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Fairey Battles, Viv. A 1930s three-man light bomber, manufactured for the first year of the war and quickly superseded by more effective types. Just over 1000 were built at Cofton Hackett, a late-1930s shadow factory adjacent to the main Longbridge site. Chris (Image source: IWM)

The building of really significant and expensive structures like this in late 1938 and early 1939 reminds us of just how inevitable the imminent conflict was regarded. I think that our own, Dad-built structure in the garden at home was probably completed - or very nearly so - by this point. I...

This is a useful thread containing helpful contributions and adding to our knowledge of Birmingham history. There is however a bit of concern amongst Mods that it will develop into nothing more than a Facebook-type "chat". We would like to get something solid, valuable and, most important of...

Has to be Women's Timber Corps, as first suggested by jukebox, doesn't it! What a nice image. Is there any background information about this lady, Sue? I imagine that these women could have served in any forested area of the U.K., wherever they were sent. And especially in the huge forests of...

Great to see all this information in one place, Viv! Are any of their descendants members of this Forum........? (So many of their surnames, including a couple of the unusual ones, are familiar). Chris

Lt.-Col. A. C. Baker A Great War veteran. He served in the RAF. (IF he were aircrew, and it is an "if" of course, it's surprising he didn't display his wings. Most HG officers with a RFC/RAF background did). Chris

I'm sure you are right, MWS. Memory is a treacherous thing and it's sensible always to be conscious of that. Chris.

That's an interesting question, especially for a history forum. I think we all have holes in our memory, wholly blanked out and probably for no good reason. Also of other things, often quite trivial, which again. for no good reason, HAVE survived. I walked to school, every day, for...

The detailed story of this Battalion - one of two which consisted entirely of City Transport employees, the 31st and 32nd Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalions - is online. (I don't like regularly putting links to my own website on the Forum but, for the convenience of anyone interested, this is...

I have been asked, off-line, whether there is a national memorial to the 1206 Home Guards who died whilst performing their duties, like several who have been mentioned here recently. I am not sure whether they are specifically mentioned in the Home Front memorial at the National Memorial...

And a rake of LMS coaches in the background. That should identify the location. Chris

Thanks for that, Viv. What would be nice would be to read some further reports on how effective this sort of thing was. And whether it was maintained throughout the war. There are one or two other places where this happened – in particular the Thames River Patrol – and I have seen recently...

There were medals for bravery and other distinguished conduct, Pete. Several examples of the George Cross/George Medal, many of those to Brummies; and a number of others, including awards of the B.E.M., King's Commendation, M.B.E. and O.B.E.

Thank you, Viv, that is a new one for me. I think it also escaped the gaze of Michael Minton in whose excellent book "Heroes of the Birmingham Air Raids" there doesn't seem any mention. These men were members of 23rd Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion whose area of responsibility included...

Thank you for your kind words, Pete. For the select band of members who follow the subject of the Home Guard, it might be useful to have a guide as to what I have available for Birmingham, all of which is accessible online (and some of which is there through the generosity of members of this...

Pete, Even though there was almost no acknowledgement of the fact, virtually all the information in that article was based on original work that I had done and published in my HG website, including the images which had been entrusted to me by correspondents. So let's cut out the middle man...

I'm sorry, I seem to have missed these two posts at the time, Paul. I should like to put a note commemorating Howard Fisher and his life and sacrifice in the Birmingham section of the staffshomeguard website, if that's OK with you. Before I do so, do you have readily available any further...

I went to a number of pantomimes and Christmas events at around that time, and earlier. I was 11. Normally at the Theatre Royal or the Alexandra, sometimes the Rep. But if I went to this one, I don’t remember anything about it. Possibly because it didn’t seem to have any famous names in it...

I have seen some pictures of a Home Guard man coming out of our Parish Room in Streetly, in Foley Road. To be honest, I'm not completely sure whether this was the day of the party. Or another day when the Home Guard were there. But I think it could have been the party because other pictures...

It's Saturday evening and I'm sitting at our dining room table. I am seven. I've got a blank sheet of paper in front of me and a pen in my hand. Mum has just told me, as she always does, to write neatly, watch my spelling, don't make any blots, and especially, DON'T KNOCK THE INK BOTTLE OVER...