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.

[BWEF]

Originally Posted by 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.

Is he wearing a cloth "31" on his sleeve? I can't make it out.

If so, he will be UTP. Sadly, the CWGC just say "Home Guard".

[RAChD]

Hello there;
1 of the badges missing from the reference book photo is the rare badge for the Vickers Armstrong Home Guard Factory units. Being such a large concern Vickers had many of their factory sites with their own guard patrols and also light anti aircraft units manned by Home Guards of their own staff. because of the secret war work they were often doing this was an ideal way for firms to suppliment the guard on their own factories.
There are several badges known from such units - including Morris Motors variant of their own local battalion badge.
All Home Guard units were authorised by Army Command Instructions to adopt the badge of their county regiment. Some local shuffling of affiliations was permitted but although many units petitioned the war office for certain badges the ONLY factory unit authorised by the War Office to wear a badge of their own design was Vickers. I believe this is partly because they were very early to apply for permission and also because they had sites all over the UK. All other units permissions were officially turned down. Any others therefore were unofficial or quasi official where senior staff effectively turned a blind eye. Vickers produced a cap badge in brass and also in worsted cloth. Opinion on the cloth badge I have heard from collectors and also seen in In the Space of a Single Day [how hard is this book to get!!] made me believe it was in place of the normal printed HG unit designation. However, contact with the family of a Vickers HG veteran whom have some of his old uniform suggests otherwise. They are in possession of his FS cap which has this brownish coloured cloth badge sewn on as a cap badge. Maybe they stopped making them in brass because this was cheaper?
Just thought I would add this info for your interest.

I have found my pic files but the one I have of the VA brass badge is the one the seller sent to me, a bit small but attached anyway.

Regards
Matt

[yorkie]

This badge may not be in the right place in this thread. Being a cloth sew on uniform badge. Nevertheless I did think it worthy of inclusion because it is the only badge i have seen for this Home Guard Unit.
the badge is a little faded and does not photograph well but it reads "home guard SICo" which is short for Skinningrove Iron Company.
The badge measures 21cm x 12 cm. These badges were sown onto the home guard members own clothing, Before their home guard uniforms were issued.
I would also like to ask anyone on this forum if they either have or know of the whereabouts of the book "STAND DOWN BY LEN WHITTAKER",
I am willing to buy or swap or a combination of the two thank you.

[Postwarden]

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."

Available from MLRS books - http://www.mlrsbooks.co.uk/ - Price £30.

Covers all LDV/HG badges metal and cloth and most of them are illustrated in full colour.

Jon Mills

[badjez]

If anyone is near The National Archives at Kew go and request file
WO199/3257. It is the HG Location Statement for November 1941.
Surprisingly it has exactly the same information as Stand Down. It lists all units to Bn level. If I remember correctly it doesn't mention the weird and wonderful units that people seem to find insignia for.


So far as authorised insignia go the following were the rules until Stand Down.

03.08.40. HG authorised to wear cap badges of County Regt to which affiliated. ACI 1924/40 refers.
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18.03.41. WO Telegram: Home Guard-All ranks below Full Colonel to wear cap badge of Regt to which they belong. Colonel & above to wear Royal Crest badge.
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24.04.41. ACI 623: Notification of appropriate badges to be worn by HG officers.
1) Officers will wear the uniform as issued, i.e. battle dress, with the badges of their Home Guard rank in worsted material on the battle dress and in gilt metal on the greatcoat. The drab field service cap will be worn.
Officer of the rank of Colonel and upwards may wear scarlet gorget patches on the collar of battle dress as laid down for officers of corresponding rank in the Regular Army. The drab field service cap as issued may be worn, or alternatively the coloured field service cap with the Royal Crest badge. The coloured field service cap and badge, if worn, cannot be supplied at public expense.
2) All ranks below that of full colonel will wear the cap badge of the
regiment of the county to which they belong unless otherwise authorised by the War Office.
3) No other uniform or badge will be permitted.
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I cannot lay my hands on it now, but there were instructions that HG officers were NOT permttted to wear the Officers' Service Dress bronze badges.

Stephen.