User talk:Philthe2nd

≤−'''At the beginning of the Second World War a large number of middle-aged men volunteered for war service. In October 1939, Winston Churchill         suggested to Sir John Anderson, the head of Air Raid Precautions (ARP), that a Home Guard of men aged over forty should be formed. Anderson agreed with Churchill's suggestion but it was not until the German Army had launched its Western Offensive that action was taken and on 14th May, 1940, Anthony Eden appealed on radio for men to become Local Defence Volunteers (LDV). In the broadcast Eden asked that volunteers should be aged be aged between 40 and 65 and should be able to fire a rifle or shotgun. By the end of June nearly one and a half a million men had been recruited. General William Ironside, was appointed Commander in Chief of Home Forces. Zone commanders worked voluntarily and LTVs were not paid, though some could claim a small subsistence allowance for long hours of duty. After the defeat of France in June 1940,thousands of LDVs were deployed along the coast of Britain. They were also used to defend munitions factories. At this time only one in ten was armed with a rifle. These were Lee Enfield rifles that had been used in the First World War. When Adolf Hitler heard about that the Home Guard was being used to defend the five thousand miles of Britain coastline, he denounced them as "murder bands" and declared that after the invasion they would be executed if they attacked the German Army. 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. There was still not enough guns to go around and LDVs carried pickaxes, crowbars, coshes, spears and dummy rifles on duty. The men were also        instructed on how to make Molotov cocktails that could be used against German tanks during the expected invasion. They were also trained in  sabotage and the use of high explosives. Uniforms began arriving in the autumn of 1940. Some got khaki serge battledress whereas others had to wear LDV armbands. Later the men were issued with steel helmets, greatcoats and            waterproof capes. Individual commanders made their own arrangements about training. One of the most important training schools was set up by Tom Wintringham, at Osterley Park in Middlesex. Wintringham was a former commander in the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. Other veterans of this war, including the author George Orwell, became involved in preparing the Home Guard to fight against German forces. Philthe2nd 21:44, 28 March 2007 (UTC)§