Home Front: A History of Britain at War & 6th Warwickshire (Sutton) Battalion Home Guard - Couverture rigide

Shergold, Peter

Couverture rigide

ISBN 13 : 9798354396368

Editeur : Independently published, 2022

Synopsis

During the second world war over three and a half thousand men, women and children served in the 6th Warwickshire (Sutton) Battalion Home Guard. The scale of the battalion was such that on most roads in Sutton Coldfield almost a third of homes had a member of the home guard living there. The battalion was part of the life and fabric of war time Sutton Coldfield, which stretched from the border with Birmingham at New Oscott and Boldmere, through the Royal Town, to the villages to the east of the town on the River Tame, at Kingsbury, Wilnecote and Coleshill. The battalion was in reality a very large infantry formation, almost a brigade in scale, which as it grew, became part of E Sector, covering as far east as Nuneaton. The role of the battalion, as the war went on, saw Home Guard soldiers being called up via conscription into the battalion, manning anti-aircraft defences over the second city, and operating in mobile columns ready to respond to an enemy attack by air, land, or sea.

During the war, two soldiers were known to be killed in action, both killed by a German bomb whilst manning anti-aircraft defences on Sutton Park. Others died in training accidents or were severely wounded. One Sutton resident, who was in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, died in action during an air raid also she was a mother of two.

The battalion was never tested in war, as the invasion never came, but the soldiers’ spirit and determination were tested during the Blitz and during long nights on guard and patrol. In 1940 over half of the battalion was made up of soldiers who had fought in the First World War and knew what it was like to be in battle. They were on average in their 40s and had a thorough understanding of what the dangers were. There was no doubt in their mind that they would fight and die if required; they knew their job. The misnomer of an unprofessional ‘Dad’s Army’ is exactly that. This was a force of soldiers who were veterans in the truest sense, well led and ready to defend their homes. You do not need to be 21 to man a defensive position, you need to be able to know your job, stand your ground and fight hard. These men could do this and would have been able to hold firm.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Independently published
• Date d'édition: 2022
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 13: 9798354396368
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 335
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Manufactured by Amazon on behalf of the author; https://www.amazon.fr/hz/contact-us; ; c/o Amazon Media EU S.à.r.l., 38 Avenue John F. Kennedy; Luxembourg; L-1855; Luxembourg