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General => Armed Forces => World War Two => Topic started by: eevee on Saturday 28 May 11 02:28 BST (UK)
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Does anybody know how to locate which home guard unit a person was in. I am looking for the unit that Harold Budd served in in WW2 in Wolverhampton.
Appreciate if anyone can point me in the right direction. Thanks
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Have you tried the South Staffordshire Homeguard website? It lists the archive and a few Wolverhampton units about halfway down the page and there's also plenty of links and some photos but it explains that there were also factory units which isn't a lot of help.
http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/DotherReminiscencesStaffsstaffshg.htm
Good luck
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Yes ,thanks I looked there but wondered if there was a record of who was in the Home Guard recorded anywhere that could be searched.
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You can apply for records in the usual manner from the Veterans Agency. Where the chap was living at the time is also a very strong clue.
Some locally published books that came out afetr the war had full ORBATS, others partial, some none at all.
I have a book on the Cheshire Home Guard that names everyone.
The is also the Home Guard List...Like the Army list but lists all HG officers...
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Thanks all your help is appreciated. sorry if I sound silly but where would you locate a Home Guard list
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My father was in "C" company, 22nd South Staffs Battalion Wolverhampton which was based at Bradmore. I have a few pictures of the Battalion but only know one or two names of the people in it.
Here is a picture of a guard of honour for Viscount Bennett taken in front of the Townhall. Viscount Bennett was an ex Prime Minister of Canada.
My father is the segeant second along in the front file.
Bob.
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Thanks, looking at your photo thinking we should have some, I went and found his whistle. It has RAP on it so maybe he wasnt in the home guard (which could explain why I can find no records) but an air raid person?? I will ask maybe someone knows what the initials stand for.
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Hi
This is my first post and I found the site while searching for references to the South Staffs Home Guard.
My late father was in 8 Platoon, C Company 22 South Staffs HG. Amongst his effects was a photo of the platoon dated December 1941, with the names shown underneath.
Dave
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Perhaps you could let us have a look at the picture Dave?
Robert.
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Thanks, looking at your photo thinking we should have some, I went and found his whistle. It has RAP on it so maybe he wasnt in the home guard (which could explain why I can find no records) but an air raid person?? I will ask maybe someone knows what the initials stand for.
Might that actually be ARP (Air Raid Precautions)?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-WW2-A-R-P-Whistle-Air-Raid-warning-Precautions-J-Hudson-Birmingham-/140964171857?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item20d21e9051
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Hi Robert
Attached is the photo (hopefully, if I've added it correctly) of 8 Platoon, C Company, 22nd S Staffs HG, dated December 1941. My father is extreme left, middle row.
I have no idea where it was taken.
My father did mention that his outfit was used, at one time, to guard the power station.
Dave
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Some information which might be of interest to contributors to this thread, if anyone still looks at it.
I have recently put online a number of good quality images of the 22nd Staffordshire (Wolverhampton) Battalion, Home Guard. Some of them are captioned. "C" Coy. appears. They can be seen here: http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/DotherReminiscences13122ndStaffs.htm
Amongst my images was an identical print to that posted here by SomersetDave. What I didn't have was the identification of the Platoon, nor any names apart from that of the officer, Lt J. A. Lloyd. I have taken the liberty therefore of using the information which SomersetDave included with his photograph, together with appropriate acknowledgement. I hope that's okay.
The images in my website page are of reasonably high definition. They should be capable of further magnification, for identification purposes, especially if anyone is looking at them on a tablet rather than a larger display. It would be great if we could add some further names to the published faces. I should also really appreciate permission to reproduce the image which Uplands posted showing his father in a Guard of Honour.
Chris
PS to Admin. Wouldn't this thread be better in the WW2 section?
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This is an interesting subject.
Does anyone know anything about the Leicestershire Home Guard? I recently found out that my Grandad Raymond Nelson was in it, possibly based in Enderby. From vague comments from my Dad, he apparently did something to do with aircraft locally but it now seems he was also in the Home Guard.
For someone his age it was odd not to have been sent overseas to fight (he was born in 1916) - so whatever he was doing must have been in a reserved occupation. Perhaps the Home Guard research might help me find out what he did next to this?
In 1939 he was recorded as an Engineer living on Knighton Fields Road. By 1940 he married my Grandma in Enderby (her home village).
From what I know - they lived there for the duration of the war having 3 sons in 1941, 1944 & 1945. The latter being my Dad.
Postwar he worked in the aircraft industry - but I only have info about what he did in the 60's, when he worked for Beagle-Auster aircraft at Rearsby.
Any help would be appreciated and apologies for "hi-jacking" this thread. ;-)
Regards,
John.
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ParlonsRosbif,
He may have worked in Battle damaged Aircraft Repairs during WW2?
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ParlonsRosbif,
He may have worked in Battle damaged Aircraft Repairs during WW2?
Hi Scouseboy,
I remember my Dad saying that his Dad was at Braunstone Aerodrome during WW2. But I've since found out that this was just an emergency landing field for Desford. Am not sure if there was a lot of activity at Braunstone or not.
Desford appeared to be a hive of activity, with a training school, aircraft repair unit and a Spitfire assembly factory. All on the site of where Caterpillar is now.
Sometime towards the end of the war, or possibly postwar, I know my Grandparents ended up moving to the brick built "prefabs" on Swinford Avenue in Glen Parva. My Dad lived there until he got married in 1969 to my Mum.
At first the road was called Stanhope Avenue - before it became Swinford. Part of this still exists, running from next to The Glen on Hillsborough Road. The bit where my Grandparents lived (between Hillsborough Road and the end of Grange Drive) disappeared when the Rupert Estate was built in the mid 70's.
I was told that these prefabs were built for aircraft workers. Also not that far away, at Blaby Wharf (opposite the The County Arms as was), was an RAF depot. This was used to recuperate parts from scrapped aircraft for re-use.
Could be he was involved with that.
At the moment I have lots of possible avenues but nothing concrete.
I have a photo of my Grandad in Home Guard uniform. On is shoulder is mentioned "Home Guard IEI 8" (or 1E1) - On his hat is the Leicestershire Regiment lion badge. Thats the only thing I can get from the photo.
John.
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John,
Austin Ruddy wrote an excellent book on the Leicestershire Home Guard - "To The Last Round". May be worth a look. (The author also runs a useful general HG page).
The shoulder insignia is likely to be "LEI...."
Chris
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John,
Austin Ruddy wrote an excellent book on the Leicestershire Home Guard - "To The Last Round". May be worth a look. (The author also runs a useful general HG page).
The shoulder insignia is likely to be "LEI...."
Chris
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the reply. Yes I noticed this book and have been trying to find somewhere to buy it from (I'm in France). I also came across another book called "But for These Things – Leicester and its People in WWII" as well, which might also be a useful read.
I found a preview of it in Google Books in which someone mentioned making a flight from Desford to Braunstone in an RAF Training School Tiger Moth.
I think I need to find out what my Grandad was doing in addition to being in the HG and whether Braunstone Aerodrome was very active in WW2.
It is a pity I never knew him, as he died before I was born.
You are probably right about the LEI insignia - it is a scan of the original photo, so the lettering isn't very clear.
Thanks for your help,
John.
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RAF Lutterworth played a very important role in the development of the Jet engine.
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RAF Lutterworth played a very important role in the development of the Jet engine.
Someone suggested that the "prefabs" around Hillsborough Road/Swinford Avenue/Henray Avenue were all build for Power Jets workers... I still don't have any concrete evidence of this.
BTW... Did you know that as a young girl, Sue Townsend (the author), lived in one of these?
John.
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John,
I recently had a glance at a copy of "To The Last Round". Amongst other things it tells us that LEI 8 was the 8th (Market Bosworth) Battalion. That Battalion had six Companies of which "D" had platoons in Barwell, East Shilton, Thurlaston and Desford/Newbold Verdon and a fifth described as "Aerodrome Platoon" based at "Desford Aerodrome and Factory".
Elsewhere in the book is an image of the Enderby platoon and I think that that village has been mentioned in this thread.
It looks to me as though a thorough examination of this book might be useful to you. There is a lot of (unindexed) information within it which, with your knowledge of the area, might give you further clues in solving your mystery. It is readily available on Amazon UK, both new and second-hand, and I should imagine that some of the possible suppliers will ship to France.
Chris
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John,
I recently had a glance at a copy of "To The Last Round". Amongst other things it tells us that LEI 8 was the 8th (Market Bosworth) Battalion. That Battalion had six Companies of which "D" had platoons in Barwell, East Shilton, Thurlaston and Desford/Newbold Verdon and a fifth described as "Aerodrome Platoon" based at "Desford Aerodrome and Factory".
Elsewhere in the book is an image of the Enderby platoon and I think that that village has been mentioned in this thread.
It looks to me as though a thorough examination of this book might be useful to you. There is a lot of (unindexed) information within it which, with your knowledge of the area, might give you further clues in solving your mystery. It is readily available on Amazon UK, both new and second-hand, and I should imagine that some of the possible suppliers will ship to France.
Chris
Many thanks for that Chris. Much appreciated and that seems to fit in with the area my Grandad would have been in. I also know the area well as I lived in Hinckley as a child and later on went to Bosworth College in Desford.
I now know what to ask Santa for this Christmas ;-)
Cheers,
John.
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Hello everyone,my great grandad was in the home guard and I'm trying to find out some information,like where he would have been based or what he did,his name is John Robert Alcock and he lived in Bow E.3 London,any help would be great.
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To apply for a copy of his record:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-home-guard-service-records
My dad sent for his some years ago; not much detail but it brought back happy memories for him. :)