• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

The Home Guard - Geoffrey Bennett and the 39th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion

Hello Geoff, My Dad was in the Home Guard at the Corporation Salvage Department in Rotten Park Road if memory serves me right. He used to teach First Aid and I still have his First Aid Manual !! I used to polish the buttons on his greatcoat for him, but I was just a kid then....My Dad would have been 94 had he lived but he passed away in his 70's.
Anthea.
 
Last edited:
You are certainly a member of an exclusive, and highly revered, club, Geff. Any of your contemporaries have got to be at least 93 or 94. I only know of one other and he was in the Kidderminster Battalion. He is due to hit the century next month. I was hoping to meet him in March but the lockdown has put paid to that for the time being.

The main Home Guard thread in this Forum to which you first contributed in 2010 is still going strong. It's here: https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/home-guard.23811/ In one of your posts you showed us a photograph of your unit. Unfortunately that image was lost when the Forum was hacked some years ago. But you kindly gave me a copy and also some memories which have been in my website for the last ten years for all the world to see.

I've reminded myself that you were part of the 39th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion and that one of your exploits was a successful attack on Elmdon airfield! I have quite a lot of information about your Battalion online. You will have seen some of it - in fact you wrote part of it!! But here is a complete list, including your own page, in case there are any you haven't caught up with. Just click on the links to look at each of the pages.
The 39th Battalion and Pte. William Henry Bryan
The 39th Battalion and Pte. Geoffrey Bennett (Thanks, Geff!)
The 39th Battalion and Eric Pain
The 39th Battalion and Sgt. Jim Baker
The 39th Battalion and the Copsey Brothers
Warwickshire - Birmingham, Stechford Summary page
The 39th Battalion's 1941 Concert

There may be people you knew. Do you recognise anyone? And did you attend the theatre performance at the Alex on the day when Pearl Harbour was attacked? Do please let us know.

Thanks and good wishes.

Chris
 
Last edited:
Sad report in December 1940 where of one Birmingham Home Guard man was accused of trying to murder another. “Ragging” and some drinks led to one raising a rifle and telling the other that if he did not stop he would shoot, he later claimed that he did not know the gun was loaded.

What were the procedures in those days concerning live ammunition?
 
Pedrocut said:
Sad report in December 1940 where of one Birmingham Home Guard man was accused of trying to murder another. “Ragging” and some drinks led to one raising a rifle and telling the other that if he did not stop he would shoot, he later claimed that he did not know the gun was loaded.

What were the procedures in those days concerning live ammunition?
Click to expand...
I’m not sure, actually never thought about that. My father was in the HG and had a couple of medals for marksmanship, never knew why or anything about it.
 
NEVER point a weapon at anyone

When handling firearms, always assume there is a bullet in the chamber. Even if the weapon leaves your sight for a second, next time you pick it up just assume a bullet magically got into the chamber.​

  • Treat All weapons as Though They are Loaded​

    By treating every firearm as if it is loaded, a habit of safety is developed. Firearms should be loaded only when you are in the field or on the target range or shooting area, ready to shoot. Whenever you handle a firearm, or hand it to someone, always open the action immediately, and visually check the chamber, receiver and magazine to be certain they do not contain any ammunition. Always keep actions open when not in use. Never assume a gun is unloaded — check for yourself! This is considered a mark of an experienced gun handler!
 
Last edited:
Also on the Internet Archive…

“A comprehensive handbook for the Home Guard soldier that covered the object of the Home Guard, organisation, fieldcraft basics, observation and messages, obstruction and demolition, rifles and rifle shooting, automatic weapons, hand grenades, village defence and street-fighting, anti-tank, night training, anti-aircraft, gas, discipline and drill.”

 
mw0njm. said:
NEVER point a weapon at anyone

When handling firearms, always assume there is a bullet in the chamber. Even if the gun leaves your sight for a second, next time you pick it up just assume a bullet magically got into the chamber.​

  • Treat All Guns as Though They are Loaded​

    By treating every firearm as if it is loaded, a habit of safety is developed. Firearms should be loaded only when you are in the field or on the target range or shooting area, ready to shoot. Whenever you handle a firearm, or hand it to someone, always open the action immediately, and visually check the chamber, receiver and magazine to be certain they do not contain any ammunition. Always keep actions open when not in use. Never assume a gun is unloaded — check for yourself! This is considered a mark of an experienced gun handler!
Click to expand...
Follow Petes advice and NEVER pick up a gun with your finger on the trigger!
 
When i was in the army it was cock hook and look with a SLR similar drill with SMG GPMG or any other firearm we handled
A rifle is a rifle not a gun as a pistol is a pistol
We never left the actions open even when in the armoury
 
Donbogen said:
When i was in the army it was cock hook and look with a SLR similar drill with SMG GPMG or any other firearm we handled
A rifle is a rifle not a gun as a pistol is a pistol
We never left the actions open even when in the armoury
Click to expand...
I agree with all of the above. Safety with weapons became paramount in the 70s, particularly in Northern Ireland. My first Personal Weapon was the .303, it would've been possible to leave that rifle's action open but it never was.
 
A rifle is a long gun that has riflings (spiral grooves) machined into the bore (inner) surface of its barrel, imparting a gyroscopically-stabilizing spin to the bullets that it fires.


THIS IS MY SAFETY
1714632974429.jpeg
 

WARWICKSHIRE HOME GUARD TRAINING IN COVENTRY [Allocated Title]

Amateur film shot by Lieutenant Leonard Stanley North, a rifle instructor associated with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment during the Second World War, shows scenes of the Coventry Home Guard parading through the city, training in a variety of military skills, as well as relaxing between duties.
www.iwm.org.uk www.iwm.org.uk
archive.spectator.co.uk

HOME GUARD SHOOTING » 14 Aug 1942 » The Spectator Archive

By A H.G. MUSKETRY INSTRUCTOR In our densely populated country, shooting with ball ammunition must be subject to all sorts of safety regulations, and really safe sites for proper military ranges are not plentiful, especially in the immediate neighbourhood of towns. Most Home Guard units there-...
archive.spectator.co.uk

 
mw0njm. said:
A rifle is a long gun that has riflings (spiral grooves) machined into the bore (inner) surface of its barrel, imparting a gyroscopically-stabilizing spin to the bullets that it fires.


THIS IS MY SAFETY
View attachment 191115
Click to expand...
The only time i heard the term gun being used was when orders were issued to Gun Group or gun no 1/2 etc when on the range
This gun was the GPMG i was no 2 on gun no 1
after hearing gun no 1 which was GRIT Group/ Range/Indication/ Type Of Target followed by FBID
Full/Brief / Individual / Delayed when we was in a section we was referred to as Gun Group.
 
I imagine that the answer to Pedrocut's question about protocols at the time is that it was simple in the extreme. It certainly was for me. As has already been stated, a straightforward rule: "Never EVER point a firearm in the direction of someone, however absolutely certain you are that it is unloaded".

I can see in my mind's eye a moment in 1941 or early 1942. I'm standing on one side of the table in our dining/living room in Streetly, the heart of the house and where the faithful wireless set lives. On the other side of the table stand my father and my elder brother, just about to go off on an evening's or night's Home Guard duty. I'm impressed with the sudden alarm on their faces and both of them half-raising their hands in apprehension as I nonchalantly wave my brother's rifle from side to side in their direction. The ensuing lecture will never be never forgotten. I am either five or six at this moment. It seems quite a simple rule, really! And obvious, once you start to think about it.

Having said all that, I think we've drifted away from the main subject of this thread which was Geff's comment, some four years ago, that he was a survivor of the Bordesley Green Home Guard. He was then in his 95th year. He hasn't been seen on the forum since 2021 and I think we have reluctantly to assume that we shall not hear from him again. So perhaps we'll just leave this thread as it is, as a tribute to him and his service - Geoffrey Bennett, 39th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion, Home Guard.

I'll leave the thread open, in case someone in the future wants to make a further contribution about Geff or the 39th. But I'll amend the thread title to make it more specific and to discourage further non-historical discussion. The main Home Guard thread remains available to everyone, of course.

Chris
 
Junior Leaders Regt RA, 1958. I can hear the drill instructor now, bellowing 'GUN ? That's not a gun that is a RIFLE !'
And pointing to a distant, very shiney 25 pounder, 'THAT is a GUN !'
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top