|
The Home Guard
| |
On that
momentous 3rd of September in 1939
when Mr. Neville Chamberlain, in his
broadcast talk, told the British
people that they were at war and
that it would be evil things they
were fighting, how many of his
listeners foresaw the very narrow
margin by which the perpetrators of
that evil were to be held in check?
Thousands of citizens, many of whom
had seen service in the war of
1914-18, had no idea that within a
very few months they would be
carrying on with their normal
civilian jobs and at the same time
straining all their spare-time
energies to fit themselves to fight
as part of the armies of Britain to
counter an invasion that seemed
inevitable.
In the early days of the war, even
the Government had deemed it
necessary only to provide services
to counter the effects of enemy
action by bombing from the air and
these known in the first instance as
A.R.P. services, were purely of a
passive nature, and were not
equipped or intended in any way to
hit back at the enemy; no-one
visualised a situation that might
need a vast number of the civilian
population to stand and fight to
repel invasion.
The position changed so quickly,
however that when the Hun was
over-running the Low Countries and
Northern France, Mr. Anthony Eden
broadcast an appeal for volunteers
to form Local Defence Companies
throughout the length and breadth of
the land, to ensure that no part of
it was left unguarded and so
available as an easy target for
enemy Airborne Troops.
It is doubtful if anyone, least of
all Mr. Eden himself visualised at
the time what the response and its
effects on the future would be.
Before he had ceased broadcasting,
Police stations all over the country
were being besieged by men all
anxious to join the new force, and
such a vast number were enrolled,
that the question of equipping them
became a matter of the first
urgency.
The men of North Cornwall were no
less eager than those in other parts
of the country, and within a very
few days of the call, a live
organisation was in being. Parties
were formed in each parish and night
after night every vantage point was
manned from dusk till dawn, eager
eyes scanned the night sky, and
whilst the weapons to hand were, in
many cases primitive, there is not
the slightest doubt that they would
have been used with great
determination had it been necessary.
Many were the alarms and excursions
of those days, and by those men who
shared those early watches, many
will be the incidents which will be
re-told in years to come. Leadership
was vested in those with some
knowledge of military matters, and
their authority was never
questioned, irrespective of the
civilian status of the individual
members when off duty.
And so the days and weeks went by.
It is ancient history now that the
invasion did not come but it is
fitting to recall the splendid
spirit of service which the early
volunteers of the Local Defence
Volunteers displayed, because it was
very largely their example which
encouraged an ever-increasing stream
of recruits to join, and so in due
course caused the whole organisation
to be remoulded on more military
lines, and become embodied in what
has since been known as "The Home
Guard."
This change of status was not
effected without a certain amount of
criticism, both from within and
without. One contention was that it
was not necessary or desirable to
give to the officer and
Non-commissioned ranks, titles
equivalent to those of the regular
services, but the significant
feature of this was that the highest
military authorities had been quick
to appreciate the potential value of
the spirit of service exemplified by
all members of the force and had
decided to take advantage of it.
Quite apart from the value of such a
vast force, as it had by now become,
from a tactical point of view, there
was also the fact that many members
were in due course called to service
in the regular army, and without
exception they found the preliminary
training they had received
invaluable.
A point that cannot be stressed too
frequently in connection with the
Home Guard, and also with its sister
services of a part-time nature, is
the very remarkable fact that, no
member officer or man has been paid
for his services, and when the
amount of time put in by all ranks
is taken into full account a
wonderful picture of self-sacrifice
is presented. The more so in the
case of the officers entrusted with
the higher ranks, and therefore with
added responsibility.
It is true in the later stages they
have had the assistance of full time
regular officers and instructors all
of whom have been of tremendous
help, but it should never be
forgotten by the public, that, the
raising and maintenance of this
magnificent second line army has
been possible only because of the
readiness of men in every town and
every remote country parish to
accept the burden of leadership,
often at great inconvenience and in
many cases to the detriment of their
own personal affairs.
Where so many have done so well it
would be invidious to select a few
for special mention, and really
there is no need because they are
already well-known in their own
areas from the work they have done,
and in many cases well beyond these
areas.
Now that the time has come for the
"standing down" many of its members
are wondering and discussing how
best the fine tradition that has
been established can be carried on.
Many hold the view that, the spirit
of mutual service which has been
inculcated within communities, both
large and small, is bound to be an
influence for the greatest good when
the problems of peace confront us.
May this prove to be the case.25
The Home Guard, originally the Local
Defence Volunteers, was set up in
May 1940 to defend the Home Front
and to assist in the repelling of
any invasion. The Home Guard was
never tested by an invasion and it
operated under inevitable
constraints. However, it made an
important contribution to the
defence of the British Isles. The
Home Guard was instructed to "stand
down" at the end of 1944.
War time air raids brought death,
destruction and disruption. 60,595
civilians died as a result of enemy
action in the United Kingdom.
Streets were subject to lighting
restrictions - the blackout.
Volunteers needed to be trained in
civil defence duties. These included
fire-fighting, first aid and
ambulance driving.
Civilians were instructed in how to
protect themselves against poison
gas attack and issued with gas
masks, which they were encouraged to
carry on all journeys.
Aircraft Crashes:
During the course of
researching for the book on "Week
St. Mary Village, a community at
large", it came to
light that an aircraft had crashed
near Week Orchard, however, talking
to Reg Risdon, of Bowdah, there were
actually two aircraft that met their
end in our local area of the Cornish
countryside.
The details of these 2 aircraft were
revealed by some detective work
conducted by Michael Croft of
Maidenhead. He was staying at Bowdah
and became excited by the story and
the collection of 'bits' as
souvenirs.
Michael wrote to Reg in 1985 with
these details:-
The first aircraft was a P47
Thunderbolt, from the U.S.A.A.F.,
353rd Fighter Group, based at
Metfield, Suffolk, but operating
from Thorney Island, on 15th
September 1943, piloted by Captain
Durlin. The aircraft apparently ran
out of fuel forcing Captain Durlin
to bail out. He landed safely before
the aircraft crashed.
The second aircraft to crash, at
Bowdah, was a Typhoon JB431 from 183
Sqdn. On a training flight the
aircraft suffered engine failure and
after circling for a while
(including clipping the tops of some
trees), failed to land in big field
and was forced to land in a short
field occupied with sheep.
Despite the loss of some of the
flock, the aircraft slid across the
ground, coming to rest against the
far hedge. The pilot, Flight
Sergeant W. F. Tollworthy R.A.F.V.R.
was only slightly injured and by the
time help arrived from the farm, had
managed to climb from the wreckage.
Regrettably, Flight Sergeant, later
to become Warrant Officer, Walter
Frederick Tollworthy, Service No.
1334758, of 183 Sqdn., was killed in
action over France on 9th August
1944, flying another Typhoon, MN638. |
|
|
|
|
