack at lea hall, we did nights on the rockets,which fired two at a time.At that time i worked at lawtons in garrison lane .
 
Hi Len,

I see tnat in 1942 you were in the army cadets at Yardley under Lt Baugh. I was too but only stayed in for a few weeks. Do you remember Ray Eynon who was a L/Cpl.? he married my cousin

Old Boy (Chris beresford)
 
Old Boy said:
Hi Len,

I see tnat in 1942 you were in the army cadets at Yardley under Lt Baugh. I was too but only stayed in for a few weeks. Do you remember Ray Eynon who was a L/Cpl.? he married my cousin

Old Boy (Chris beresford)
Click to expand...
Hi Chris, The name Eynon rings a bell but i can not say i remember him, what school did he go to & what was his home district? they might jog the old memory. Len.
 
Hi Len,

Ray Eynon lived in Redhill Road and probably went to Redhill School. He worked at Latch and Batchelor in Hay Mills for all his working life. When he got married he went to live in Sheldon.

I did find the web page interesting but there was no person liosted who I know.

Chris
 
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