British Home Guard

British Home Guard
Kessell (Mr) War Office official photographer. · Public domain · source
Name	Home Guard
Founded	14 May 1940
Disbanded	3 December 1944
Country	United Kingdom
Allegiance	King George VI
Branch	Volunteer force
Type	Local defence
Role	Anti-invasion, local security
Garrison	Local counties and boroughs
Notable commanders	Sir Winston Churchill, Sir John Anderson, Sir Samuel Hoare

British Home Guard The British Home Guard was a volunteer defence organisation raised during the Second World War to defend the United Kingdom against invasion and support civil defence. Formed in May 1940 amid the aftermath of the Dunkirk evacuation and the Fall of France, it operated alongside the Regular Army, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy coastal and auxiliary forces, and Civil Defence organisations until late 1944. It drew on veterans of the First World War, former members of the Territorial Army, and civilians from industry, transport, and agriculture to perform local defence, sabotage prevention, and liaison with Auxiliary Units and Local Defence Volunteers-related groups.

Origins and formation

The impetus for creation followed the 1940 collapse of the British Expeditionary Force in the Battle of France and the realization of a potential German invasion after Operation Sealion planning. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Home Secretary Sir John Anderson authorised volunteer formations drawing on precedent from Volunteer Force and Territorial Force traditions. The initial proclamation called for men too old or otherwise ineligible for conscription, including veterans of the Western Front, participants in the Gallipoli Campaign, and survivors of the Somme offensives. Local mobilisation centres mirrored structures from the Volunteer Training Corps of the First World War and coordinated with county Lord Lieutenant offices, municipal authorities such as the London County Council, and industrial committees including the Ministry of Supply.

Organisation and structure

Units were organised by county and borough, often aligning with existing Regimental Districts, Yeomanry squadrons, and Territorial Army battalions. Command relationships connected Volunteer leadership with divisional staffs from numbered British Army divisions and corps districts, as well as liaison officers from the War Office and the Adjutant General's Department. Officer appointments included retired officers from the Indian Army, Royal Engineers, and Royal Artillery, and NCO cadres drawn from the Royal Fusiliers, Black Watch, and Grenadier Guards. Logistics and supply chains involved the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Food, and local Municipal Borough administrations. Administrative training and records referenced manuals from the Imperial War Museum and directives issued from Downing Street.

Training, equipment and uniforms

Training adapted regimental drills from the Sherwood Foresters and specialist instruction from the Royal Corps of Signals, Royal Army Service Corps, and Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Weapons procurement included service rifles such as the Lee–Enfield, light machine guns like the Bren gun, and anti-tank weapons including the PIAT and captured Panzerfaust-style unilateral devices. Uniforms ranged from battledress patterns used by the British Army to improvised civilian clothing and armbands authorised under directives from the Home Office; headgear included the Brodie helmet and forage caps similar to those of the City of London Regiment. Vehicle and transport training used lorries requisitioned under Defense Regulations and drivers often came from the Royal Army Service Corps and municipal tramway companies. Specialist training for sabotage and clandestine operations drew on instructors from the Secret Intelligence Service, Special Operations Executive, and retired members of the Z Special Unit.

Operational role and activities

The Home Guard maintained static defences, coastal observation posts, roadblocks, and anti-paratroop patrols in coordination with Royal Navy Coastal Forces and RAF Fighter Command sectors. Activities included manning pillboxes of the GHQ Line, operating searchlights with Anti-Aircraft Command, and supporting Air Raid Precautions during the Blitz. Units guarded installations such as airfields at RAF bases, docks at Port of London Authority facilities, and factories managed by the Ministry of Aircraft Production. They engaged in exercises with formations from British Expeditionary Force veterans, conducted reconnaissance near strategic sites like Dover and the Firth of Forth, and cooperated with Home Fleet coastal commands during invasion alerts.

Home Guard in occupied territories and resistance planning

In anticipation of possible occupation, liaison and planning occurred with clandestine networks including the Special Operations Executive and the wartime Auxiliary Units escape-and-evade schemes. Contingency plans referenced contingency operations modelled on resistance in France and the Norwegian Campaign, and integrated sabotage instructions similar to those issued by General Dwight D. Eisenhower to Allied partisan groups. Coordination extended to exile governments such as Free France and military missions from the Polish Government in Exile to devise cooperative measures for post-occupation recovery and intelligence relay to MI6 and MI5. Training in guerrilla tactics borrowed doctrine from irregular formations such as the French Resistance and Yugoslav Partisans.

Social impact and recruitment

Recruitment campaigns used appeals by national figures including Winston Churchill and municipal leaders like the Mayor of London, and enlisted a broad social cross-section: veterans of the First World War, dockworkers from Port of Liverpool, miners from the South Wales Coalfield, railwaymen from the Great Western Railway, policemen from the Metropolitan Police Service, teachers, shopkeepers, and industrial labourers at Birmingham and Sheffield works. The Home Guard influenced civil morale during the Blitz and reshaped community identity in towns such as Brighton, Hull, and Plymouth. Women contributed via auxiliaries linked to the Women's Voluntary Service and the Auxiliary Territorial Service, while trade unions including the Trades Union Congress negotiated release of skilled workers for duties. Cultural depictions appeared in wartime journalism, cartoons by artists published in The Times and Picture Post, and later portrayals in literature and film.

Disbandment and legacy

With the collapse of Operation Sea Lion prospects and the shifting Allied strategic initiative after the D-Day landings, the need for a domestic volunteer garrison declined. The Home Guard was stood down in late 1944 and formally disbanded in December 1944 as regular formations and the Territorial Army resumed peacetime roles. Its legacy endures in postwar reserve concepts, influence on the later Army Reserve and Territorial Army reforms, museum collections at the Imperial War Museum and local regimental museums, and commemorations by associations of veterans such as the Royal British Legion. Memorials appear at sites including national war memorials in London and civic monuments in counties like Kent and Essex.

Category:Military units and formations of the United Kingdom Category:World War II