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'Bold text'Bold textWorld War two was a battle between two sides the allies and the axis.World War two was fought between 1939 and 1945 this nation wide war all started when the German dictator Adolf Hitler took over the Nazi party.Hitler promised the German people victory after a defeat in World War 1 Great Britain, France, Soviet Union, USA, China Canada and Poland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and India, the Netherlands, Czechslovakia, Belgium, Denmark and Norway also joined the allies while the axis were Germany, Italy, and Japan. The axis also included minor powers such as Finland, Slovenia, Hungary, Manchkuo, Romania, Thailand, Persia and more.On the 7th of December 1941 Japan attacked pearl harbor in Hawaii.People expected cities to be bombed, as enemy planes tried to destroy factories. But bombs would hit homes and schools too, so children would be in danger. The government tried at the start of the war to 'empty the cities' of children and mothers, This was 'evacuation', to protect them from air raids. The plan was put into action in September 1939. About 800,000 children left their homes. However, many returned home after a few weeks. Others stayed in the countryside for the rest of the war.Children were sent from cities to places where there was less risk of air raids. Many London children went to Devon, Cornwall and Wales. Other children moved to villages in the North, East Anglia and Scotland. Evacuees went to live with host families. Their new homes were called 'billets'. 'Billeting officers' arranged for people to look after the children. Things did not always go to plan. Some children ended up in the wrong places. Sometimes evacuees just stood in a line, and local people picked which children to take.A smaller number of children (perhaps 10,000) went to other countries such as Canada,Australia and the United States.An air raid was an attack by enemy planes dropping bombs. Warning of enemy planes was given by sirens. When people heard the sirens' wailing sound, they went into air raid shelters. Big bombs exploded with a loud bang and blew buildings apart. Small bombs called 'incendiaries' started fires. Firefighters worked bravely to put out the flames. Rescue teams pulled people from fallen buildings. Ambulances took the injured to hospital. When the planes had gone, the sirens sounded the 'All Clear'.Air raids on London began in September 1940. This was the start of the Blitz. Lots of other places were bombed, including industrial cities and ports such as Birmingham, Coventry, Southampton, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Hull and Glasgow. There were air raids on seaside towns, such as Eastbourne, and on cathedral cities such as Canterbury. In 1944, Britain faced attacks from new weapons. First came the V-1, a robot 'flying bomb'. Then there was the V-2, a rocket which flew so fast no-one could see or hear it coming. London was the main target for V-1 and V-2 attacksAlmost every home had a radio or 'wireless'. Most radios came in a case made of Bakelite, a kind of plastic. In Britain, all the programmes came from the BBC. People listened to the radio news, and read newspapers, to find out what was happening in the war. The BBC also broadcast war news in foreign languages. People in France and other occupied countries listened in secret, because the Nazis punished anyone caught listening to the BBC. Radio was not all news. There were comedy shows, talks and plays, and sports broadcasts. Lively music on the radio helped weary factory workers keep workingWhy was the Home Guard formed?

On Friday 10 May 1940, the Germans had started their attack on Belgium and the Netherlands using soldiers dropped by parachutes. British troops in mainland Europe were pushed back to the Channel ports. Many people feared that the Germans would soon invade Britain.

To protect Britain, a new part time force was to be set up, the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV).

Radio appeal

On the evening of Tuesday 14 May 1940, the Government made an urgent appeal on the radio to all men aged between 17 and 65. The wanted all men not already serving in the armed forces to become part-time soldiers. Within 24 hours of the radio broadcast a quarter of a million men had volunteered. By the end of July this number had risen to over a million.

Who joined the Home Guard (Local Defence Volunteers)?

Many of the men who joined the Home Guard were those who could not join the regular army because their day time jobs were necessary to keep the country running. They included farm workers, bakers, teachers, grocers, bank staff and railway workers.

Other men who joined were either to young or too old to join the regular army.

Training and equipment

The men were given military style training and, at first, they had no uniforms and little equipment. The public were invited to give their shotguns and pistols to the Home Guard and within a few months over 20,000 weapons were handed in. Many of the men made their own weapons too.