| Home Guard Initially "Local Defence Volunteers" | |
|---|---|
&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Home_Guard_001896.jpg) Home Guard post at Admiralty Arch in central London, 21 June 1940 | |
| Active | 14 May 1940 – 3 December 1944 |
| Disbanded | 31 December 1945 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Role | Defence from invasion |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Sir Edmund Ironside |
The Home Guard (initially Local Defence Volunteers or LDV) was an unpaid armed citizen militia supporting the 'Home Forces' of the British Army during the Second World War. Operational from 1940 to 1944, the Home Guard comprised more than 1.5 million local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, such as those who were too young or too old to join the regular armed services (regular military service was restricted to those aged 18 to 41) and those in reserved occupations. Excluding those already in the armed services, the civilian police or other civil defence volunteer organisations, approximately one in five men were Home Guard volunteers. Their primary role was to act as a secondary defence force in their home locality in case of invasion by the forces of Nazi Germany.[1][2]
The Home Guard were initially ordered to observe, and report back to General Headquarters Home Forces, any airborne or seaborne invading forces in their local area; an order extended subsequently to harassing and obstructing the advance of the enemy even by a few hours to give the regular troops time to regroup. They were also tasked with guarding and defending key transport intersections and factories in rear areas against possible capture by paratroops or fifth columnists. An additional prime purpose was to maintain control of the civilian population in the event of an invasion, to forestall panic and to prevent communication routes from being blocked by refugees; so as to free the regular forces to fight the Germans. During the German bombing campaign of 'The Blitz' they were given the duty of seeking out and guarding unexploded bombs, in the course of which over 1,000 were killed. From 1942, the Home Guard manned coastal artillery and anti-aircraft gun and rocket batteries, releasing regular soldiers for the invasion of Europe. The Home Guard continued to man observation points and roadblocks, and to guard coastal areas of the United Kingdom and other strategically important sites such as airfields, factories and explosives stores, until late 1944, when they were stood down. They were formally disbanded on 31 December 1945, eight months after Germany's surrender.
Men aged 17 to 65 years could join, although the age limits were not strictly enforced. One platoon had a fourteen year old and three men in their eighties enrolled in it. Service was unpaid (although out-of-pocket expenses could be claimed) but gave a chance for older or inexperienced soldiers to support the war effort.
- ^ Macksey, Kenneth. Beda Fomm: The Classic Victory. New York: Ballantine, 1971. 35. ISBN 0345024346.
- ^ DiNardo, Richard (2005). Germany and the Axis Powers: From Coalition to Collapse. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. p. 39. ISBN 0-7006-1412-5.