Home Guard initially "Local Defence Volunteers"
Walter Rankin LDV painted in 1940 by Sir William Oliphant Hutchison
Active	14 May 1940 - 3 December 1944
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Role	Defence from invasion
Disbanded	31 December 1945

The British Home Guard (initially "Local Defence Volunteers" or LDV, or in slang, Look-Duck-Vanish, hence the name change) was a defence organisation active in the United Kingdom during World War II. Operational from 1940 until 1944, the Home Guard – comprising 1.5 million local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, usually owing to age – acted as a secondary defence force, in case of invasion by the forces of Nazi Germany. The Home guard also commonly referred to as 'Dad's Army' guarded the coastal areas of Britain and other important places such as factories and explosives stores. is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 337th day of the year (338th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A Home Guard is a part-time civilian reserve military force similar to a militia. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

Early development

The Home Guard began as the brain child of Captain Tom Wintringham, who returning from the Spanish Civil War wrote a book entitled How to Reform the Army, which, among a large number of regular army reforms, called for: Thomas Henry (Tom) Wintringham (1898-1949) was a British soldier, military historian, journalist, poet, Marxist, politician and author. ... Not to be confused with the Spanish Civil War of 1820-1823. ...

In addition to Regulars and Territorials, twelve divisions of equal quality to that of the International Brigade in Spain...formed the same way, by voluntary enlistment from amongst Ex-servicemen and youths.
How to Reform the Army, April 1939 p.74

Despite great interest by the War Office in the book's assertion that 'security is possible', Wintringham's call to train 100,000 men immediately was not implemented. Old War Office Building, seen from Whitehall, London - the former location of the War Office The War Office was a former department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1963, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence. ...

The first to grasp the nettle and form volunteer units along this line was Commander-in-Chief Walter Kirke. Witness to the destruction of Poland in September 1939, Kirke knew that it was only a matter of time before the tanks and war planes of the Wehrmacht came to Britain's doorstep. Kirke also knew that, in such an event, Britain would be woefully under prepared. Walter Mervyn St George Kirke (1877-1949) was the Commander in Chief of the British Home Forces during the Second World War. ... The straight-armed Balkenkreuz, a stylized version of the Iron Cross, the emblem of the Wehrmacht. ...

As early as 1939, following the torpedoing of HMS Royal Oak at anchor in Scapa Flow, Scotland, Winston Churchill wrote a letter to the Chiefs of Staff asking, "What would happen if 20,000 enemy troops were to land on the east coast of England?" The torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled explosive projectile weapon, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater toward a target, and designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ... For other ships of the same name, see HMS Royal Oak. ... It has been suggested that Gutter Sound be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the country. ... Churchill redirects here. ... Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States of America symbol The Joint Chiefs of Staff, photographed in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gold Room in the Pentagon on Jan. ...

General Kirke founded the Local Defence Volunteers in February 1940. Initially devised as a means to defend the critical port of Dover, the ranks swelled quickly with local volunteers, too old to enlist but eager to fight. Though not yet acknowledged by the British government, they began training to operate the batteries of four-, six-, and nine-inch artillery pieces which defended the port. Directed seaward to repel naval bombardment, these gun emplacements doubled in number with emergency positions which were being assembled even as the British Expeditionary Force left for Europe. While the coastal guns and the LDV stayed behind, the BEF marched to the borders of France and into battle. , Dover is a major channel port in the English county of Kent. ... A logo of Her Majestys Government. ... The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British army sent to France and Belgium in World War I and British Forces in Europe from 1939–1940 during World War II. The BEF was established by Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War in case the... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Official recognition

Secretary of State for War Anthony Eden announced the creation of the LDV in a radio broadcast on 14 May 1940 and asked for volunteers, four days after the German Blitzkrieg started in France and the Low Countries. The secretary of war in cabinet position was Henry Knox. ... For the eponymous hat, see Anthony Eden hat. ... is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the military term. ... For information about the confusion between the Low Countries and the Netherlands, see Netherlands (terminology). ...

We want large numbers of such men in Great Britain who are British subjects, between the ages of seventeen and sixty-five, to come forward now and offer their services in order to make assurance [that any invasion would fail] doubly sure. The name of the new force which is now to be raised will be the Local Defence Volunteers. This name describes its duties in three words. You will not be paid, but you will receive uniforms and will be armed. In order to volunteer, what you have to do is give your name at your local police station, and then, when we want you, we will let you know...

The announcement met with near-universal enthusiasm and over a quarter of a million men tried to sign up within the next 24 hours. The government had expected 150,000 men to volunteer in total, but by the end of the first month 750,000 men had volunteered. By the end of June 1940, there were nearly 1.5 million volunteers and the number never fell below a million for the rest of the organisation's existence although the peak was 1.8 million in March 1943.

On 17 May 1940, the Defence (Local Defence Volunteers) Regulations 1940 was passed, which officially brought the LDV into existence. Within ten days, the BEF had been pushed back and surrounded at Dunkirk. Field Marshal Sir Edmund Ironside former Chief of the Imperial General Stadd served briefly as its commander-in-chief. is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about a Second World War battle in 1940, for the 1658 battle of the same name see Battle of the Dunes (1658) Combatants United Kingdom France Belgium Germany Commanders Lord Gort General Weygand Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Ewald von Kleist (Panzergruppe von Kleist) Strength approx. ... Field Marshal William Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside (b. ...

In July 1940 the name was changed to "Home Guard" at Churchill's instruction.

The Home Guard also served as a cover for the Auxiliary Units, a force of more highly trained volunteer troops that would function as guerilla units if the UK was invaded. The Auxiliary Units (or Auxunits) were specially trained highly secret units created with the aim of resisting the expected invasion of the British Isles by Nazi Germany during World War II. Britain was the only country during the war to create such a resistance movement in advance of an invasion. ... Guerrilla (also called a partisan) is a term borrowed from Spanish (from guerra meaning war) used to describe small combat groups. ...

The Home Guard did not, initially, admit women to its ranks. Some women formed their own groups like the Amazon Defence Corps.^[1] Later a more organised but still unofficial Women's Home Defence (WHD) formed with many groups across the country. Limited female involvement was permitted later on the understanding that these would be in traditional female support roles and not in anyway seen as combatants.

The Home Guard was stood down in late 1944 when the danger of invasion was recognised as past and male members were rewarded with a certificate. It would not be until 1945 that those women who had helped as auxiliaries were recognised with their own certificate.

Weapons and training

British Home Guard improvised weapons

Initially the LDV were poorly armed, since the regular forces had priority for weapons and equipment. Their original role had largely been to observe and report enemy movements but it swiftly changed to a more aggressive role. Nevertheless, they would have been expected to fight well-trained and equipped troops, despite having being given only negligible training and weapons such as pitchforks and shotguns or firearms that belonged in a museum. Patrols were carried out on foot, by bicycle, even on horseback, and often without uniforms, although all volunteers wore an armband that said "LDV". There were also river patrols using the private craft of members. ^[2] Many officers from the First World War used their Webley Mk VI .455 revolvers. There were also numerous private attempts to produce armoured vehicles by adding steel plates to cars or lorries, often armed with machine guns.^[3] Some even had access to armoured cars, though these were makes no longer in service with the regular army.^[4] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1135x794, 128 KB) Summary Photographed at the Imperial War Museum, London. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1135x794, 128 KB) Summary Photographed at the Imperial War Museum, London. ... For other uses, see Pitchfork (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Shotgun (disambiguation). ... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I Infantry or footmen are very highly disciplined and trained soldiers who fight primarily with small arms(rifles), but are trained to use everything from their bare hands to missle systems in order to neutralize... Bicycle infantry are infantry soldiers who maneuver on the battlefield using bicycles. ... A modern-day knight in late medieval style plate armor, demonstrating jousting at a Renaissance Fair. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... It has been suggested that Webley & Scott Flare Guns be merged into this article or section. ... The Webley Revolver (also known as the Webley Break-Top Revolver or Webley Self-Extracting Revolver) was, in various marks, the standard issue service pistol for the armed forces of the United Kingdom, the British Empire, and the Commonwealth from 1887 until 1963. ... An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is a military vehicle, protected by armour and armed with weapons. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ...

Ex-Communist and Spanish Civil War veteran Tom Wintringham, a journalist and key advocate of the LDV and later Home Guard, opened a private training camp for the LDV at Osterley Park, outside London, in early July 1940. Wintringham's training methods were mainly based on his experience in the International Brigades in Spain. Those who had fought alongside him in Spain trained volunteers in anti-tank warfare and demolitions. For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... Osterley House with Stable Block to right Design for the entrance facade of Osterley House by Robert Adam A design for one of the walls of the Estruscan dressing room at Osterly Park by Robert Adam. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The three-pointed red star, symbol of the International Brigades The International Brigades were Republican military units in the Spanish Civil War, formed of many non-state sponsored volunteers of different countries who traveled to Spain, to fight for the republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939. ... Anti-tank refers to any method of combating military armored fighting vehicles, notably tanks. ... For other uses, see Demolition (disambiguation). ...

On 23 July 1940, the LDV was renamed the "Home Guard", a name suggested by Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Within a few months they were issued proper uniforms and equipment, as the immediate needs of the regular forces were satisfied. After September 1940 the army began to take charge of the Home Guard training in Osterley, and Wintringham and his associates were gradually sidelined. Wintringham resigned in April 1941. Ironically, despite his activities in support of the Home Guard, Wintringham was never allowed to join the organisation himself because of a policy barring membership to communists and fascists. is the 204th day of the year (205th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is, in practice, the political leader of the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the form of society and political movement. ... Fascism is a term used to describe authoritarian nationalist political ideologies or mass movements that are concerned with notions of cultural decline or decadence. ...

Standard Mk II Beaverette II light reconnaissance cars manned by members of the Home Guard in the Highlands of Scotland, 14 February 1941.

It was not until 1943 that they were a properly trained and equipped force. They were frequently equipped with improvised weapons, or non-standard ones purchased by the government from abroad. For example, large numbers of M1917 rifles were purchased for the use of the Home Guard. These used the (30-06) cartridge - an American 0.30 inch round which was a totally different ammunition from the 0.303 round used by the British Lee-Enfield rifle. A 2-inch wide red band was painted around the fore end of the stock as a warning since a 0.303 round would load but jam the rifle. That the similar in appearance P14 rifle was supplied to the Home Guard in 0.303 calibre that took the British round only added to the confusion. Image File history File linksMetadata IWM-H-7331-Beaverette-Scotland-19410214. ... Image File history File linksMetadata IWM-H-7331-Beaverette-Scotland-19410214. ... Standard Car 4x2, or Car Armoured Light Standard, better known as the Beaverette, was a British armoured car produced during the World War II. History The first version of the vehicle was built in 1940 by Standard Motor Company at the instigation of Lord Beaverbrook, then Minister of Aircraft Production... is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ... The M1917 Enfield, the American Enfield (frequently misidentified or mislabelled as the P17, P1917, or Pattern 1917), formally named United States Rifle, cal . ... Eight . ... Ammunition, often referred to as ammo, is a generic term meaning (the assembly of) a projectile and its propellant. ... .303 cartridge The . ... Lee-Enfield No4 Mk1 with bayonet, scabbard attached The Lee-Enfield was the British armys standard bolt action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle from 1895 until 1956. ... The Rifle, .303 Pattern 1914 (or P14) was a British service rifle of the First World War period that was principally contract manufactured by companies in the United States. ...

The Home Guard inherited weapons that the regular Army no longer required - such as the Blacker Bombard anti-tank weapon - or desired - such as the Sticky bomb. Their arsenal also included weapons that could be produced cheaply without consuming materials that were needed to produce armaments for the regular units - such as the Northover projector - a blackpowder powered mortar, the No. 76 Special Incendiary Grenade - a glass bottle filled with highly flammable material, and the Smith Gun - a small artillery gun that could be towed by an automobile. The Blacker Bombard was a cheap anti-tank weapon devised by Lt-Col Blacker in the early years of the Second World War. ... No 74 ST Grenade Type Hand grenade Nationality United Kingdom Era World War II Platform Individual Target Vehicle/Tank History Date of design 1940 Production period Service duration Operators United Kingdom War service World War 2 Specifications Type High Explosive Filling nitroglycerine Detonation Timed. ... The simplest World War II British Home Guard weapon devised. ... A modern black powder substitute for muzzleloading rifles in FFG size Gunpowder (also called black powder) is a pyrotechnic composition, an explosive mixture of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre or saltpeter) that burns rapidly, producing volumes of hot solids and gases which can be used as... US soldier loading a M224 60-mm mortar. ... No 76, Special Incendiary Phosphorus Nationality United Kingdom Date of design Service duration Type Incendiary Filling phosphorus, Detonation Impact Weight g Filling weight g Length mm Diameter mm Variants Number built 6,000,000[1] The No. ... Smith Gun and limber at The Royal Armouries, Fort Nelson. ...

Paratrooper defence

The use of German Paratroopers in Rotterdam, where Fallschirmjäger landed in a football stadium and then hijacked private transport to make their way to the city centre, demonstrated that nowhere was safe. Worse still, the airborne abduction attempt of the Dutch Royal family had failed only because the Dutch had possessed detailed plans of the operation well in advance. To counter the threat of an airborne assault, the Home Guard manned observation posts where soldiers spent every night until almost the end of the war continuously watching the skies, and initially armed with a shotgun. Nickname: Motto: Sterker door strijd (Stronger through Struggle) Location of Rotterdam Coordinates: , Country Province Government  - Mayor Ivo Opstelten  - Aldermen Jeannette Baljeu Hamit Karakus Orhan Kaya Lucas Bolsius Jantine Kriens Dominic Schrijer Roelf de Boer Leonard Geluk Area [1]  - Total 319 km² (123. ... Fallschirmjäger Fallschirmjäger photo taken from The Hague, Bezuidenhout during the invasion of the Low Countries, morning of May 10, 1940   (often rendered Fallschirmjager in English; from German Fallschirm parachute and Jäger, hunter; ranger a term for light infantry) are German paratroopers. ... “Soccer” redirects here. ... This article is about the building type. ... The Netherlands has been an independent monarchy since 16 March 1815, and has been governed by members of the House of Orange-Nassau since. ... An observation post is a position from which soldiers can watch enemy movements and direct artillery fire. ...

To spread word in the event of an invasion, the Home Guard set up a relatively simple code to warn their compatriots. For instance, the word 'Cromwell' indicated that a paratrooper invasion was imminent, and 'Oliver' meant that said invasion had commenced. Additionally, the Home Guard arranged to use church bells as a call-to-arms for the rest of the LDV. This led to a series of complex rules governing who had keys to bell towers, also the ringing of church bells was forbidden at all other times. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658) was an English military and political leader best known for his involvement in making England into a republican Commonwealth and for his later role as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. ... Church bell from Saleby, Västergötland, Sweden containing an inscription from 1228 in the Runic alphabet A church bell is a bell which is rung in a (especially Christian) church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding... Bell Tower is an office tower in Edmonton, Canada. ...

Anti-aircraft defences

The first line of defence against the Luftwaffe was detecting incoming raids. Even before the war, Britain had invested much time and resources into the construction of the Chain Home radar line. The CH system which dotted the English coastline operated on a 24 hour schedule, and could detect incoming aircraft from over seventy miles away. Moreover, to find low-flying planes, which could avoid detection at less than 500 ft (152 m), the British also operated the narrow wavelength "Chain-Home: Low" system, which detected planes travelling low yet still over five hundred feet. These gave the British sufficient warning to allow their fighters to reach the necessary altitude before arrival of the bombers.   (German IPA: ) is a generic German term for an air force. ... Marconi tower at sunset. ...

Once inland, the movements of German aircraft were visually tracked and reported by the Royal Observer Corps, a volunteer civil unit formed in 1925 administered by the Royal Air Force. It eventually grew to over 40,000 men and women and 1,500 observation posts nationwide, their work allowing the RAF to know the strength as well as location and direction of the enemy, permitting them to predict the target and defend against it with minimum fuel consumption. The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was, until stood down in 1991, a part of the UK Ministry of Defence. ... RAF redirects here. ...

Aircraft proved to be a menace throughout the war. Operating in both day and night raids, the defence against the Luftwaffe required huge amounts of anti-aircraft construction. For the British, heavy anti-aircraft weaponry was in no short supply. With over a thousand HAA guns divided across seven divisions under Anti-Aircraft Command, the British troops had guns in a quantity rivalled only by variety. In the early months of the war Great Britain still used Great War surplus armaments in the form of a truck-mounted 3 inch gun which provided more enthusiasm than firepower. The next largest was the QF 3.7 inch gun, which shared some of the anti-armour capabilities of the legendary German 88 mm gun. The largest guns were the 4.5-inch and the enormous 5.25 inch similar to guns used aboard some Royal Navy warships which were mounted in two different types of turret. Though the Royal Artillery handled most of the shells physically, the men of the Home Guard often filled in as replacements. From April 1942, Home Guard Anti-Aircraft units were formed and by 1944 these units had taken over many anti-aircraft batteries, operating artillery from the light to heavy guns and also the semi-secret rocket batteries (also known as "Z-batteries"). Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... The 3. ... German 88 mm guns were used in anti-aircraft and anti-tank roles. ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... RGA redirects here. ...

The aiming and management of communication was the sole domain of women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). On the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, the shortage of men, who were guarding the beaches, required women to operate the town's single AA battery alone. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Map showing the location of the Wirral at grid reference SJ285850 Wirral or The Wirral (IPA: [wɪɹəɫ]) is a peninsula in the north west of England, bounded by the River Dee to the west and the River Mersey to the east. ... For other uses, see Cheshire (disambiguation). ...

The HAA stations could stop a high flying bomber but not the fast moving escort fighters and the dreaded Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers which came with them. The Light Anti Aircraft was in dire shortage thanks to a lack of direction and planning. In the 1930s, the British had expected to use their own Vickers 2 pounder "pom-pom", but with complex multiple gun mounts weighing 800 lb (363 kg) it was limited to Royal Navy use. Therefore they turned to foreign sources. Stuka redirects here. ... Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 2004. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In 1937, the British Army had ordered one hundred of the Swedish Bofors 40 mm gun. The Bofors had attracted international attention as a quality weapon. Britain had evaluated the gun and arranged licensed UK production. With engineering revision and reduction, the British produced it twice as fast at half the cost. Even so, in March 1940, the USS Saratoga had more of these guns than the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]} Production steadily increased at 200 or more per month by mid 1940 but production was not expected to match requirements until 1942. The Bofors 40 mm gun is a famous anti-aircraft auto-cannon designed by the Swedish firm of Bofors. ... The fifth USS Saratoga (CV-3) was the second aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. ...

In 1939, the only other supply of LAA was a hastily conceived plan to purchase Breda 20 mm guns from Italy. The Tripartite Pact ended that possibility. Breda Meccanica Bresciana, widely known simply as Breda, is a large Italian manufacturer of small arms and ammunition. ...

Even with the impressive series of anti-aircraft defences which spread across the island over the next four years, emergency precautions were taken to reduce the danger to civilians. The Air Raid Precautions (ARP) Civil Defence Service was controlled by the Home Office. Men and women alike offered their services as fire fighters in the Auxiliary Fire Service, but 'fire watching' (reporting of fires in commercial buildings and dealing with individual incendiary bombs) was compulsory for all civilians in towns. Early warning observers were used during the V-1 campaign. All of these jobs served to relieve the local population. Air Raid Precautions (ARP) was an organisation in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air-raids. ... Civil Defence Services To protect the population against the ill effects of air attack, the Cival Defence was initiated in Britain by the Home Office in 1935. ... The modern concept of Small Office and Home Office or SoHo , or Small or Home Office deals with the category of business which can be from 1 to 10 workers. ... The Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) was first formed in 1938 in Great Britain as part of Civil Defence Air raid precautions. ...

Coastal defence

Despite a history of coastal defences stretching back to the days of Henry VIII, the British had not extensively fortified their coast, but had concentrated on what were considered 'vulnerable points'. The result was a series of ports guarded by 6 inch and 9 inch guns; a number of 9.2, 13.5 and 18 inch railway guns and howitzers (the 18 inch howitzer being nicknamed "Bosch Buster") were deployed to various parts of the coast immediately after the Dunkirk evacuation; surrounded by open undefended beach with nothing but the sand to block a landing army. Henry VIII redirects here. ... French troops rescued by a British merchant ship at Dunkirk British evacuation on Dunkirk beach The Dunkirk evacuation, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk and codenamed Operation Dynamo by the British, was the large evacuation of Allied soldiers from May 26 to June 4, 1940, during the Battle of...

To remedy this, the Home Guard was tasked with guarding the beaches as well. The Home Guard produced a coastline peppered with unarmoured gun emplacements, equipped with old First World War naval guns. Worse still, some of the LDV manning these positions were untrained and armed with little more than shotguns. Others, such as Robert Neal, had rifles dating from the 1880s, and wrote in his diary, "I don't know what they expect me to do, I can't even use my own gun, much less this enormous contraption next to me." In the event of an invasion at that time, the beaches would almost certainly have fallen to German forces.

It was, however, never the intention for coastal defences to halt an invasion such as the planned Operation Sealion. The coastal defences were only intended to delay an invasion of this type, and combined with Stop Lines, slow down an attack in order that Naval Forces could be deployed to cut off supply lines, and troops moved into appropriate locations. This strategy was borne out in wargames conducted at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, in which a combination of the Coastal Defences, Stop Lines and a naval deployment from Scapa Flow to halt Axis naval forces effected a surrender of the Invading Forces. Operation Sealion (Unternehmen (Undertaking) Seelöwe in German) was a World War II German plan to invade the United Kingdom. ... Detail from a pillbox embrasure. ... Naval redirects here. ... Military simulations, also known informally as war games, are simulations in which theories of warfare can be tested and refined without the need for actual hostilities. ... New College, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst New Colours are presented to RMAS, June 2005. ... It has been suggested that Gutter Sound be merged into this article or section. ... Black: Zenith of the Axis Powers Capital Not applicable Political structure Military alliance Historical era World War II  - Tripartite Pact September 27, 1940  - Anti-Comintern Pact November 25, 1936  - Pact of Steel May 22, 1939  - Dissolved 1945 This article is about the independent countries (states) that comprised the Axis powers. ... Balian of Ibelin surrendering the city of Jerusalem to Saladin, from Les Passages faits Outremer par les Français contre les Turcs et autres Sarrasins et Maures outremarins, ca. ...

Later years

Even once the threat of invasion had passed, the Home Guard remained in existence manning guard posts and performing other duties to free up regular troops for duties overseas. In 1942 the National Service Act allowed for compulsory enrolment where units were below strength. At this time, the lowest rank within the Home Guard, 'volunteer', was renamed to 'private' to match the regular army usage.

However following the successful invasion of France and the drive towards Germany by allied armies, the Home Guard were formally stood down on 3 December 1944 and finally disbanded on 31 December 1945. is the 337th day of the year (338th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ...

A modernised version of the Home Guard was briefly re-established in December 1951. Although units in coastal areas were authorised to recruit to full strength, it fell foul of a complete reassessment of Britain's defence posture following the advent of the H-bomb and was disbanded in July 1957. In the 1980s, the Home Service Force was established, consisting of older ex-servicemen who could not meet Territorial Army (TA) training requirements; it was envisaged that this force, a company in every Territorial battalion, would be used to guard strategic points in the event of an emergency so as to free up the better-trained Territorial forces for more important roles. The Force was disbanded in 1993. The Home Service Force was a Home Guard type force established in the United Kingdom in 1982. ... The Territorial Army (TA) is the principal and Volunteer reserve force of the British Army, the land armed forces branch of the United Kingdom, and composed mostly of part-time soldiers paid at a similar rate, while engaged on military activities, as their Regular equivalents. ...

In popular culture

The Home Guard was immortalised in the British 1960s and 1970s television comedy, Dad's Army (1968-1977), which followed the formation and running of a platoon in the fictional south coast town of Walmington-on-Sea, and is widely regarded to have kept the efforts of the Home Guard in the public consciousness. The Home Guard also played a significant part in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1943 film The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. In it, the lead character, a career soldier who's been retired from the active list, joins the Home Guard and rises to a leadership position in it. Dad’s Army was a British sitcom about the Home Guard in the Second World War. ... Walmington-on-Sea was a fictional seaside resort where the BBC tv comedy series, BBC radio series and film Dads Army was based. ... Michael Latham Powell (September 30, 1905 – February 19, 1990) was a British film director, renowned for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger which produced a series of classic British films. ... Emeric Pressburger in Paris. ... The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) is a film by the British writer-director-producer team of Powell & Pressburger under the banner of The Archers. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook. ...

The 1943 British film Get Cracking starred George Formby as a Home Guard Lance Corporal who is constantly losing and winning back his stripe. Formby's platoon are involved in rivalry between the Home Guard Divisions of local villages Major and Minor Wallop. At the end of the film Formby is promoted to sergeant after inventing a secret weapon - a home made tank.^[5] Lance Corporal (LCpl or L/Cpl) is a military rank used by some elements of the British, Commonwealth, and U.S. armed forces. ... Platoon of the German Bundeswehr. ... For other uses, see Sergeant (disambiguation). ...

The Home Guard also featured in the 1971 Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and in the 2003 "War Games" episode of the British detective series Foyle's War, which is set in Hastings in World War II. Old logo from 1985-2006 Walt Disney Pictures refers to several different entities associated with The Walt Disney Company: Walt Disney Pictures, the film banner, was established as a designation in 1983, prior to which Disney films since the death of Walt Disney were released under the name of the... Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a 1971 musical film produced by Walt Disney Productions, which combines live action and animation; it premiered on October 7, 1971. ... Foyles War is a detective television programme created by screen-writer and author Anthony Horowitz, and commissioned by ITV after the long-running detective series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. ... For other uses, see Hastings (disambiguation). ...

Noel Coward wrote a song in 1943, "Won't you please oblige us with a Bren Gun?" that pokes fun at the disorder and shortage of supplies and equipment that were common in the Home Guard, and indeed all of Britain, during the war. Noël Peirce Coward (December 16, 1899 – March 26, 1973) was an Academy Award winning English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. ... Wont you please oblige us with a Bren Gun? is a humorous song written and composed by Noel Coward in 1943. ...

British wartime propaganda film 'Went the Day Well?' starring Thora Hird made at Ealing Studios in 1942 focuses on the Home Guard victory in quelling a German Paratroop invasion. A similar story is told in 'The Eagle Has Landed', a book by Jack Higgins made into a popular film staring Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Donald Pleasence and Robert Duvall, released in 1976, with the United States Army Rangers instead of the Home Guard. Went the Day Well? is a British war film produced by Ealing Studios in 1942. ... Dame Thora Hird (May 28, 1911 - March 15, 2003) was a veteran British actress born in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe. ... Ealing Studios, a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London, claims to be the oldest film studio in the world. ... For the game, see Paratrooper (video game). ... The Eagle Has Landed is a book by Jack Higgins first published in 1975. ... Jack Higgins is the principal pseudonym of UK novelist Harry Patterson (b. ... This article is about the English actor. ... For other persons named Donald Sutherland, see Donald Sutherland (disambiguation). ... Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE (5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English stage and film actor. ... Robert Selden Duvall (born January 5, 1931) is an Academy Award-, two-time Emmy Award-, and four-time Golden Globe Award-winning American film actor and director. ... The 75th Ranger Regiment—also known as the United States Army Rangers—is an elite light infantry special operations force of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) headquartered in Fort Benning, Georgia. ...

See also

• Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II
• Canadian Rangers - a group in Canada that functions like the Home Guard
• State Defense Forces - State military forces in the U.S. similar to the Home Guard
• National Guard
• Home Service Force

The United Kingdom, along with the British Empires crown colonies, especially British India, declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939, after the German invasion of Poland. ... The Canadian Rangers are a Reserve component of the Canadian Forces which provide a limited military presence in Canadas North. ... State Defense Forces (also known as State Guards, State Military Reserves, or State Militias) in the United States are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government, although they are regulated by the National Guard Bureau (specifically the Army National Guard). ... National Guard may refer to: A military force: Cypriot National Guard United States National Guard National Guard (France), active during the French Revolution Saudi Arabian National Guard A part of the Military of Kuwait Iraqi National Guard A part of the Military of Venezuela Portuguese Republican National Guard National Guard... The Home Service Force was a Home Guard type force established in the United Kingdom in 1982. ...

References

Notes

Midge Gillies is a British journalist and biographer. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

• Tom Wintringham - 'How to Reform the Army (Fact Monographs, 1939)
• Charles Graves - The Home Guard of Britain (1943)
• Norman Longmate - The Real Dad's Army - the story of the Home Guard
• S. P. MacKenzie - The Home Guard — A Military and Political History. (Oxford University Press, 1995) ISBN 0-19-820577-5.
• 'Duty Without Glory' - The story of Ulster's Home Guard in the Second World War and the Cold War by David R Orr (Redcoat Publishing, 2008)
• 'To The Last Round: The Leicestershire & Rutland Home Guard 1940-1945' by Austin J. Ruddy, Breedon Books (2007)

Thomas Henry (Tom) Wintringham (1898-1949) was a British soldier, military historian, journalist, poet, Marxist, politician and author. ... Norman Longmate is an English author and military historian. ...

External links

• Home Guard Pocket Manual by Capt. A. Southworth, M.B.E. Online resource.
• Photos of UK World War 2 Invasion Defences
• The Home Guard
• BBC History Home Guard pages
• Wartime defence found A spigot mortar emplacement
• The story of a typical Home Guard Battalion and information on other units
• Coventry Home GuardPhotos and Memorabilia
• Revealed: the real Dad's Army University of Manchester study.