Hereford Home Guard

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by jp1885, Mar 6, 2014.

  1. jp1885

    jp1885 Member

    Hi,

    My paternal grandfather was in the Home Guard at Withington, Herefordshire.
    Does anyone have any information and/or photos of the unit?

    His name was Walter Thomas Price (a WW1 veteran who fought with the 9th Devonshires before, I believe, re-enlisting for a while in the DCLI after the armistice). By the outbreak of WW2 he was living in Withington and working as a farmhand.

    Annoyingly we used to have a great photo of grandad on the march with the Home Guard, but many moons ago it was lost. I can still picture it in my mind though!
     
  2. Skip

    Skip Senior Member

    Hi jp1885

    I've just sent you a personal message.

    Cheers

    Skip
     
  3. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    There are also several photos (have not checked them all) for Herefordshire Home Guard here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/23119954@N07/sets/72157624865316714/ perhaps he is on one of them??


    TD
     
  4. jp1885

    jp1885 Member

    Thanks for your replies!
    What a great photo resource that is - thanks for pointing it out to me. Sadly I can't see grandad (that's him in my profile photo) in any of the Hereford ones.
     
  5. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

  6. jp1885

    jp1885 Member

  7. Swiper

    Swiper Resident Sospan

    A trip to the County Archive may prove fruitful, as many of those have the HG records.
     
  8. jp1885

    jp1885 Member

    Thanks for replying. Sadly Hereford archives doesn't have much regarding the Home Guard - some operational bits but nothing regarding personel.
     
  9. Chats1

    Chats1 Junior Member

  10. jp1885

    jp1885 Member

    That's a great website isn't it? I don't think grandad was in the Auxiliaries though. The two stories that have been passed down the family is that nan got into trouble after welcoming grandad's patrol back by playing 'come to the cookhouse door boys' on their son's Boys Brigade bugle, and that grandad was once tasked (as he knew how to handle a rifle) with lying in wait on Dinmore Hill to shoot at a car that had been reported as flashing it's lights on that strategic hill. Nothing happened however, so he spent a night lying in a ditch for nothing!
     
  11. jp1885

    jp1885 Member

    Been a while since I updated this thread, but I have news...
    I'm honoured and excited to have been given an original notebook listing the personnel (grandad included) of the Home Guard for Withington, Herefordshire!
    It lists their names, military experience (if any) and next of kin (often with address), plus the occasional cryptic letter in the magin.
    I intend to transcribe the book and put it online eventually, anotating entries with information from my dad, who remembers many of the men listed.
    FYI the book as written by the leader (what rank would that be for a village unit [platoon?])?, who in later years gave it to my old headmaster. Dad bumped into him the other day, and mentioned my interest in local/family history. As a result I have been given his book - I am very lucky!
     
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  12. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    please keep us updated


    regards
    Clive
     
  13. jp1885

    jp1885 Member

    Took some snaps...
    I wonder what the letters in the margin mean? Note also that there's a date written on the top left corner of the first page - it says something like 'drawing! 20.05.40' or is that 20.03.46?

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  14. jp1885

    jp1885 Member

    Quick update - I've made a small blog website to put the info on. It's at The Withington Home Guard - you can see the transcribed contents of the book by selecting 'Withington Home Guard personnel table' on the right hand side.
     
    CL1 likes this.
  15. jp1885

    jp1885 Member

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