The War Years
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On the evening of May 14 1940 the Secretary of State for War, Anthony Eden, gave a radio broadcast announcing the formation of a local defence force and called for volunteers to join this new force.
In his radio announcement, Eden called on men between the ages of 17 and 65 in Britain, who were not already in military service but wished to defend their country against an expected airborn enemy invasion to register at their local police station. This new force would be the, Local Defence Volunteers or "LDV"
This announcement was met with a great deal of enthusiasm on the part of the population, with 250,000 volunteers signing up within the first seven days and by the end of July this number had risen to 1.5 million.
The" LDV" later to be renamed "The Home Guard" at the suggestion of Winston Churchill; at its height number over 1,500000 men who had volunteered readily to give up their free time, without pay in defence of this country during the years 1940/1944. These men and women were largest volunteer army in history!
During the years 1940/1944:
557 members of the Home Guard were seriously injured & 1,206 gave their lives whilst on duty.
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"If the enemy had descended suddenly in large numbers from the sky in different parts of the country, they would have found only little clusters of men mostly armed with shotguns, gathered around our searchlight positions. But now, whenever he comes, if he comes, he will find wherever he should place his foot, that he will be immediately attacked by resolute, determined men who have a perfectly clear intention and resolve to namely put him to death! " Winston Churchill" |
On this, the 70th anniversary of the Home Guard we should remember them.
"West Riding 28th Battalion Home Guard"
WR28 HG were formed in 2005 following an inquiry from the organisers of the Haworth 1940s War Weekend:
(Would we be interested in staging a local Home Guard display?) Did Mr Hitler sport a moustache?
As many of our founder members had relatives who had been members of West Riding Home Guard Battalions, we were delighted for the opportunity to remind people of the unselfish effort and commitment that our volunteer forces gave freely, to help protect families and homes from an imminent invasion force.
We staged our first HG display over the Haworth 1940s Weekend and encouraged by the enthusiasm and appreciation from members of the public and other re-enactment groups, we decided that we would expand further our Home Guard equipment and displays. During the following summer we attended
various 1940s events after further requests to stage our Home Guard display.
"C" Company, WR28 Home Guard, has grown in numbers and equipment over the past 4 years enabling us to vary our WW2 displays and the local events that we are asked to attend. (Please see members gallery!)
The aims of "C" Coy WR28 HG are :
To pay tribute to the men who volunteered their time and effort to help protect this country from an expected/imminent invasion force and to keep alive the memory of the largest volunteer army in history.
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To raise funds for local charities
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NB: Our recruitment book is still open! (see notice board for details)
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For enquiries please go to dedicated page or e-mail to:
peter.wedel@tiscali.co.uk or call: 01535 662 484
FILM & TV WORK
A number of our members have experience of Film & TV shoots.
Should you require background or walk-on charactors for your production in correct 30s/40s costume or British Forces Uniform
or require technical advise, please feel free to contact us to
discuss your specific requirements.
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We hope that you find our site informative.
Best Regards to all, Peter.