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I expected a mention of the "Send a Gun to Defend a British Home" campaign by the "American Committee for Defense of British Homes" (1940). Militarily fairly useless but some arms did make it into the Home Guard. The weapons were, of course, destroyed at the end of hostilities as the British citizenry chose to go back to their supine prewar existence. Lessons learned? hardly.
I attended a party on arrival to Australia and there were three old gentleman there, all over 90. They recounted to me how they were in the home guard in the Yorkshire Dales. One night an airman landed by parachute in a field they were near and they rushed up and held him at gunpoint. The pilot was trying to communicate frantically with them but they did not speak German. After some chin wagging together they decided the best option was to take their prisoner down to the village pub hoping that someone there could understand what he was trying to say and hand him over to the local bobby. Turned out he was a Polish fighter pilot whose plane had failed and they all ended up getting completely drunk. I will never forget those 3 sprightly young ninety year olds who had their stories so well rehearsed that they could have been on the stage together. Sadly, I never met up with them again and I’m pretty certain they’re the only chaps I’ve seen wearing ties at a party or n Australia.
A lot of people forget, a lot of the Home Guard were World War 1 veterans. They survived the trenches of the Great War, so they knew what they were doing when they had to pick up a gun again. They already had the training and the experience, they just needed a refresher course.
My grandad spent the war mining coal to keep the war industry running. Any spare time was spent volunteering in the Home Guard. He was probably fitter than your average squaddie. I feel pride in his efforts.
It was reprehensible that the British government did not give recognition to those that served in our mines during the war. Their job was essential to the war effort and many died underground. As a country we owe a debt of gratitude to these men. I would like to thank your grandad and all those who mined the much needed coal for their service to our country.
definitely be proud. that whole generation was amazing. they served in many ways, including the mothers back home waiting. not enough recognition for the non-combatants. but even I would rather see Band of Brothers than a movie primarily about Rosie's Riveters or the heart break of a mom learning her son's death.
So your dad was in Cornwall. The only place on the flat earth that coal has ever been found is a tin mine in Cornwall called the Trevithick Schmiddy. You aren't a roundie are you? This mine is almost out of coal to send to America. This is why they pretended to go to the moon and get its coal. Don't tell the roundies I said this. Move out of Yorkshire and get in the Trevithick Schmiddy now. Don't leave I won't let you.
I recently re-binged "Dad's Army", and yes it makes many jokes about the Home Guard. However, there are also a number of times when it also shows the willingness of the members to give there all in defense of their home. The members of the Home Guard would have known that they were meant to die, to slow down the Germans until the RA showed up. Yet they still did their job.
Dad's Army is really an odd-couple sit-com betweein Mainwaring and Wilson set in the Home Guard. I never felt it mocked the Home Guard itself, more poked fun at the various echelons of British society by mashing them together, a class comedy, if you will, particularly how the two leads have their social positions reversed.
Interesting facts. The actor who played Godfrey was a veteran of WW1 and was in the Home Guard in WW2. Most of the actors had served in WW2. So they had a wealth of experience to draw on.
@@andrewthorpe3219 True: Arnold Ridley, who played Godfrey, had an amazing life deserving of a movie/tv show in itself: from hand to hand combat in the Somme to narrow escapes in WW2 to being a well respected writer in peacetime... to playing doddering old Godfrey in Dad's Army. I could be mistaken, but think I recall the plotline of having Godfrey be a Cconscientious Objector (brilliant episode) was something he himself suggested (or at least championed) due to his experiences seeing the horrors of war first hand.
@@johntaylorson7769 I just Wikkid his war record . The bloke got bayonetted and all sorts and still went back for WW2 . There is apparently a Desert Island discs I am going to have a listen if it is still on the BBC. What a lad !
Like heck. The Home Guard units Ar.y father came across would have not been seen for dust if a German appeared In many cases down pilots were either arrested by the local Bobby or Landsrmy girls who were terrors with pitchforks.
Dad's Army doesn't really mock the Home Guard- there are several episodes which make it clear that they were a respectable force. "The Battle of Godfrey's Cottage" for one. We have the benefit of hindsight to know that the Home Guard never had to defend our land from invasion, but they didn't know that at the time. They VOLUNTEERED to take on the most successful invading army in the world despite age/youth, infirmity and severe lack of equipment. They knew they couldn't defeat the German army, but they hoped that laying down their lives would just buy our army enough time. Brave, brave men and no less worthy of our respect than any "regular" armed force.
You should definitely make a Video going deeper into the auxiliary 'stay behind' units. It was so secret, no one else was supposed to know they even existed, their bunkers were hidden with ingenious mechanisms, and tons still haven't been discovered yet as lots of the members never told anyone what they did during the war. There's probably still some caches of weapons and explosives hidden around. Incredible stories.
isn't a bunch of that like literal propaganda to tell spies. like a bunch of bunkers weren't found because they only existed on paper to make it look like that an invasion would be more expensive, for that reason enemy only thinking they might exist matters, besides than that they're a fairly regular resistance movement thing. finland had it's own weapon stashing scandal that some people went to prison for(contingency for soviet occupation, but against the surrender rules so few people like larry then lauri thorne did some time for it). it also happens to be a favorite subject for people telling tall stories. perfect subject really.
I've seen on a few things that part of what they did was to compile lists of those likely to collaborate, not just those that expressed Nazi type views but those that would always put themselves first with no consideration for country or principles. The idea was that if there was an invasion, those likely collaborators would be executed before they got chance. There are also sources that suggest that the weapons caches were moved after the war with ring-wingers being given the location to provide resistance in case of a Soviet invasion.
@@oldsteve4291 I as about to mention those notable scallywags , apparently many with communist sympathies were recruited as their views were seen to make them more likely to resist a Fascist/Nazi regime with extreme measures.
I was reading through the comments as I listened and saw your comment literally 10 seconds before Simon said it lol wonder at the comment turned into understanding in an instant 😅
A good summary - well done, Simon & Co. A few additional points - Weapons: a shotgun is lethal at short ranges, and as most HG were to fight in their own town or village, and many knew their way around with a shotgun, these would have been very effective. AW grenades, etc. My village, in ASW England had a HG of over 200, and this "Company" had on the books several thousand AW and petrol bombs which were stashed around the place, plus numerous dug-in fougasse. Again, short range weapons, but that was the point. Men/Women: a look at any photos of a HG Unit will show many with Gallantry Medal ribbons, such as the MM and MC. These were men, early '40s, who knew their area and while not the sort to make a long assault, in defence they'd have been tough customers. Plus, it wasn't only those unfit/too old for active service. MAny men were in 'reserved' occupations, such as farmers, factory workers, etc., and these were key HG members. Locations: HG were essentially to defend their own homes. Their families were told to stay put, so they'd be defending them as well. A strong motivator! Especially as.... AH had declared them to be bandits, so they would be murdered on capture. Another reason to keep fighting - what's the alternative?
My dad was chief inspector of armaments at the BSA factory in Redditch Worcestershire during the war making Bren guns and Browning machines guns,on several occasions he tried to join the regulars and they sent him back to work as a reserved occupation, he joined the home guard and developed a 4 Browning 30 cal machine gun setup for protection of the BSA, he told me that the one thing that scared him was the thought of being bayoneted, because he was so used to machine gun fire from work he had no fear of being shot, he did special training in defense against bayonet, he got to instructor level and even trained regulars in his time off, after the war he was immediately drafted and was in charge of MP’s as an acting Sargent
My grandfather was a WW1 veteran that fought at the Somme, was a sergeant in the Home Guard and a member of the UVF. My father told me of when he was young watching my grandfather cleaning the Lewis gun at night on the kitchen table before going on patrol. His whole life was dedicated to service even as a old retired man he worked as a lollypop man "crossing guard" at my school. When he passed in his late 80's my father and I had to remove a lot of pistols and rifles and ammunition that he had somehow retained and dispose of them them in the local river.
When men are protecting their homes and family's. When they are prepared to die to do so . It Isn't anything to belittle. Good bless those that came before us. Our ancestors ! 👍💛👊
I’ve always been puzzled at derision of the Home Guard considering the large number with Great War service and experience. The picture of Darby and Joan in their living room with Dad polishing his Thompson sub machine gang has got to be a propaganda ‘photo opportunity’ considering - especially after the abandonment of weaponry at Dunkirk - the Army would give its eye teeth for!
Simon, just think the "Home Guard" were full of older men who had fought the Germans in 1917-18, so they were not as untrained as people think. As far as many of them could see it, if German invaded the proverbial gloves would be off and they would have defended their homes and families with ingenuity and almost certainly ferocious (if probably ultimately futile) defence. Remember that most older men at the time were fitter than we are now, as they did a lot of physically manual jobs, so would have been reasonably capable infantry with their WWI training.
It was members of the home guard who functioned as the adversary forces training the SAS and SBS and other commando groups. The men in these units were all ww1 veterans picked for their bloody minded ferocity and brains, and they routinely beat the hell out of their younger pupils during training. They were all 'Dad's Army' members, often having been turned down for regular service due to age or, and I cannot say this louder MULTIPLE AMPUTATION. Dad's Army contained members who were missing one or more limbs who nonetheless ran the nascent British commando units ragged, and kicked their arses into shape. Y'all want to mess with one of them? I know I'd rather stay home in my own country.
I refer you to Sir Terry pratchett. Writing of Coan the barbarian...an 80 year old barbarian " The first...the very first thing to remember about old people....they are the ones that survived "
What isn't mentioned in this video was that rather a lot of them had fought the fascists in the Spanish Civil War, they were skilled in guerrilla tactics and they trained the Home Guard in those.
I remember watching episodes of Dad's Army (TV Series 1968-1977) that focused on the Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, either because of age (hence the title Dad's Army), medical reasons or by being in professions exempt from conscription. Most of the platoon members in Dad's Army are over military age and the series stars several older British actors, including Arnold Ridley, John Laurie, Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier. Clive Dunn played the oldest guardsman, Lance Corporal Jones, who joined the army as a drummer boy in 1884; thereafter, he served in five military campaigns - the Gordon Relief Expedition to the Sudan (1884-1885), the Anglo-Egyptian Reconquest of the Sudan (1896-1899), the Boer War (1899-1901), where after that he was promoted to Lance Corporal, and the First World War (1914-1918). Afterwards, he became a civilian butcher and joined the Home Guard in 1940. In many episodes, Jones fondly recalls his participation in the Battle of Omdurman in the Sudan, facing the "Fuzzy Wuzzies" under the command of General Kitchener. As an aged veteran, he is extremely fond of bayonet warfare ("the cold steel"), and usually meets any queries about this with the assertion that "they don't like it up 'em!" - Dad's Army - The Bullet Is Not for Firing ua-cam.com/video/VEtaII6r3Go/v-deo.html
@@marekohampton8477 Yeah, ironically he was one of the younger actors in the squad, playing one of the most elderly. One of the younger actors in the squad, James Beck (21 February 1929 - 6 August 1973) who played the cockney criminal smuggler, Private Walker, died suddenly of pancreatitis during production of the sixth series in 1973. His birthday was a few days ago. RIP.
It’s easy to forget, with hindsight being 20/20, that these guys probably thought they were going to have to fight the German army with the kit described here. It took brass knackers to join the home guard, and that was about the only thing Britain had in abundance in those days.
WW2's affect on England was a large part of the background in my life. An un-exploded bomb from the Blitz was found outside my junior school, a pair of concrete posts that were Anti-tank defences sat beside the road connecting us with the next village over, a concrete pillbox stands right next to the motorway junction that leads to our village and there's a decommissioned railway station just outside the village borders that transported materials to munition factories during the war. As a kid, all of these things (apart from the bomb because that was terrifying) were just random things that made up a part of my village and I had no clue of their history. Things like that are why I love learning about history so much. Tiny little parts of my childhood that meant nothing to me, and yet had such rich stories behind them.
There is still a tank trap in my town. I walk past it once a week. It looks like a row of concrete blocks on the side of the road where it goes under the railway viaduct. It was designed to funnel the tanks through one arch of the viaduct and into the sights of an antitank gun.
Thank you for this fitting tribute. The Home Guard played a vital role, and many of their pillboxes & Auxiliary bunkers remain to remind us. If the invasion had come, they would've fought & died as lions.
We have a great photo of my Great Grandfather (home guard) ,my Grandfather and Great Uncle all 3 in Uniform in the weeks before D Day . My Grandfather (a professional at Dunkirk) had just come back from North Africa and it was the first time the 3 had been together in over 3 years . Sadly my G Uncle Ben lost his left arm in France and it's the last photo of him before his wounding. It's worth writing all you know to go alongside such photos for future generations I feel lucky to have grown up knowing veterans of both World wars and hearing some of their stories.
Peter Flemming (Brother to Ian Flemming, the creator of James Bond), was involved as an intelligence office in the capture of the German plans to invade England. His book on the subject, 'Operation Sea Lion,' is worth the read. Kenneth Macksey has written a fiction book on this hypothetical invasion taking place. 'Invasion: The German Invasion of England, July 1940.' My Grand dad was a WWI vet, originally serving with the Calgary Highlanders on the western front. In WWII he rejoined, this time the Canadian Scottish and served in Victoria for 4 years. Too old to go overseas at 46, he was stationed at an officer training school where the University of Victoria is now located. He was released after breaking his hip in a vehicle rollover.
I was always confused by the image of the home guard. Dad's Army was made up of WWI survivors, those who had seen combat, seen slaughter and lived to tell the tale. They were level headed, capable men, who wouldn't panic, wouldn't shy away. That's exactly who I want watching out for my little town thanks.
Because the regular military always looks down on "milita" military. In the US you got the same thing between NG and RA. It doesn't matter that the NG was made up of 75% combat vets, that they had a unit cohesion from serving together for years or they smoked the equivalent RA units in ARTEP's...
I hope there's a day of rememberance in England for the Home Guard. The men and boys serving in that role, willingly putting their lives on the line, deserve to be honored.
All those that served in any of the forces are remembered on 11th November and the nearest Sunday to that date. There isn't a separate one for the Home Guard.
Being bit of a armchair historian, and growing up with the Dad's army TV series. I too just considered it to be a comedy show. However as I got older and better read. I now view the program as alight hearted view of the people of Britain, in a time of dire need. Who came together despite all there short comings ,to defend there home land. Yes some of the episodes were just pure farse . But a lot of the episodes had in some case's grain's of truth.. So I hoped that younger viewer's could take away just how far there grand and great grand parents and there parents were prepared to go to defend there homes.
I know Jimmy Perry had served in the Home Guard (Pvt. Pike was apparently largely inspired by him and there was an old soldier who had the same mentality towards bayonetes as Lance Corporal Jones in his platoon).
My grandfather had been a regular soldier serving in India before WWI. After 1914 he returned and fought thoughout it, earning the Military Medal for bravery under fire at the bloody battle of the Somme. During WW2 while his son, my father, served abroad, my grandfather served in the Home Guard. I'm sure if the Germans had invaded he and his comrades would have fought just as hard as they did in the previous war. They were a very special breed, we should all be proud of the country they left us. Unfortunately, politicians have now all but destroyed their legacy to us, their descendants.
The Scallywags, were specially trained in guerrilla warfare including assassination, unarmed combat, demolition and sabotage, they were often gamekeepers or poachers, who could live off the land, Royal engineers built hidden underground bunkers to store weapons and explosives and two weeks of food, to hide in during an invasion to allow them to get behind enemy lines, when they would be an autonomous, self sufficient unit that would sabotage anything useful to the enemy, kill as many German soldiers as possible ... they were expected to survive around 12 days ...
My parents went to London in 1939, as the war began in Europe. My Father, born 1911, in Germany, and my Mother, born 1910 in Zurich, met there in 1937, and later my Uncle, Father's twin, they both were interned in 1940, when France fell, and sent for 3 years to Canada, and returned in 1943, when my parents married, and I was born in May 1944, in London, and soon will be 80. Luckily in our part of London was not too bombed. We came to NYC, in 1949, on the ship Queen Mary, and when we settled down in a NY City suburb, and I started school there in 1950. My Uncle came over too and married in 1952 and had a son and daughter with his wife he had met in Europe, being Danish. My Mother saw the Battle of Britain in 1940, and Queen Elizabeth as a then young lady. After the war, WWIi RAF pilot, Douglas Bader lived in our apt in Park West, London. 😊
This makes me want to see Simon cover the Calcutta Light Horse raid on Goa during the second world war. Middle aged reservist blowing up a german freighter in a neutral port.
Yes, I would like to see Simon's take on that story. Lindybeige covered that very well, though. I tried to post a link to his video, but apparently UA-cam doesn't like links even to itself. You can easily find it, though.
Over 20 years ago, I used to listen to 'Dad's Army' on BBC radio online while in grad school. Since then, I've also seen videos of the TV show. While I assumed that the real version of Dad's Army was not as incompetent as the entertainment versions, being in the States, I had no idea what they really did. It's amazing to learn how many were willing to do their part and even train with questionable weapons. This video probably won't mean much to people who aren't Brits, but this American found it enlightening.
@@EdwardMoffatt Now that you're here, you can have a nice word with the Kapitan about getting Pike's name off the list (assuming he survives eating the soggy chips). :P
Who wants to start a petition to get Simon to read great speeches on a new channel? I think his speaking voice would be great to hear the full content of some of the greatest speeches ever given!
While Britain's Home Guard was particularly unique in many ways, it is worth mentioning it was not the only Commonwealth nation to have an active Home Guard in the war. Indeed, in Australia there was the Volunteer Defence Corps, whose role was identical to that of the British Home Guard, including the Auxiliary Units (the shock squads of the Home Guard referred to in the video). A lot of people who couldn't join the Australian Imperial Force (AIF, the "regular" army) instead joined the Citizen's Military Forces, or CMF, which saw active combat against Japan in the territories in the north of Australia (today's Papua New Guinea, and the British Protectorate of the Solomon Islands). The CMF was distinct from a Home Guard, however, in that it was a formal part of the Australian Army, and was later amalgamated with other services to form the Army Reserve that exists today. However, the CMF did have many Home Guard characteristics, in that reserved occupations could join, they were focused on national defence (unlike the AIF, they couldn't be deployed away from Australia - the exception being the Pacific Islands, which had a funny sort of status in the Empire at the time), and people otherwise disqualified from military service could join. They also famously participated in the New Guinea Campaign, especially on the infamous Kokoda Track, as frontline troops while AIF units were being recalled to Australia from across the world. New Zealand, likewise, had an organisation actually called the Home Guard to do the same in NZ as it's British equivalent. In the Australian Territory of Papua and New Guinea, the Royal Pacific Regiment was formed along the lines of the CMF, seeing combat alongside CMF, AIF and allied troops. However, other military auxiliaries were also formed in the Islands, such as the famous Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, a military ambulance auxiliary made up almost exclusively of native Papuans, as well as the Coastwatchers (a type of naval intelligence service, many being executed as spies in Japanese occupied regions - famously, the Coastwatchers were not just Australians, but Dutch, British, Americans, and even expat Germans!).
As an American I'd never heard about this part of the war before. (I am aware of the shortcomings of our "history" in places like this and do my own research of more international sources but just not this bit.) I don't understand mockery of this, unless it was just that young adult writing off of past gens. To me this is endearing. Under armed and considered not fit for the main fight, but ready and able to defend their home by any means they could think up.
"Shoot him uncle Arthur, you've got all the reason!" (Pike showing disdain for air raid warden Hodges) We (in Holland) loved this sitcom as ever so British, while still honouring the actual heroism of all the volunteers to help protect the country in their spare time and often with limited means.
@@RealShebang Jokes about wildlife aside, you aren't wrong. Any attempted invasion by the nips would be doomed to fail. Australia is fucking massive, consisting of like 90% barren wasteland without the pre-existing infrastructure you see in similar enviroments in the US. Considering tojos non-existent logistics, the rabid dogs would die of dehydration before reaching Alice-Springs. Fanatically charging forward would only worsen their situation.
I like how, early in the war, the "uniform" of the Home Guard consists of a business suit and tie. "One simply MUST dress appropriately for the occasion, don't you agree, Private Smedley? We're civilized after all."
The US supplied a number of M1917 rifles under the lend-lease program which were issued to the Home Guard. These rifles were essentially identical to the British P14 rifle except that they were chambered in caliber .30-06 instead of the standard British caliber .303. They were painted with a wide red stripe around the buttstock to (hopefully) prevent putting the wrong ammunition in them. Most of them were returned to the US after the war and were sold as surplus or distributed through the Civilian Marksmanship Program. Undoubtedly, many of the new owners removed the red paint and original Home Guard M1917s are highly collectible today.
@@johnthomas2485 I may be wrong, but I don't think any M1917s were newly manufactured for lend-lease, hence they would all have been in .30-06. The US had at least tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of M1917s in storage. I very much doubt they would have spun up new manufacturing. Do you have a link or a reference for this information?
@@johnthomas2485 Savage made the Enfield No. 4 Mark I* for the British in their standard .303 caliber. I don't know if any other manufacturer did. Interestingly, they were marked "U. S. PROPERTY" on the receivers to indicate they were lend-lease items. I don't know what eventually happened to them and I've never seen one. Like the U.S. made and marked Mosin-Nagant rifles of WW1, I think it's a fascinating tidbit of firearm history.
There were " stay behind units" These men because they were of fighting age but didn't join up got a lot ..a lot ...of flack from friends and neighbours because they apparently were shirking their duty. These men , in secret prepared to be the last line of defense...the Homeguard were used as a cover( in parliamentary accounts) for the resourses directed to theses units. The dads army show..has been accused over the years as poking fun at the homeguard..where as the two writer's were more than affectionate to the HG.. If fun was made, it was made of the characters of that particular unit. On the last episode the cast raised a glass to the real "home guard".
My grandad was part of the home guard in East London. I still have his state issued police whistle. He told me stories of helping at bomb sites and doing the air raid sirens.
I have had the privilege of meeting UK men and women of that era. I may joke on my cousins, but those men and women were ready to defend their island with a damn spoon if need be. And although my blood is not from Britain, being American I kinda feel a kindred spirit. And honestly, it seems I had to wait for the last two minutes before those folks sacrifice was mentioned. A little disappointed with this.
Another thing is that soldiers in the field would know that their homes were still being guarded while they were away at the front fighting the main war. This would boost the morale of the soldier fighting hundreds or thousands of miles away. They could fight knowing their home, wife, child were still safe, imagine if however there wasn't a homeguard.... the soldier in the field would be torn by do I stay and fight here or do I go AWOL and go home to keep my family safe? Having the home guard would allow more men to sign up, they would not be needed at home per se but could go forth and get the job done.
The idea of a 40 gallon drum dug into a road side bank was a useful concept. It’s contents weren’t just petrol. Diesel, waste oil and oil based paint were to be used. The contents propelled by the charge ignited the fuel mixture which became very sticky, an early form of napalm. Any enemy vehicles attacked by this weapon would be disabled and infantry were in for a a nasty shock, serious injury or horrific death.
The irony of Germany attempting an amphibious invasion of Britain is that the island would have been viciously and unwaveringly defended by the descendants of at least a dozen previous invasion forces. Other than the Spanish Armada of 1588, I cannot off-hand think of another invasion force that failed to take at least part of Britain.
"They don't like it up 'em, sir......" "*Stupid* boy..... " I always loved Private Fraser's "ghost stories"! Nothing like a Scottish accent to make things scary!
Always interested (if a little apprehensive about the prodigious output and ubiquity of just one man), I literally find myself breathless trying to listen and comprehend at the frenetic pace of your speech! Please, slow it down just a little!!
LDV aka “Look, Duck and Vanish”. Thank G-d it was changed to the Home Guard. Both grandfathers were survivors of WW1 so they joined despite their relatively recent experience of the horrors of trench warfare. By the time WW2 came around my father was a pilot in the RAF whilst his brother was in the BEF (got cold and wet leaving France, then repeated it on D-day. He never even paddled in the sea whilst on holiday). Not one to really understand how awful their combined experiences were I was daft enough to spend 28 years as a Royal, retiring in 2006.
I would guess the idea of the Home Guard to someone like Churchill (or his advisers)was seen for what it was by them. A way to prevent people at home giving up on the war even if they are guaranteed to lose if you give people the impression they are fighting for something even in a losing situation fewer of the people will realise they can't win and will continue to aid the war effort. This prevents things like your munitions and other war factories losing too many personnel or having production slow to dangerous levels due to poor morale.
So... This is the division of troops that was marching through the town in the beginning of Disney's "Bedknobs & Broomsticks" ? I always was kinda wondering why the men sang THAT lyric on their marching song in the movie.... "We're soldiers of the old Home Guard!!!....". 😊😊❤
The Smith Gun actually has a model in 1/72 scale made by the ACE model company. Dad's Army actually shows one a few times. As time goes on equipment improves as the war goes on and the "Dad's Army" tv show reflects this.
Don't forget that a lot of the Home Guard's personnel were actually veterans of WW1. You might remember that they were actually experienced soldiers who had defeated the German Army in WW1 and hated the Germans with a passion.
Shovels and giant caltrops can stop tanks. Dig the earth, make pitfalls and use the giant calttops for the harder to dig earth to guide the tank into pitfalls.
My grand father told us that when a German recon plane was spotted coming in, they would sometimes scramble and set up in the open so the Germans got plenty of pictures of military movement on the ground. Gave the impression the British army was much larger than the Germans thought at the time..... It was used again, with inflatable tanks and trucks to convince the Nazis of an invasion at the Pas de Calais.... Which also worked to decoy the Nazis during the weeks before and after D-Day. Wonder if that helped lead to the postponement and eventual canceling of the Operation Sea Lion by the Germans, in conjunction with the RAF's outstanding defense of Britain, and the Royal Navy maintaining a very visible presence.
Male members were rewarded with a certificate, bearing the words: "In the years when our Country was in mortal danger, (name) who served (dates) gave generously of his time and powers to make himself ready for her defence by force of arms and with his life if need be. George R.I." If he had served more than three years and requested it, a member would be awarded the Defence Medal. It was only in 1945 that women who had helped as auxiliaries were recognised with their own certificate.
My grandfather was part of the dad’s army. He had been a soldier in the 1920’s when Britain occupied Israel but was never the right age during either war.
No one knew the British people or the enemy they faced like Winston Churchill. He never underestimated the enemy OR his own people. He had a unique understanding of the importance of morale and duty and knew how to instill it in his countryman like no other.
Well, "Dad's Army" was a really funny TV show (the 2016 movie was a farce), in the long standing tradition of taking a piss out of them themselves, similar to series like "It ain't half hot mum" and the later Blackadder skits. Or Fawlty Towers (just don't mention the war ;-) )
250 m is actually pretty damn far. You would be hard put to find that projector weapon in a bush at 250. I think they would have been brutally effective.
You might have mentioned that the American members of the National Rifle Association donated 70,000 guns to the Home Guard after a request was published in the NRA monthly. magazine.
Its worth noting that the Brits appealed to Americans to send their own personal pistols, rifles, binoculars, and other gear to "defend a British home". And American citizens stepped up and did just that. Then at the end of the war, the British government disarmed their citizens and destroyed the donated arms.
Just wanted to thank you deeply for your honest overview of the Home Guard - and not a mocking laugh-fest of men whose attitude was to protect their own piece of the kingdom.
That barrel of fuel is almost exactly what we were taught (and made) in improvised weapons and tactics. Used a block of C4..the fuel was napalm (made in the barrel) Good ideas live on
Pillboxes were part of a series of long Stop Lines crossing the country. As one Stop Line fell to an invading enemy, the regular army would regroup at the next Stop Line. Home Guard and Auxilliary Units would delay the enemy advance as long as possible. Pillboxes are strategically placed to cover bridges, valleys and other avenues of movement.
Fougasse summarized at 8:50 was a weapon taught to me in the late 1970s or early 1980s, possibly as a result of leaders' Vietnam experiences where improvised weapons took their toll.
Popular wit insisted the LDV stood for Look, Duck, and Vanish ..... the better nomenclature of Home Guard was then used to prevent much of this sarcasm.
My Grandad used to tell me stories of the Holman projector. He was aboard Royal Navy Corvettes during WW2. He said they were absolutely...... useless and more of a danger to those operating them or on deck. 360° frag. They did use them, but you had to be very desperate!
There are standing bunkers where i live still, ive been inside one and it was so small it was crazy. I live in a town that would have been on the bombing/invasion list
Australia had a home guard my father was in it he couldn't serve in the regular army because he wore glasses but he did serve in the Australian home guard more than likely based on the British home guard
If you want a really interesting story you should cover the Auxiliaries or even more serious Section 7. Shows just how ruthless the wartime government approached the prospect of invasion. Still pretty secret even today - especially Section 7.
Sadly the HG image was not improved by the television series “Dads Army “ although the intent of the series was not to denigrate the organisation and several of the cast as well as the writers where HG members . I think a force of over 1.4 men and women might have made a difference in the early days even with the poor equipment available and by 1942 onwards it was a considerable force to be reckoned with.
There’s a great UA-cam video series covering the cast of the TV sitcom Dad’s Army. The actors were themselves war heroes, so they knew exactly what they were doing. I recommend you search those videos up. They are very enlightening.
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Why doesn't the UA-cam algorithm pay you more moneys?
Operation Stallion?
DAD'S ARMY REPRESENT!!!!!!!!!
I expected a mention of the "Send a Gun to Defend a British Home" campaign by the "American Committee for Defense of British Homes" (1940). Militarily fairly useless but some arms did make it into the Home Guard. The weapons were, of course, destroyed at the end of hostilities as the British citizenry chose to go back to their supine prewar existence. Lessons learned? hardly.
It would be interesting to compare the Home guard with the actual capabilities of the volksturm in 45
I attended a party on arrival to Australia and there were three old gentleman there, all over 90. They recounted to me how they were in the home guard in the Yorkshire Dales. One night an airman landed by parachute in a field they were near and they rushed up and held him at gunpoint. The pilot was trying to communicate frantically with them but they did not speak German. After some chin wagging together they decided the best option was to take their prisoner down to the village pub hoping that someone there could understand what he was trying to say and hand him over to the local bobby. Turned out he was a Polish fighter pilot whose plane had failed and they all ended up getting completely drunk. I will never forget those 3 sprightly young ninety year olds who had their stories so well rehearsed that they could have been on the stage together. Sadly, I never met up with them again and I’m pretty certain they’re the only chaps I’ve seen wearing ties at a party or n Australia.
A lot of people forget, a lot of the Home Guard were World War 1 veterans. They survived the trenches of the Great War, so they knew what they were doing when they had to pick up a gun again. They already had the training and the experience, they just needed a refresher course.
My grandad spent the war mining coal to keep the war industry running. Any spare time was spent volunteering in the Home Guard. He was probably fitter than your average squaddie. I feel pride in his efforts.
As well earned, and you rightfully should 👍
Quite right too
It was reprehensible that the British government did not give recognition to those that served in our mines during the war. Their job was essential to the war effort and many died underground. As a country we owe a debt of gratitude to these men. I would like to thank your grandad and all those who mined the much needed coal for their service to our country.
definitely be proud. that whole generation was amazing. they served in many ways, including the mothers back home waiting. not enough recognition for the non-combatants. but even I would rather see Band of Brothers than a movie primarily about Rosie's Riveters or the heart break of a mom learning her son's death.
So your dad was in Cornwall. The only place on the flat earth that coal has ever been found is a tin mine in Cornwall called the Trevithick Schmiddy. You aren't a roundie are you? This mine is almost out of coal to send to America. This is why they pretended to go to the moon and get its coal. Don't tell the roundies I said this. Move out of Yorkshire and get in the Trevithick Schmiddy now. Don't leave I won't let you.
I recently re-binged "Dad's Army", and yes it makes many jokes about the Home Guard. However, there are also a number of times when it also shows the willingness of the members to give there all in defense of their home.
The members of the Home Guard would have known that they were meant to die, to slow down the Germans until the RA showed up. Yet they still did their job.
Dad's Army is really an odd-couple sit-com betweein Mainwaring and Wilson set in the Home Guard. I never felt it mocked the Home Guard itself, more poked fun at the various echelons of British society by mashing them together, a class comedy, if you will, particularly how the two leads have their social positions reversed.
Interesting facts. The actor who played Godfrey was a veteran of WW1 and was in the Home Guard in WW2. Most of the actors had served in WW2. So they had a wealth of experience to draw on.
@@andrewthorpe3219 True: Arnold Ridley, who played Godfrey, had an amazing life deserving of a movie/tv show in itself: from hand to hand combat in the Somme to narrow escapes in WW2 to being a well respected writer in peacetime... to playing doddering old Godfrey in Dad's Army.
I could be mistaken, but think I recall the plotline of having Godfrey be a Cconscientious Objector (brilliant episode) was something he himself suggested (or at least championed) due to his experiences seeing the horrors of war first hand.
@@johntaylorson7769 I just Wikkid his war record . The bloke got bayonetted and all sorts and still went back for WW2 . There is apparently a Desert Island discs I am going to have a listen if it is still on the BBC. What a lad !
Like heck.
The Home Guard units Ar.y father came across would have not been seen for dust if a German appeared
In many cases down pilots were either arrested by the local Bobby or Landsrmy girls who were terrors with pitchforks.
Always admired the idea of the Home Guard. No one fights harder than they do for their own patch of land.
As silly as the show Dad's Army was, you got the feeling that they really would have thrown themselves at the Germans, if only to slow them down a bit
@@bodavidson2804 They don't like it up em
just make sure you don't tell them your name Pike.
As the Ukranians are demonstrating right now.
@@chrisjb241 The cold steel, Jonsey, the cold steel!
Dad's Army doesn't really mock the Home Guard- there are several episodes which make it clear that they were a respectable force. "The Battle of Godfrey's Cottage" for one. We have the benefit of hindsight to know that the Home Guard never had to defend our land from invasion, but they didn't know that at the time. They VOLUNTEERED to take on the most successful invading army in the world despite age/youth, infirmity and severe lack of equipment. They knew they couldn't defeat the German army, but they hoped that laying down their lives would just buy our army enough time. Brave, brave men and no less worthy of our respect than any "regular" armed force.
You should definitely make a Video going deeper into the auxiliary 'stay behind' units. It was so secret, no one else was supposed to know they even existed, their bunkers were hidden with ingenious mechanisms, and tons still haven't been discovered yet as lots of the members never told anyone what they did during the war. There's probably still some caches of weapons and explosives hidden around. Incredible stories.
Michael Foot MP , George Orwell and J.B.Priestley were all Scallywags. I agree, it would make a great show.
isn't a bunch of that like literal propaganda to tell spies.
like a bunch of bunkers weren't found because they only existed on paper to make it look like that an invasion would be more expensive, for that reason enemy only thinking they might exist matters, besides than that they're a fairly regular resistance movement thing. finland had it's own weapon stashing scandal that some people went to prison for(contingency for soviet occupation, but against the surrender rules so few people like larry then lauri thorne did some time for it).
it also happens to be a favorite subject for people telling tall stories. perfect subject really.
I've seen on a few things that part of what they did was to compile lists of those likely to collaborate, not just those that expressed Nazi type views but those that would always put themselves first with no consideration for country or principles. The idea was that if there was an invasion, those likely collaborators would be executed before they got chance.
There are also sources that suggest that the weapons caches were moved after the war with ring-wingers being given the location to provide resistance in case of a Soviet invasion.
Yep, people still find weapons caches to this day as many were never documented
@@oldsteve4291 I as about to mention those notable scallywags , apparently many with communist sympathies were recruited as their views were seen to make them more likely to resist a Fascist/Nazi regime with extreme measures.
Stands back to admire the phrase "... a four legged tripod" 🤣🤣
Yeah, that made my eye twitch 😅
thats a man willing to make a stand
A quad pod
That’s me standing beside you cupping my chin with a look of wonder and suspicion. 😂
I was reading through the comments as I listened and saw your comment literally 10 seconds before Simon said it lol wonder at the comment turned into understanding in an instant 😅
A good summary - well done, Simon & Co.
A few additional points -
Weapons: a shotgun is lethal at short ranges, and as most HG were to fight in their own town or village, and many knew their way around with a shotgun, these would have been very effective.
AW grenades, etc. My village, in ASW England had a HG of over 200, and this "Company" had on the books several thousand AW and petrol bombs which were stashed around the place, plus numerous dug-in fougasse. Again, short range weapons, but that was the point.
Men/Women: a look at any photos of a HG Unit will show many with Gallantry Medal ribbons, such as the MM and MC. These were men, early '40s, who knew their area and while not the sort to make a long assault, in defence they'd have been tough customers. Plus, it wasn't only those unfit/too old for active service. MAny men were in 'reserved' occupations, such as farmers, factory workers, etc., and these were key HG members.
Locations: HG were essentially to defend their own homes. Their families were told to stay put, so they'd be defending them as well. A strong motivator! Especially as....
AH had declared them to be bandits, so they would be murdered on capture. Another reason to keep fighting - what's the alternative?
My dad was chief inspector of armaments at the BSA factory in Redditch Worcestershire during the war making Bren guns and Browning machines guns,on several occasions he tried to join the regulars and they sent him back to work as a reserved occupation, he joined the home guard and developed a 4 Browning 30 cal machine gun setup for protection of the BSA, he told me that the one thing that scared him was the thought of being bayoneted, because he was so used to machine gun fire from work he had no fear of being shot, he did special training in defense against bayonet, he got to instructor level and even trained regulars in his time off, after the war he was immediately drafted and was in charge of MP’s as an acting Sargent
My grandfather was a WW1 veteran that fought at the Somme, was a sergeant in the Home Guard and a member of the UVF. My father told me of when he was young watching my grandfather cleaning the Lewis gun at night on the kitchen table before going on patrol. His whole life was dedicated to service even as a old retired man he worked as a lollypop man "crossing guard" at my school. When he passed in his late 80's my father and I had to remove a lot of pistols and rifles and ammunition that he had somehow retained and dispose of them them in the local river.
He sounds like he was a really good man. ❤
Excellent and very much overdue credit to the home Guard. Thank you.
When men are protecting their homes and family's. When they are prepared to die to do so . It Isn't anything to belittle. Good bless those that came before us. Our ancestors ! 👍💛👊
I’ve always been puzzled at derision of the Home Guard considering the large number with Great War service and experience. The picture of Darby and Joan in their living room with Dad polishing his Thompson sub machine gang has got to be a propaganda ‘photo opportunity’ considering - especially after the abandonment of weaponry at Dunkirk - the Army would give its eye teeth for!
English generals didn’t like sub machine guns
By the time he got the Thompson the army had Sten guns
Simon, just think the "Home Guard" were full of older men who had fought the Germans in 1917-18, so they were not as untrained as people think.
As far as many of them could see it, if German invaded the proverbial gloves would be off and they would have defended their homes and families with ingenuity and almost certainly ferocious (if probably ultimately futile) defence.
Remember that most older men at the time were fitter than we are now, as they did a lot of physically manual jobs, so would have been reasonably capable infantry with their WWI training.
It was members of the home guard who functioned as the adversary forces training the SAS and SBS and other commando groups. The men in these units were all ww1 veterans picked for their bloody minded ferocity and brains, and they routinely beat the hell out of their younger pupils during training. They were all 'Dad's Army' members, often having been turned down for regular service due to age or, and I cannot say this louder MULTIPLE AMPUTATION.
Dad's Army contained members who were missing one or more limbs who nonetheless ran the nascent British commando units ragged, and kicked their arses into shape. Y'all want to mess with one of them? I know I'd rather stay home in my own country.
I agree. Based on what we now know of the preparations, any German who set foot on British soil would experience a great many unpleasant surprises.
I refer you to Sir Terry pratchett. Writing of Coan the barbarian...an 80 year old barbarian
" The first...the very first thing to remember about old people....they are the ones that survived "
What isn't mentioned in this video was that rather a lot of them had fought the fascists in the Spanish Civil War, they were skilled in guerrilla tactics and they trained the Home Guard in those.
I remember watching episodes of Dad's Army (TV Series 1968-1977) that focused on the Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, either because of age (hence the title Dad's Army), medical reasons or by being in professions exempt from conscription. Most of the platoon members in Dad's Army are over military age and the series stars several older British actors, including Arnold Ridley, John Laurie, Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier. Clive Dunn played the oldest guardsman, Lance Corporal Jones, who joined the army as a drummer boy in 1884; thereafter, he served in five military campaigns - the Gordon Relief Expedition to the Sudan (1884-1885), the Anglo-Egyptian Reconquest of the Sudan (1896-1899), the Boer War (1899-1901), where after that he was promoted to Lance Corporal, and the First World War (1914-1918). Afterwards, he became a civilian butcher and joined the Home Guard in 1940. In many episodes, Jones fondly recalls his participation in the Battle of Omdurman in the Sudan, facing the "Fuzzy Wuzzies" under the command of General Kitchener. As an aged veteran, he is extremely fond of bayonet warfare ("the cold steel"), and usually meets any queries about this with the assertion that "they don't like it up 'em!"
- Dad's Army - The Bullet Is Not for Firing ua-cam.com/video/VEtaII6r3Go/v-deo.html
He was only in his late 40s - early 50s when he played Corporal Jones too.
@@marekohampton8477 Yeah, ironically he was one of the younger actors in the squad, playing one of the most elderly. One of the younger actors in the squad, James Beck (21 February 1929 - 6 August 1973) who played the cockney criminal smuggler, Private Walker, died suddenly of pancreatitis during production of the sixth series in 1973. His birthday was a few days ago. RIP.
It’s easy to forget, with hindsight being 20/20, that these guys probably thought they were going to have to fight the German army with the kit described here. It took brass knackers to join the home guard, and that was about the only thing Britain had in abundance in those days.
They shot a tank buster out of a spud cannon and I think all of us Dads can agree that that is a relatable joy
WW2's affect on England was a large part of the background in my life. An un-exploded bomb from the Blitz was found outside my junior school, a pair of concrete posts that were Anti-tank defences sat beside the road connecting us with the next village over, a concrete pillbox stands right next to the motorway junction that leads to our village and there's a decommissioned railway station just outside the village borders that transported materials to munition factories during the war. As a kid, all of these things (apart from the bomb because that was terrifying) were just random things that made up a part of my village and I had no clue of their history. Things like that are why I love learning about history so much. Tiny little parts of my childhood that meant nothing to me, and yet had such rich stories behind them.
There is still a tank trap in my town. I walk past it once a week. It looks like a row of concrete blocks on the side of the road where it goes under the railway viaduct. It was designed to funnel the tanks through one arch of the viaduct and into the sights of an antitank gun.
Thank you for this fitting tribute. The Home Guard played a vital role, and many of their pillboxes & Auxiliary bunkers remain to remind us. If the invasion had come, they would've fought & died as lions.
My Maternal Grandfather was in the Home Guard. I have a photo of him in uniform. He was a young man, but was in a reserved occupation.
We have a great photo of my Great Grandfather (home guard) ,my Grandfather and Great Uncle all 3 in Uniform in the weeks before D Day . My Grandfather (a professional at Dunkirk) had just come back from North Africa and it was the first time the 3 had been together in over 3 years . Sadly my G Uncle Ben lost his left arm in France and it's the last photo of him before his wounding.
It's worth writing all you know to go alongside such photos for future generations I feel lucky to have grown up knowing veterans of both World wars and hearing some of their stories.
The Smith Gun is very optimized for movement and rapid setup, very well done !!!
Peter Flemming (Brother to Ian Flemming, the creator of James Bond), was involved as an intelligence office in the capture of the German plans to invade England. His book on the subject, 'Operation Sea Lion,' is worth the read. Kenneth Macksey has written a fiction book on this hypothetical invasion taking place. 'Invasion: The German Invasion of England, July 1940.'
My Grand dad was a WWI vet, originally serving with the Calgary Highlanders on the western front. In WWII he rejoined, this time the Canadian Scottish and served in Victoria for 4 years. Too old to go overseas at 46, he was stationed at an officer training school where the University of Victoria is now located. He was released after breaking his hip in a vehicle rollover.
I was always confused by the image of the home guard. Dad's Army was made up of WWI survivors, those who had seen combat, seen slaughter and lived to tell the tale. They were level headed, capable men, who wouldn't panic, wouldn't shy away. That's exactly who I want watching out for my little town thanks.
Because the regular military always looks down on "milita" military. In the US you got the same thing between NG and RA. It doesn't matter that the NG was made up of 75% combat vets, that they had a unit cohesion from serving together for years or they smoked the equivalent RA units in ARTEP's...
I hope there's a day of rememberance in England for the Home Guard. The men and boys serving in that role, willingly putting their lives on the line, deserve to be honored.
Too white and too much Pro Britain. We are now aiming to be a Post National Country like Canada.
All those that served in any of the forces are remembered on 11th November and the nearest Sunday to that date. There isn't a separate one for the Home Guard.
Why just England
Being bit of a armchair historian, and growing up with the Dad's army TV series. I too just considered it to be a comedy show. However as I got older and better read. I now view the program as alight hearted view of the people of Britain, in a time of dire need. Who came together despite all there short comings ,to defend there home land. Yes some of the episodes were just pure farse . But a lot of the episodes had in some case's grain's of truth.. So I hoped that younger viewer's could take away just how far there grand and great grand parents and there parents were prepared to go to defend there homes.
I know Jimmy Perry had served in the Home Guard (Pvt. Pike was apparently largely inspired by him and there was an old soldier who had the same mentality towards bayonetes as Lance Corporal Jones in his platoon).
My grandfather had been a regular soldier serving in India before WWI. After 1914 he returned and fought thoughout it, earning the Military Medal for bravery under fire at the bloody battle of the Somme. During WW2 while his son, my father, served abroad, my grandfather served in the Home Guard. I'm sure if the Germans had invaded he and his comrades would have fought just as hard as they did in the previous war. They were a very special breed, we should all be proud of the country they left us. Unfortunately, politicians have now all but destroyed their legacy to us, their descendants.
The Scallywags, were specially trained in guerrilla warfare including assassination, unarmed combat, demolition and sabotage, they were often gamekeepers or poachers, who could live off the land, Royal engineers built hidden underground bunkers to store weapons and explosives and two weeks of food, to hide in during an invasion to allow them to get behind enemy lines, when they would be an autonomous, self sufficient unit that would sabotage anything useful to the enemy, kill as many German soldiers as possible ... they were expected to survive around 12 days ...
My parents went to London in 1939,
as the war began in Europe.
My Father, born 1911, in Germany,
and my Mother, born 1910 in Zurich,
met there in 1937, and later my Uncle,
Father's twin, they both were interned
in 1940, when France fell, and sent
for 3 years to Canada, and returned
in 1943, when my parents married,
and I was born in May 1944, in London,
and soon will be 80. Luckily in our
part of London was not too bombed.
We came to NYC, in 1949, on the ship Queen Mary, and when we settled down in a NY City suburb, and I started
school there in 1950. My Uncle came
over too and married in 1952 and had
a son and daughter with his wife he
had met in Europe, being Danish.
My Mother saw the Battle of Britain
in 1940, and Queen Elizabeth as a then
young lady. After the war, WWIi RAF
pilot, Douglas Bader lived in our apt
in Park West, London. 😊
Awsome
@@mrlodwick Thank 😊 you.
This makes me want to see Simon cover the Calcutta Light Horse raid on Goa during the second world war. Middle aged reservist blowing up a german freighter in a neutral port.
Yes, I would like to see Simon's take on that story. Lindybeige covered that very well, though. I tried to post a link to his video, but apparently UA-cam doesn't like links even to itself. You can easily find it, though.
I heard this story from Lindybeige too.
Over 20 years ago, I used to listen to 'Dad's Army' on BBC radio online while in grad school. Since then, I've also seen videos of the TV show. While I assumed that the real version of Dad's Army was not as incompetent as the entertainment versions, being in the States, I had no idea what they really did. It's amazing to learn how many were willing to do their part and even train with questionable weapons. This video probably won't mean much to people who aren't Brits, but this American found it enlightening.
This American also found it entertaining as all I knew about it was also “Dad’s Army”. The only thing we had close to it was air raid wardens.
Don't tell him, Pike!
Whistle while you work...
How dare you compare our glorious leader to that horrid little clown? Your names on the list! What is it?
Don't tell him, Pike!
Danke! 😅
I came to the comments only to see this, I was not disappointed.
@@EdwardMoffatt Now that you're here, you can have a nice word with the Kapitan about getting Pike's name off the list (assuming he survives eating the soggy chips). :P
@@conradgittins4476Hitler is a twerp
Who wants to start a petition to get Simon to read great speeches on a new channel? I think his speaking voice would be great to hear the full content of some of the greatest speeches ever given!
While Britain's Home Guard was particularly unique in many ways, it is worth mentioning it was not the only Commonwealth nation to have an active Home Guard in the war. Indeed, in Australia there was the Volunteer Defence Corps, whose role was identical to that of the British Home Guard, including the Auxiliary Units (the shock squads of the Home Guard referred to in the video). A lot of people who couldn't join the Australian Imperial Force (AIF, the "regular" army) instead joined the Citizen's Military Forces, or CMF, which saw active combat against Japan in the territories in the north of Australia (today's Papua New Guinea, and the British Protectorate of the Solomon Islands). The CMF was distinct from a Home Guard, however, in that it was a formal part of the Australian Army, and was later amalgamated with other services to form the Army Reserve that exists today. However, the CMF did have many Home Guard characteristics, in that reserved occupations could join, they were focused on national defence (unlike the AIF, they couldn't be deployed away from Australia - the exception being the Pacific Islands, which had a funny sort of status in the Empire at the time), and people otherwise disqualified from military service could join. They also famously participated in the New Guinea Campaign, especially on the infamous Kokoda Track, as frontline troops while AIF units were being recalled to Australia from across the world. New Zealand, likewise, had an organisation actually called the Home Guard to do the same in NZ as it's British equivalent. In the Australian Territory of Papua and New Guinea, the Royal Pacific Regiment was formed along the lines of the CMF, seeing combat alongside CMF, AIF and allied troops. However, other military auxiliaries were also formed in the Islands, such as the famous Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, a military ambulance auxiliary made up almost exclusively of native Papuans, as well as the Coastwatchers (a type of naval intelligence service, many being executed as spies in Japanese occupied regions - famously, the Coastwatchers were not just Australians, but Dutch, British, Americans, and even expat Germans!).
Dad's army was not making fun of the Home Guard. They were infact honoring them. As was shown in their last show.
As an American I'd never heard about this part of the war before. (I am aware of the shortcomings of our "history" in places like this and do my own research of more international sources but just not this bit.) I don't understand mockery of this, unless it was just that young adult writing off of past gens. To me this is endearing. Under armed and considered not fit for the main fight, but ready and able to defend their home by any means they could think up.
"Shoot him uncle Arthur, you've got all the reason!" (Pike showing disdain for air raid warden Hodges)
We (in Holland) loved this sitcom as ever so British, while still honouring the actual heroism of all the volunteers to help protect the country in their spare time and often with limited means.
Australia had a home guard, the Volunteer Defence Corps.
I would think Canada's "reserves" would be a similar role as well.
I'm surprised Australia thought they needed such a thing, you'd figure you could just let the invaders in and let the wildlife take care of it.
@@RealShebang Emu militia!
@@RealShebang 😆
@@RealShebang Jokes about wildlife aside, you aren't wrong. Any attempted invasion by the nips would be doomed to fail. Australia is fucking massive, consisting of like 90% barren wasteland without the pre-existing infrastructure you see in similar enviroments in the US. Considering tojos non-existent logistics, the rabid dogs would die of dehydration before reaching Alice-Springs. Fanatically charging forward would only worsen their situation.
Ultimate respect for the Brits bravery, ingenuity and perseverance in WWII. Including the Home Guard.
I like how, early in the war, the "uniform" of the Home Guard consists of a business suit and tie.
"One simply MUST dress appropriately for the occasion, don't you agree, Private Smedley? We're civilized after all."
The US supplied a number of M1917 rifles under the lend-lease program which were issued to the Home Guard. These rifles were essentially identical to the British P14 rifle except that they were chambered in caliber .30-06 instead of the standard British caliber .303. They were painted with a wide red stripe around the buttstock to (hopefully) prevent putting the wrong ammunition in them. Most of them were returned to the US after the war and were sold as surplus or distributed through the Civilian Marksmanship Program. Undoubtedly, many of the new owners removed the red paint and original Home Guard M1917s are highly collectible today.
Initially perhaps, but eventually US made rifles were chambered in .303 for issue to British.
@@johnthomas2485 I may be wrong, but I don't think any M1917s were newly manufactured for lend-lease, hence they would all have been in .30-06. The US had at least tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of M1917s in storage. I very much doubt they would have spun up new manufacturing. Do you have a link or a reference for this information?
@@itsapittie Oh the machine guns. I was confusing them with Springfields re chambered and US made Enfields.
The Pattern 17 Enfield rifle was 30.06 calibre and the very similar Pattern 14 Enfield rifle was British .303 calibre.
@@johnthomas2485 Savage made the Enfield No. 4 Mark I* for the British in their standard .303 caliber. I don't know if any other manufacturer did. Interestingly, they were marked "U. S. PROPERTY" on the receivers to indicate they were lend-lease items. I don't know what eventually happened to them and I've never seen one. Like the U.S. made and marked Mosin-Nagant rifles of WW1, I think it's a fascinating tidbit of firearm history.
There were " stay behind units"
These men because they were of fighting age but didn't join up got a lot ..a lot ...of flack from friends and neighbours because they apparently were shirking their duty.
These men , in secret prepared to be the last line of defense...the Homeguard were used as a cover( in parliamentary accounts) for the resourses directed to theses units.
The dads army show..has been accused over the years as poking fun at the homeguard..where as the two writer's were more than affectionate to the HG..
If fun was made, it was made of the characters of that particular unit.
On the last episode the cast raised a glass to the real "home guard".
Jimmy Perry, one of the writers, was actually in the Home Guard until he was called up for Army service. He based the character of Pike on himself.
My grandad was part of the home guard in East London. I still have his state issued police whistle. He told me stories of helping at bomb sites and doing the air raid sirens.
I have had the privilege of meeting UK men and women of that era. I may joke on my cousins, but those men and women were ready to defend their island with a damn spoon if need be. And although my blood is not from Britain, being American I kinda feel a kindred spirit.
And honestly, it seems I had to wait for the last two minutes before those folks sacrifice was mentioned. A little disappointed with this.
Another thing is that soldiers in the field would know that their homes were still being guarded while they were away at the front fighting the main war. This would boost the morale of the soldier fighting hundreds or thousands of miles away. They could fight knowing their home, wife, child were still safe, imagine if however there wasn't a homeguard.... the soldier in the field would be torn by do I stay and fight here or do I go AWOL and go home to keep my family safe? Having the home guard would allow more men to sign up, they would not be needed at home per se but could go forth and get the job done.
They feature in the (underrated) Disney film "Bedknobs and Broomsticks".
The idea of a 40 gallon drum dug into a road side bank was a useful concept. It’s contents weren’t just petrol. Diesel, waste oil and oil based paint were to be used. The contents propelled by the charge ignited the fuel mixture which became very sticky, an early form of napalm. Any enemy vehicles attacked by this weapon would be disabled and infantry were in for a a nasty shock, serious injury or horrific death.
The irony of Germany attempting an amphibious invasion of Britain is that the island would have been viciously and unwaveringly defended by the descendants of at least a dozen previous invasion forces.
Other than the Spanish Armada of 1588, I cannot off-hand think of another invasion force that failed to take at least part of Britain.
"They don't like it up 'em, sir......"
"*Stupid* boy..... "
I always loved Private Fraser's "ghost stories"! Nothing like a Scottish accent to make things scary!
Always interested (if a little apprehensive about the prodigious output and ubiquity of just one man), I literally find myself breathless trying to listen and comprehend at the frenetic pace of your speech! Please, slow it down just a little!!
LDV aka “Look, Duck and Vanish”. Thank G-d it was changed to the Home Guard. Both grandfathers were survivors of WW1 so they joined despite their relatively recent experience of the horrors of trench warfare. By the time WW2 came around my father was a pilot in the RAF whilst his brother was in the BEF (got cold and wet leaving France, then repeated it on D-day. He never even paddled in the sea whilst on holiday).
Not one to really understand how awful their combined experiences were I was daft enough to spend 28 years as a Royal, retiring in 2006.
I would guess the idea of the Home Guard to someone like Churchill (or his advisers)was seen for what it was by them. A way to prevent people at home giving up on the war even if they are guaranteed to lose if you give people the impression they are fighting for something even in a losing situation fewer of the people will realise they can't win and will continue to aid the war effort. This prevents things like your munitions and other war factories losing too many personnel or having production slow to dangerous levels due to poor morale.
"... a four-legged tripod ..." Wait, wouldn't that make it a "quadpod"?
"who's standing firm in our own front yard!? The soldier of the old home guard that's who!!"🎵🎶
So... This is the division of troops that was marching through the town in the beginning of Disney's "Bedknobs & Broomsticks" ? I always was kinda wondering why the men sang THAT lyric on their marching song in the movie....
"We're soldiers of the old Home Guard!!!....". 😊😊❤
The Smith Gun actually has a model in 1/72 scale made by the ACE model company. Dad's Army actually shows one a few times. As time goes on equipment improves as the war goes on and the "Dad's Army" tv show reflects this.
Don't forget that a lot of the Home Guard's personnel were actually veterans of WW1. You might remember that they were actually experienced soldiers who had defeated the German Army in WW1 and hated the Germans with a passion.
Four legged tripod was the best part ;-)
These men were ww1 vets & would of fought to the last man.
Shovels and giant caltrops can stop tanks. Dig the earth, make pitfalls and use the giant calttops for the harder to dig earth to guide the tank into pitfalls.
My grand father told us that when a German recon plane was spotted coming in, they would sometimes scramble and set up in the open so the Germans got plenty of pictures of military movement on the ground. Gave the impression the British army was much larger than the Germans thought at the time..... It was used again, with inflatable tanks and trucks to convince the Nazis of an invasion at the Pas de Calais.... Which also worked to decoy the Nazis during the weeks before and after D-Day.
Wonder if that helped lead to the postponement and eventual canceling of the Operation Sea Lion by the Germans, in conjunction with the RAF's outstanding defense of Britain, and the Royal Navy maintaining a very visible presence.
Male members were rewarded with a certificate, bearing the words: "In the years when our Country was in mortal danger, (name) who served (dates) gave generously of his time and powers to make himself ready for her defence by force of arms and with his life if need be. George R.I." If he had served more than three years and requested it, a member would be awarded the Defence Medal. It was only in 1945 that women who had helped as auxiliaries were recognised with their own certificate.
I've heard the plates-in-the-road trick before, but that source said it came from Czechoslovakia.
And it was used against invading aliens.
My grandfather was part of the dad’s army. He had been a soldier in the 1920’s when Britain occupied Israel but was never the right age during either war.
No one knew the British people or the enemy they faced like Winston Churchill. He never underestimated the enemy OR his own people. He had a unique understanding of the importance of morale and duty and knew how to instill it in his countryman like no other.
Fantastic ending quote.
Private Pike, the last of Walmington Platoon.❤
Well, "Dad's Army" was a really funny TV show (the 2016 movie was a farce), in the long standing tradition of taking a piss out of them themselves, similar to series like "It ain't half hot mum" and the later Blackadder skits. Or Fawlty Towers (just don't mention the war ;-) )
I just realized I had it ain't half hot mum and dad's army conjoined in my memory.
@@randomname4726I think "It ain't half hot mum" was several years later than "Dad's army"...
250 m is actually pretty damn far. You would be hard put to find that projector weapon in a bush at 250. I think they would have been brutally effective.
You might have mentioned that the American members of the National Rifle Association donated 70,000 guns to the Home Guard after a request was published in the NRA monthly. magazine.
That’s amazing and doesn’t surprise me in the least! 🙌
those old guys would have went out swinging
and i dont mean dancing...hyuk hyuk hyuk
Its worth noting that the Brits appealed to Americans to send their own personal pistols, rifles, binoculars, and other gear to "defend a British home". And American citizens stepped up and did just that. Then at the end of the war, the British government disarmed their citizens and destroyed the donated arms.
Just wanted to thank you deeply for your honest overview of the Home Guard - and not a mocking laugh-fest of men whose attitude was to protect their own piece of the kingdom.
Well done and written. Good job Gilles Messier! And Fact Boi did a good job reading the script, too!
That barrel of fuel is almost exactly what we were taught (and made) in improvised weapons and tactics. Used a block of C4..the fuel was napalm (made in the barrel)
Good ideas live on
Excellent historical information you were very articulate however, you must slow down a little bit. Thank you.
"You're not giving us guns?! We're going to revolt!!"
"Oh? With what, exactly?"
You can see old pillboxes all over East Anglia usually covering a crossroad or river crossing.
Pillboxes were part of a series of long Stop Lines crossing the country. As one Stop Line fell to an invading enemy, the regular army would regroup at the next Stop Line. Home Guard and Auxilliary Units would delay the enemy advance as long as possible.
Pillboxes are strategically placed to cover bridges, valleys and other avenues of movement.
So a "4 legged tripod" ......didn't that register as you said it ?
Great to see so much of the photographic record of the HG
Thank you Simon I never knew any of this.
And as everybody old enough to have seen most of the Dad's Army episodes, the Smith Gun was also very capable at shooting onions.
The home guard would have more likely used P-14 rifles rather than M-17s , same rifle but in .303 British instead of 30-06 .
Not really on topic but congrats to Simon Whistler for saying the SI correct "keelogram" rather than the usual and wrong "killogram"
I loved the four legged tripod to, something interesting about me. I’m a two legged monopod 😂😂😂
Fascinating. I'd love to see another episode about the auxiliary "scallywags".
Great topic! Loved it!
Fougasse summarized at 8:50 was a weapon taught to me in the late 1970s or early 1980s, possibly as a result of leaders' Vietnam experiences where improvised weapons took their toll.
Popular wit insisted the LDV stood for Look, Duck, and Vanish ..... the better nomenclature of Home Guard was then used to prevent much of this sarcasm.
My Grandad used to tell me stories of the Holman projector. He was aboard Royal Navy Corvettes during WW2.
He said they were absolutely......
useless and more of a danger to those operating them or on deck. 360° frag.
They did use them, but you had to be very desperate!
The #68 reminds me of the EFPs that were tearing us up starting in about 2008
There are standing bunkers where i live still, ive been inside one and it was so small it was crazy. I live in a town that would have been on the bombing/invasion list
Australia had a home guard my father was in it he couldn't serve in the regular army because he wore glasses but he did serve in the Australian home guard more than likely based on the British home guard
If you want a really interesting story you should cover the Auxiliaries or even more serious Section 7. Shows just how ruthless the wartime government approached the prospect of invasion. Still pretty secret even today - especially Section 7.
Love your content 😊😊😊❤❤
Sadly the HG image was not improved by the television series “Dads Army “ although the intent of the series was not to denigrate the organisation and several of the cast as well as the writers where HG members . I think a force of over 1.4 men and women might have made a difference in the early days even with the poor equipment available and by 1942 onwards it was a considerable force to be reckoned with.
Two of my great uncles were in the Home Guard, different platoons, but both said 'Everything you see on Dad's Army, is true'!
There’s a great UA-cam video series covering the cast of the TV sitcom Dad’s Army.
The actors were themselves war heroes, so they knew exactly what they were doing.
I recommend you search those videos up. They are very enlightening.
My grandfather was a Boy Scout during the war, and his troop played Germans during Home Guard training. Apparently, he thought it was great fun!
Hey. Some of those Improved Anti tank flame Weapons could be done in WW1 as well...