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Title JOHN STANBRIDGE - THE HOME GUARD

Description I joined the Hemel Hempstead Home Guard. It wasn't "Dad's Army". We used to have to parade Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 until 9 and Sundays from 9 until 1. We also used to do one night a week on night guard and various manoeuvres with the regular army. That was another interesting thing as far as I'm concerned. There were a lot of troops in the area. All around here until 1944 was a training area and you can imagine what the boys in the regular army thought of the Home Guard. We were below the Boy Scouts and a lot of other things. Just before D-Day they brought the 51st Highland Division home from Italy to re-equip and bring their numbers up to strength. They, for some unknown reason the cream of the British army treated us as equals. I've a very soft spot for the Gordon Highlanders. They told me something I've never forgot. If it comes to street fighting always volunteer to go first. They're always waiting for the second man!

There were only 20 years between the wars and a lot of our members who were only 17/18 when the first war ended were still only about 40. They were the ones with breasts full of medal ribbons. We had some pretty brave men amongst us whereas they'd (training the regular soldiers) got nothing. That was pretty difficult for our Home Guard officers.

Another step was when Russia came into the war. The local communists nearly joined en bloc. They had been holding a lot of parades and meetings against the war in London until that day. One of the members of our Home Guard, Sergeant Weller, became a communist local councillor. I believe that he was the only one in Hemel's history.

We were well very equipped towards the end. We had Canadian Brownings which had a .300 inches diameter. This sometimes caused problems as the standard Lee Enfield rifle, used by the regular army, was .303 calibres. If a member of the Home Guard got some 'surplus' ammunition from a friend in the Army, it could cause problems.

We were called the Local Defence Force and Churchill re-named it the Home Guard. A very clever move that was and not only that, they took it further. They made us a section of the British Army and our officers were given full commissions. We were allowed to wear the Herts badge on our caps and that's when morale went up tremendously.

After the parade, especially on Sundays (was interesting). At 5 minutes to one you had to obey orders, speak when you were spoken to, stand to attention. One o' clock - dismiss. One minute later, "Come on George. Meet you in the Saracen's Head." Most of them (the officers) could do that; one or two couldn't. One I didn't like was a local headmaster. When he dismissed us he just turned into a headmaster and treated us like little boys.

Another thing we did without knowing what we were doing at the time and it was really too much for us. Just before D-Day we had to patrol the railway lines because they were bringing all the material from the north down to the south coast. We had to pay particular attention to the bridges. We did it for about 3 weeks and then they decided they'd got all the materials down here and we couldn't stand the pace. Not only were we doing all these hours, we were working 60 hours a week.

The ARP (Air Raid Protection wardens), quite justifiably, didn't like it that they'd been serving since about 1937 whereas overnight we became the headlines in the paper. But it wasn't long after that we cooperated with them very well. We took over a lot of their patrols (like) seeing that street lights were put out and they took over our "gas course." They had a special room in the Churchill Swimming Pool that you had to go through and half way you had to put your finger between the rubber mask and your face. This meant that the gas was not going through the mask and you were breathing neat gas. This was to prove to you that the gas masks worked. The ARP gave a series of lectures on the various gasses and how to combat them. This was useful as they had been doing it since 1937.

I've never forgot. We were going down Cemmaes Court Road one day and we had a pretty tough chap, he was a Canadian working in England. We went to one house where the upstairs window was fully open and the lights were on. We told him (the house owner) to put the lights out. He had a lot of very rude words to say to us. He wasn't going to be told what to do by overgrown boy scouts and if he wanted to take the risk he would. Well. This Canadian brought his watch out of his pocket and said, "You have 30 seconds and we're going to shoot it out."

Further Home Guard reminiscences: We had a rather roguish farm horseman who had served in France in the First World War (he used to say "I went abroad once, the buggers shot at me!). He carried pieces of shrapnel in his arm until he died. We allowed him to shoot rabbits and pigeons on the farm; he fed his large family very well throughout the war on this non rationed meat supply. He may sometimes have forgotten the boundaries of our farm and strayed a little further afield! A true countryman. He was now a member of the Home Guard. On one manoeuvre against regular army we had a senior Army officer explaining to us the lie of the land and where the attack would come from. Our Mr Brinklow who was very learned about the local birdlife and hedgerow plants kept saying "No it won't!". Eventually the Army officer decided to call his bluff and said "Now Mr Brinklow will continue the lecture and tell us where the attack will come from". He started off by saying "See that oak tree and the two pigeons flying out of it. Now look at that Holly tree and observe two blackbirds flying out this way". He continued pointing down the distant hedge describing the birds flying out. He then said that there are some people creeping along the other side of the hedge and that the attack will come from there. When he was proved to be correct we thought that we country folk had scored one over the Regular officer!

One amusing incident, if you have a warped sense of humour. Our Home Guard, guard room was in what was a utility room of the 'Old House Club'. A rifle was being unloaded when it accidently fired. The bullet went through the ceiling and through the centre of the table in the room above, between the caretaker and his wife who were eating their supper. I was not present, but soon heard about it!

In 1945 the government said anyone who had done 4 years in the Home Guard could have a medal, the Defence Medal, to commemorate it. But they didn't send it; you had to apply for it. Now one of my friends in Hemel had been in the Territorial's and had served in Syria first and the first defence of Tobruk and then he finished in the *Chindits behind the lines in Burma. He said they've had 6 years of my life. If they can't send me a medal I'm not going to apply and I thought if he won't, I'm not. Paul (my son) plays on the computer all the time and he found the Home Guard site. Well, he found out how you could get the medal and for my 90th birthday I got it. For 4 years work and I reckon, 5,000 hours of unpaid work I got this. After 66 years!

* The Chindits were a British India "Special Force" that served in Burma and India in 1943 and 1944 during World War II. They operated deep behind Japanese lines.

Interview: Lynda Abbott and Fay Breed
December 2011

Keywords Home Guard; Churchill; D-day; ARP wardens; Chindits

Collection Home Front

Place Hemel Hempstead

Year 1939-1945

Conflict World War Two

File type html

Record ID number 212

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Title	JOHN STANBRIDGE - THE HOME GUARD
Description	I joined the Hemel Hempstead Home Guard. It wasn't "Dad's Army". We used to have to parade Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 until 9 and Sundays from 9 until 1. We also used to do one night a week on night guard and various manoeuvres with the regular army. That was another interesting thing as far as I'm concerned. There were a lot of troops in the area. All around here until 1944 was a training area and you can imagine what the boys in the regular army thought of the Home Guard. We were below the Boy Scouts and a lot of other things. Just before D-Day they brought the 51st Highland Division home from Italy to re-equip and bring their numbers up to strength. They, for some unknown reason the cream of the British army treated us as equals. I've a very soft spot for the Gordon Highlanders. They told me something I've never forgot. If it comes to street fighting always volunteer to go first. They're always waiting for the second man! There were only 20 years between the wars and a lot of our members who were only 17/18 when the first war ended were still only about 40. They were the ones with breasts full of medal ribbons. We had some pretty brave men amongst us whereas they'd (training the regular soldiers) got nothing. That was pretty difficult for our Home Guard officers. Another step was when Russia came into the war. The local communists nearly joined en bloc. They had been holding a lot of parades and meetings against the war in London until that day. One of the members of our Home Guard, Sergeant Weller, became a communist local councillor. I believe that he was the only one in Hemel's history. We were well very equipped towards the end. We had Canadian Brownings which had a .300 inches diameter. This sometimes caused problems as the standard Lee Enfield rifle, used by the regular army, was .303 calibres. If a member of the Home Guard got some 'surplus' ammunition from a friend in the Army, it could cause problems. We were called the Local Defence Force and Churchill re-named it the Home Guard. A very clever move that was and not only that, they took it further. They made us a section of the British Army and our officers were given full commissions. We were allowed to wear the Herts badge on our caps and that's when morale went up tremendously. After the parade, especially on Sundays (was interesting). At 5 minutes to one you had to obey orders, speak when you were spoken to, stand to attention. One o' clock - dismiss. One minute later, "Come on George. Meet you in the Saracen's Head." Most of them (the officers) could do that; one or two couldn't. One I didn't like was a local headmaster. When he dismissed us he just turned into a headmaster and treated us like little boys. Another thing we did without knowing what we were doing at the time and it was really too much for us. Just before D-Day we had to patrol the railway lines because they were bringing all the material from the north down to the south coast. We had to pay particular attention to the bridges. We did it for about 3 weeks and then they decided they'd got all the materials down here and we couldn't stand the pace. Not only were we doing all these hours, we were working 60 hours a week. The ARP (Air Raid Protection wardens), quite justifiably, didn't like it that they'd been serving since about 1937 whereas overnight we became the headlines in the paper. But it wasn't long after that we cooperated with them very well. We took over a lot of their patrols (like) seeing that street lights were put out and they took over our "gas course." They had a special room in the Churchill Swimming Pool that you had to go through and half way you had to put your finger between the rubber mask and your face. This meant that the gas was not going through the mask and you were breathing neat gas. This was to prove to you that the gas masks worked. The ARP gave a series of lectures on the various gasses and how to combat them. This was useful as they had been doing it since 1937. I've never forgot. We were going down Cemmaes Court Road one day and we had a pretty tough chap, he was a Canadian working in England. We went to one house where the upstairs window was fully open and the lights were on. We told him (the house owner) to put the lights out. He had a lot of very rude words to say to us. He wasn't going to be told what to do by overgrown boy scouts and if he wanted to take the risk he would. Well. This Canadian brought his watch out of his pocket and said, "You have 30 seconds and we're going to shoot it out." Further Home Guard reminiscences: We had a rather roguish farm horseman who had served in France in the First World War (he used to say "I went abroad once, the buggers shot at me!). He carried pieces of shrapnel in his arm until he died. We allowed him to shoot rabbits and pigeons on the farm; he fed his large family very well throughout the war on this non rationed meat supply. He may sometimes have forgotten the boundaries of our farm and strayed a little further afield! A true countryman. He was now a member of the Home Guard. On one manoeuvre against regular army we had a senior Army officer explaining to us the lie of the land and where the attack would come from. Our Mr Brinklow who was very learned about the local birdlife and hedgerow plants kept saying "No it won't!". Eventually the Army officer decided to call his bluff and said "Now Mr Brinklow will continue the lecture and tell us where the attack will come from". He started off by saying "See that oak tree and the two pigeons flying out of it. Now look at that Holly tree and observe two blackbirds flying out this way". He continued pointing down the distant hedge describing the birds flying out. He then said that there are some people creeping along the other side of the hedge and that the attack will come from there. When he was proved to be correct we thought that we country folk had scored one over the Regular officer! One amusing incident, if you have a warped sense of humour. Our Home Guard, guard room was in what was a utility room of the 'Old House Club'. A rifle was being unloaded when it accidently fired. The bullet went through the ceiling and through the centre of the table in the room above, between the caretaker and his wife who were eating their supper. I was not present, but soon heard about it! In 1945 the government said anyone who had done 4 years in the Home Guard could have a medal, the Defence Medal, to commemorate it. But they didn't send it; you had to apply for it. Now one of my friends in Hemel had been in the Territorial's and had served in Syria first and the first defence of Tobruk and then he finished in the Chindits behind the lines in Burma. He said they've had 6 years of my life. If they can't send me a medal I'm not going to apply and I thought if he won't, I'm not. Paul (my son) plays on the computer all the time and he found the Home Guard site. Well, he found out how you could get the medal and for my 90th birthday I got it. For 4 years work and I reckon, 5,000 hours of unpaid work I got this. After 66 years! The Chindits were a British India "Special Force" that served in Burma and India in 1943 and 1944 during World War II. They operated deep behind Japanese lines. Interview: Lynda Abbott and Fay Breed December 2011
Keywords	Home Guard; Churchill; D-day; ARP wardens; Chindits
Collection	Home Front
Place	Hemel Hempstead
Year	1939-1945
Conflict	World War Two
File type	html
Record ID number	212