Lancaster's Home Guard

[Col]

Interesting article on Lancashire's Home Guard. There was also an opportunity for
locals to hear the true story of this Home Guard unit as it was arranged to co-incide
with a performance of the Dad's Army radio hour which was taking place in 
Lancaster in early May. I'm not sure if the headline was meant to be Lancaster
rather than Lancashire.

ARTICLE

[petere]

Interesting photo also, I think they have put the ”old timers” in the front rank and the youngsters in the back😊

[petere]

It made me think of a scene in one of my absolute favourite movies- ”Das Boot”. In the beginning when the uboat is heading out, the ”Kaleun”, the Commander of the boat, quitely reprimands the on-board War correspondent for taking pictures of the crew so early in the campaign. He wants him to wait until the return voyage when the young crew has grown beards. He says something like: ” otherwise you will embaress the Tommies. It will look like they are fighting children.”

Maybe I am making too much of a single picture, but a photograph is a powerful thing!😊

[jonboy]

My uncle was a sergeant in the Lincolnshire home guard, he was 33 with 2 small children in 1939, he was the local blacksmith during the day so he had a reserved occupation, he never talked about wartime though I only saw him once a year or so as I live in London, he died in 1998.

[petere]

Jun 2, 2019 23:39:15 GMT 12 jonboy said:

My uncle was a sergeant in the Lincolnshire home guard, he was 33 with 2 small children in 1939, he was the local blacksmith during the day so he had a reserved occupation, he never talked about wartime though I only saw him once a year or so as I live in London, he died in 1998.

Maybe a stupid question but, reserved occupation, did that mean ”vital for the war effort”?

Here’s another stupid question- being 33 in 1939, he was far too young to serve in ”the Great War”. He was a sergeant in the Home Guard, did he serve in the military between the wars?

Interesting post, thank you!

[Dave Homewood]

Yes a reserved occupation meant someone who's skills were considered vital enough that they should not leave their occupation to join the Armed Forces. It could mean skilled crasftsmen, or people in charge of large companies that produced war materials, and even certain farmers could be considered as being in a Reserved occupation and thus exempt from conscription.

[jonboy]

No, my uncle left school around 14 & worked for his fathers business, he was a builder, then he became the town blacksmith when the previous owner retied & he and his father took it over around 1931, so his only military experience was the Home Guard, one of his cousins was in the police force so he never got called up either..