Most people’s impression of the Home Guard comes primarily from the ever popular TV series ‘Dad’s Army’. However the diminishing numbers of those who actually served in it say what they actually got up to was often equally as amusing and unlikely as the script writers portrayed!

 

When war first broke out in 1939 the risk of invasion was perceived to be fairly slight and a home based force was not regarded as necessary. However by May 1940 the German advance had reached the English Channel and when the Belgian Army surrendered the situation changed. Secretary of State for War, Anthony Eden, made a radio broadcast on 14^th May 1940 asking all 17 to 65 year olds not in military service, to report to their local police station to join a newly formed organisation, the Local Defence Volunteers. They hoped for 150,000 volunteers but the response was huge and by the end of June over a million men had joined the LDV.

 

Denton men were amongst those quick to answer the call and by the time the new Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, announced in July 1940 that the LDV were to be renamed the ‘Home Guard’ there were already plenty of Dentonians sporting the LDV armband – to that date the only ‘uniform’ on offer.

 

As is always the case with the armed forces the appropriate hierarchy had to be observed and Denton was No 15 platoon of ‘D’ company (Yardley Hastings), which in turn was a part of the 11^th Hardingstone Battalion - itself just one of the Battalion’s of the Northamptonshire Home Guard.

 

The composition of the Home Guard was a combination of those men too young to be called up to serve and those too old to get the call plus those in exempted occupations which required them to remain in the country rather than fight overseas. Once Churchill had changed the name to the ‘Home Guard’ everything quickly became more organised and most men had proper uniforms and also operational weapons after a while. The stories of men armed only with sticks and pitchforks were probably a little exaggerated.

 

The different platoons operated fairly independently. Yardley Hastings met at the Memorial Hall and, as a company HQ, had a 1^st Lieutenant in charge, a retired Police Superintendent called  Elderton,  plus a 2^nd lieutenant.

 

Denton Platoon met in a building at The Vicarage and was headed by Sergeant George Tamplin – a local man beyond the age for regular service. They were slightly put out by the fact that Yardley had two officers and they didn’t have one at all. Well known Denton names were involved, Corporal Fred Onley (the butcher), farmer Cpl Arrowsmith and 15 year old L/Cpl Edwin Cawley. With the other ranks the Denton contingent totalled around 20 men.

 

They met regularly at the Vicarage to learn the necessary skills. This training would include bayonet practice, cleaning and operation of their rifle, map reading, how to don gas masks etc. but hand grenade throwing was, for some reason, not part of their instruction, presumably because there we not provided with any hand grenades!  

 

Contrary to often told tales of men with sticks and pithforks the Denton men were well equipped. As well as proper uniform most members had their own rifle and ammunition – which, they took home at night to be ready for immediate use if needed. The platoon also had a Lewis light machine gun – a veteran weapon of the First World War, replaced in the regular forces by the Bren gun, but still perfectly effective and valued by the Home Guard.

 

Another piece of weaponry the powers that had been entrusted to the Denton platoon was a Northover Projector. This piece of equipment had been developed by a Home Guard officer, Robert Harry Northover, as a makeshift anti-tank weapon and it had had been seen and personally approved by Churchill.

With the threat of invasion real after the defeat in the Battle of France, most available anti-tank weapons had been sent to the regular Army so something that was cheap and simple to produce for those protecting the homeland was very welcome.

 

The Northover Projector was basically a simple metal tube attached to a tripod and fitted with a rudimentary breech. The rounds were fired by black powder and a detonator from a toy cap pistol! The projectiles used were normally a No 76 Special Incendiary Grenade –in practice a glass bottle containing a phosphorous mixture which burst into flame and smoke on impact or alternatively they were known to be used to ‘throw’ hand grenades.

 

However its limitations were many and varied. Firstly it was cumbersome to move around, easily damaged in transit and it was only remotely accurate up to 100 -150 yards at best. A crew of 3 were needed to operate the gun and they were in some danger from misfires, rounds jammed in the breech and, even after a correct firing, having to wait ages for the pall of smoke to clear!

 

The gun had been heavily ‘promoted’ by the War Office but in practice was much more of a morale booster than a genuinely effective weapon. As one Home Guard volunteer commented it was ‘something to be accepted gratefully until something better arrived’

 

On occasions the platoon would go to the firing range clay pits at Castle Ashby to hone their shooting skills.  With their standard issue .303 rifles they would be lined up in front of a distant painted scene of the countryside and the trainer in charge would call out an instruction such as ‘target half way up second tree on left in foreground’ – so the training was not just to aim the rifle and become used to its operation and handling but also to interpret and respond to verbal instructions.

                                                

The platoon’s primary function however was to provide two men every night to patrol the area and keep Denton safe. A look out platform was constructed in an oak tree up the Horton Road just beyond the allotments and to assist access to this horseshoes were sharpened and hammered into the tree to act as a makeshift set of steps. The tree still stands and is pictured below. Its shape can be seen to be excellent for construction of a platform – sadly the horse shoes can no longer be seen - they were visible until a few years ago but are now somewhere hidden beneath the old tree’s bark.

 

A hut was put on the road verge a little further up where it is wider and this was used as resting point for the man not on duty. The Home Guard members operated on a 2 hour duty period and then would change over. On one occasion two members were on duty and one was into the habit of putting a single round in his rifle breech whilst the other used to load a full clip of 5 rounds. The first man picked up the rifle and somehow a round fell out. Assuming the gun was now empty he pulled the trigger to check only to blow a hole in the roof as he had picked up his colleague’s rifle! The language was suitably blue!

 

Some of the young members were inevitably lost to the platoon as, when they reached 18, they would get their call up for regular service. They found that their experience and training in the Home Guard stood them in very good stead for their full-time military service and many progressed more quickly through the ranks than they might otherwise have done.

 

Although the different Home Guard units were largely autonomous there were exercises periodically where the Yardley force would ‘attack’ and try and capture the Denton headquarters and vice versa – the natural long standing competition between the villages added a certain extra edge to these escapades and the use of ‘banger’ fireworks hidden in rifles was not unknown!

 

The Home Guard ran separately to, but in conjunction with, the Air Raid Protection Wardens – an organisation set up in 1937 in advance of the war as a precautionary measure. They were responsible for maintaining the ‘blackout’ (it was not permitted to show any light at night in case enemy planes could use the light for navigation), issue of gas masks and organisation of air-raid shelters where needed.

 

In Denton the wardens were Edwin Smart who ran the family well-sinking and civil engineering business from Vicarage Farm house and the vicar of the time, the Rev Hilton Eltoft – fortunately there did not seem to be the same degree of antagonism between the ARP and Home Guard as took place on the TV series!

 

Thanks are due to L/Cpl Edwin Cawley who kindly provided much of the information above.