Home Guard Badges

[Stanley_C_Jenkins]

I was wondering how much is really known about the Home Guard. Photographic evidence suggests that they generally wore the badges of the units to which they were attached, but there must have been some specialised units badges such as this Upper Thames Patrol badge.

[Peter Brydon]

I think you will find a fair bit about Home Guard insignia from various books and articles and generally yes Battalions did wear the cap badges to those regiments to which they were affliliated ( in both periods that the Home Guard was in existance).

There are some interesting badges worn only by Home Guard units and a lot of these like the Isle of Man Home Guard badge have been reproded to death.

More interesting is what has happened to all the original are designations, I was talking to a fellow collector a couple of weeks age and we were both surprised at how difficult they were to find. I have only been able to add one with a connection to the Kings Liverpools in many years collecting.
If any one has any spare West Lancs designations I would be most interested in doing a deal.

P.B.

[BWEF]

Originally Posted by 8thfoot

I think you will find a fair bit about Home Guard insignia from various books and articles and generally yes Battalions did wear the cap badges to those regiments to which they were affliliated ( in both periods that the Home Guard was in existance).

There are some interesting badges worn only by Home Guard units and a lot of these like the Isle of Man Home Guard badge have been reproded to death.

More interesting is what has happened to all the original are designations, I was talking to a fellow collector a couple of weeks age and we were both surprised at how difficult they were to find. I have only been able to add one with a connection to the Kings Liverpools in many years collecting.
If any one has any spare West Lancs designations I would be most interested in doing a deal.

P.B.

The book "Stand Down" by the late Len Whittaker gives details of all of the Home Guard units.

IIRC it is more a list of the battalions, plus ack ack and transport units.

There are few badges in it.

[BWEF]

Originally Posted by Stanley_C_Jenkins

I was wondering how much is really known about the Home Guard. Photographic evidence suggests that they generally wore the badges of the units to which they were attached, but there must have been some specialised units badges such as this Upper Thames Patrol badge.

I have this badge. Had it since a kid and for many years didn't know what it was. It was obtained by my father in WW2.

IIRC a cloth version of this badge is in Brian Davis's book on the WW2 British Army. It was worn with a naval hat, rather than army.

[Stanley_C_Jenkins]

Gentlemen,

Thank you for the replies - having just looked at the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry thread I was beginning to fear that nobody in this forum was interested in military history!

[Peter Brydon]

Stanley,
The answer is yes, I am sure there is a lot of interest in military history here as well the collecting side of the subject.

Attached is a picture of badges worn by the Home Guard only from K and K Vol 2.

I recently tried to put together a list of the second phase Lancashire Home Guard units and their affiliations ( will try and attach a copy )

As well as "Stand Down " mentioned by BWEF, there are a number of articles in the MHS Bulletin by Prof. Charles Thomas on Home Guard insignia .You may know that many of the Home Guard Units of Cornwall had their own Div Signs and list of the County abbreviations ( Distinquishing Letters ) is given in Formation Badges of WW2 by Howard Cole. A lot of Home Guard units published their historys and I have the history of the 89th County of Lancaster ( Liverpool ) Battalion Home Guard ( the same unit ,to which the only Liverpool Home Guard designation I have ,belongs by a happy coincidence )

There was an article in a recent MHS Bulletin on Liverpool Home Guard Pipe bands by someone who`s name escapes me.

Peter

[BWEF]

Originally Posted by BWEF

I have this badge. Had it since a kid and for many years didn't know what it was. It was obtained by my father in WW2.

IIRC a cloth version of this badge is in Brian Davis's book on the WW2 British Army. It was worn with a naval hat, rather than army.

Having checked it out i can now say that the hat being worn is not that of the Royal Navy, but rather that of the Thames Conservancy. The UTP patrolled the Thames from Teddington to Staines.

[Stanley_C_Jenkins]

That is a bit of a surprise because I had assumed that the badge was worn by by Uncle Stanley (left in picture) who was killed in an air raid on Ashford (Middlesex) in 1944 and is one of the few Home Guards to be commemorated on a war memorial. Mr grandfather seems to be wearing an entirely different badge!

[Alan O]

He does appear to be wearing the standard Middlesex badge. The chap on the right appears to be a Royal Fusilier. Chap at the back is a mystery but looks very rakish with the cravet (esp as a LCpl).

Alan

[Stanley_C_Jenkins]

Alan,

Yes, it is a Middlesex badge and, looking at the cap badge it might indeed be the UTP badge. The chap at the back (my father) was in the RAOC and when the photograph was taken it must have appeared that he was going off to war and might have died (although in the event it was his Home Guard brother who was killed). I have two of my grandfather's cap badges, Essex Reg (WWI) and Middlesex Reg - which I had assumed was WWII Home Guard, although he is clearly not wearing it in the picture.

[paj1]

hi folks
i have just posted my collection of home guard badges in all albums section.
if you are after these type of badges. quite a few of the badge dealers
have a "home front" section on their web sites.
if not try the medal and militaria fairs you can usually find somethink .
hope this helps paj1

[NEMO]

" You might like to take a look at my book "In the Space of A Single Day - Uniforms and insignia of the LDV and Home Guard 1940-1944 and 1952-1956."


Jon Mills book is an absolute must for any one interested in Home Guard Insignia - full colour pictures of original items many of them rare ` one offs `

just out of interest ,some where in my stuff I have a period photo of a Home Guard unit and one of the group is wearing the MACHINE GUN CORPS cap badge , he is a great war veteran as his medal ribbons can be seen ........
so I presume ...........? HG unit weapons instructor ??

regards Michael

[Bala]

Help needed to determine the insignia worn by AUXILIARY UNIT personnel in Pembrokshire, Carmarthenshire, Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire. In 1942 AUX Units were given Home Guard battalion numbers 201, 202 & 203

Monmouthshire is thought to be MON
and the battalion number to be 202

Were they all 202 or some 203?

The Imperial War Museum hold a photograph of a patch CC over 203 However CC was Caernarvonshire in North Wales an area that had no AUX Units.

Note: 201 Bn was Scotland and Northumberland
202 Bn covered Eastern and Western Commands
203 Bn Southern Command.

Any help appreciated

[badjez]

Bala,

According to files in the PRO there were units in Herefordshire and Caernarfon but nowhere else in Wales or the Welsh border counties of England.
I've attached a photo, taken from WO199/3389.

Looking in Postwarden's book there is a picture of a title worn in Suffolk. It is SFK over 202. Jon also has a photo of a locally made CC over 202 which he attributes to a locally made Caernarfon badge.

Tha badge you showed on your post is attributed to one unofficially worn by a unit of the Women's Home Defence, attached to 11 Denbighshire (Ministry of Food) Bn, HG. Again, this is shown in Jon's book.


Stephen.

[Jack8]

Originally Posted by badjez

Bala,

According to files in the PRO there were units in Herefordshire and Caernarfon but nowhere else in Wales or the Welsh border counties of England.
I've attached a photo, taken from WO199/3389.

Looking in Postwarden's book there is a picture of a title worn in Suffolk. It is SFK over 202. Jon also has a photo of a locally made CC over 202 which he attributes to a locally made Caernarfon badge.

Tha badge you showed on your post is attributed to one unofficially worn by a unit of the Women's Home Defence, attached to 11 Denbighshire (Ministry of Food) Bn, HG. Again, this is shown in Jon's book.


Stephen.

Hi Stephen,

It says Carmarthen underneath Hereford in region 4 on the PRO document that you show. Carmarthen is on the South Wales coast which would have been almost as vulnerable as the English south coast.

It is likely that there were auxiliary units all along the South Wales coast and if Carmarthen is 202 then probably the other areas of this coast were also 202. Is there more to see of this document. I have heard of an Operational Base that has recently been discovered in a place called Cilybebyll in the Swansea Valley.

Jack