Newcastle Upon Tyne Home Guard

Fortiter, Defendit, Triumphans.

Fortify, Defend and Triumph.

In May 1940 Viscount Allendale was appointed County Commandant of the Local Defense Volunteers in Northumberland. He appointed Lt-Col G.F.Bell of 1 St John St Newcastle to be the Group Commander for the volunteers in Newcastle. Lt-Col G.F. Bell set up his headquarters at 55 Highbury in Jesmond and at the Northumberland Hussars Drill Hall. "1500 Answer Defense Call" was the title of an article in the Evening Chronicle dated May 16th 1940. By 7th June 1940 four companies had been created, No1 Company based at Walker Drill Hall, No 2 Company based at Heaton Secondary School, No 3 Company based at the Northumberland Hussars Drill Hall and No 4 Company based at Arthurs Hill Police Station. By September 1940 many establishments in the City of Newcastle had formed Home Guard units of their own, before the integration of some of these units into the latter formed Battalions. A letter, dated 14th Sept 1940, circulated by the Chief Constable advised precaution by Constables patrolling near these premises, in the hours of darkness, as eventually these units would be armed.

George Angus & Co (St Anthonys Works)	Hawthorn Leslie & Co (Forth Banks)	Redifusion (Blackett St)	Vickers Armstrong Ltd (Scotswood Works)
George Angus & Co (St Johns Works)	Hawthorn Leslie & Co (St Peter's)	Spillers Ltd (Tyne Mills Newcastle)	Vickers Armstrong Ltd (Walker Naval Yard)
BBC (54 Newbridge St)	L.N.E.R. (Forth Banks)	Swan Hunters (Neptune Works)	Newcastle Water Company
Great Northern Telegraph Co (31 Mosley St)	N.E.S.C.O. (Carliol House)	Union Cold Storage (Quayside)	Admiralty (Dene House)
Newcastle Gas Co (Elswick Works)	Newcastle & District Electricity Co (Westgate Rd)	Union Cold Storage (Westmoreland Rd)	Co-operative (Newgate & West Bandford St)
Newcastle Gas Co (St Anthonys Works)	Parsons, C.A. and Co Ltd (Heaton Works )	Vickers Armstrong Ltd (Elswick Works)	Davison & Pickering (13/17 Stowell St)
Donkin & Co (Walkergate)	Hedley & Co Ltd (City Rd)	Michell Bearings (South Benwell)	Newcastle Transport
Robert Sinclair	Thermal Syndicate Ltd		United Automobile (Jesmond & Gallowgate)

The Home Guard

taken from the St Georges Gazette 31st December 1940

Now that the Home Guard has become a fully recognised part of the British Army, a brief account of its inception and present position may be of interest. It is a very remarkable story, one almost without parallel in the history of our or any other country, and one of which we may be justly proud.

The Local Defense Volunteers, as they were first called, were formed in the critical days that preceded the evacuation of the B.E.F. from Dunkirk, at the darkest moment of the present war, when we were facing a peril far more menacing and formidable than any that had confronted us since the days of Napoleon. One night in mid May the Secretary of State broadcast an appeal for unpaid volunteers to enrol at their local police stations and to form little companies in every village, town and factory for defense against parachutists and Fifth Column traitors of the pattern which had just wrecked such havoc in Norway, the Low Countries and France. It was known in the old officers and soldiers of the Great War of 1914-1918 there was to be found a most valuable supply of military knowledge and experience, the bulk of which had hitherto been put to no use. The nucleus of the new Local Defense Volunteers (which from now on we shall call by their present title, the Home Guard) was intended to be drawn from these veterans, none of whom were under 45 years of age, and most of them much older than that.

The response of these middle-aged and elderly men was spontaneous, instant and overwhelming. Before the broadcast was even finished, police stations were being called up by eager volunteers anxious to join the new force, of which, unless they themselves had individually been listening-in, the bewildered police officers had so far heard nothing, either officially or unofficially. So swift and far-reaching a response to the call had not been foreseen, and no instructions of any kind had therefore been issued, nor had adequate preparations been made to deal with thousands of applicants, all impatient to be fitted out for the service they had so gladly and unselfishly undertaken. Within a few weeks only of the first call, those numbers had already passed the million mark, although of course not all of those had been fully armed and equipped, or could be for some time to come.

Nevertheless, the Home Guard in the critical Summer and Autumn of 1940 played a role as invaluable as it was effective. The existence of the force, judiciously publicised, must have acted in no small measure as a deterrent to the German intention to invade this country if it could possibly be done with any chance of success. Proof enough of this, if proof were needed, may be found in the screams of rage emitted by the German propaganda service on the news of the raising of the new force, and the horrific threats of what would happen to any and every member of it when they fell, as was of course assumed for propaganda purposes to be inevitable, into the hands of the victorious invaders. There can be little doubt that in this, at least, the Germans were sincere, and that membership of the Home Guard would in case of defeat have proved a swift and sure passport to facing a firing squad or inhabiting a concentration camp. But as every Home Guardsmen was convinced that the surest way to prevent this was to defeat the German, should they ever try an invasion, the effect of these menaces on the recruitment was nil. Indeed, it was if anything flattering, for obviously the enemy were afraid that the activities of the Home Guard might seriously imperil the success of his plans, and that alone was a testimonial to its value.

The efforts and sacrifices called for from its members were, however, considerable. Most of these men were in full day-time employment, in work essential for our war effort, and with home ties and responsibilities. For such men to spend their spare time hours by day, and many of their normal hours of sleep by night, on military duty was no light business, and as there was no pay attached to the duty, many of them were often actually out-of-pocket as well. True, the time was Summer, when the nights are usually, though as we all know, by no means invariably-short and warm, so that conditions of duty were not to unpleasent. Yet, so high was the zeal and so intense the enthusiasm of these elderly soldiers, that for most of them the greatest trouble was not what they were called on to do, but the length of time it took to fit them to do it. Delays in the supply of arms, ammunition and uniforms, and all else that these eager volunteers wanted to equip themselves for service, were far the most irksome of there early experiences, and were the occasion of some public criticisnm, motivated by zeal untempered by a realization of the stupendous demands thrown upon our war industries by many other equally urgent calls.

Nevertheless, the Home Guard set to work at once and carried on with its job with the most praiseworthy enthusiasm and steadiness. So great was this enthusiasm that it sometimes vented iteself even on the innocent or ignorant among our own fellow-countrymen, many of whom soon found that a vigilant and suspicious Home Guardsmen was not to be trifled with. From this it is easy to forecast what a warm reception a real, or disguised enemy, would have met with had he similarly encountered one. Some of our own R.A.F. pilots, bailing out from their machines, could afford personal testimony of the watchfull omnipresence of the Home Guard, as could an even larger number of the many enemy aircrews who fell into its hands throughout the days and nights of the battle for Britain.

The duties of the Home Guard, however , were not confined to watching for and picking up hostile parachutists. They had a definite role to play in the defense of the country, one as arduos as it was important. This was to free the Regular Army for active defense and counter-offensive work against any enemy landing in force by relieving it of the tasks of local vigilance and defense, which would have necesitated its being scattered in little isolated parties all over the country, and thus being weak everywhere. The erection and manning of local defenses, the constant patrolling of streets and roads and railways, the occupation of vantage points, the safeguarding of Goverment offices, war factories, vital industrial and communication points-all these duties fell within the Home Guard's sphere of responsibility. Though there performance was never put to the sternest of all tests, they were fulfilled to perfection. If the force were to cease to exist tomorrow, the work done by it in those tense and critical days of the latter half of 1940 would more than justify its existense.

But it is not to cease, for the first acuteness of the peril it was raised to guard against has probably passed, it may yet recur, and even if it should not, the bulk of the Regular Army cannot for ever be kept at home, on guard against an attack that may never materialise. Yet some watch and ward here will always be required, and more and more as time goes on, the task of safe guard against invasion will be taken over by the Home Guard. For the purpose of fitting it more fully and adequatly for this duty a complete reorganization has recently been announced. The local character of the force, one main source of its great strength and popularity, is to be carefully preserved, but a new central system of administration has been set up under the control of the new Director General, General Eastwood, and greater opportunities are to be given for the specialised training that the force requires if it is to fullfil its new and enlarged role. Relaxation in the long and exacting spells of duty on guard and on patrol, now possible with the diminution of the invasion menace, will allow of more time and attention being paid to these matters. In addition a proper hierachy of command, similar to that of the Regular Army, was set up, and Home Guard officers were placed on an equal footing with officers of the other armed forces of the Crown by being given Kings commissions. Financial reforms made it possible to do away with calls on Home Guardsmen to pay their own out of pocket expenses for transport or food and lodging when on duty, which, cheerfully as they had been shouldered in the early days, could no longer be reconciled with the claims of justice or efficiency.

So the Home Guard takes its place-a recognised and honoured place-among the armed forces of the Crown. It has, and will have, neither colours nor battle honours ; it has not yet had, nor perhaps will it ever have, any chance to show its prowess in the field against the enemy. At the end of the war all that individual Home Guardsmen will have to show for his service will probably be a medal, which a million and a third of his comrades will also be entitled to wear. He will also have-and that, we may be confident, will be reward enough for him-the consciousness of duty well done, and the honourable knowledge that he did not fail his country in her hour of greatest peril and need.

Colonel J.Greene (No 3 Group Commandant) was also GC for 6th and 7th Northumberland Battalions, Blyth and Tynemouth respectively.

Lt- Colonel G.D. Jebb (No 5 Group Commandant) was also GC for 4th and 10th Northumberland Battalions, Hexham and Otterburn respectively.

For the purposes of this website we shall deal with Battalions in the immediate area of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Newcastle Home Guard Battalion Officers 1941
No 3 Group Commandant Colonel J. Greene DSO		No 4 Group Commandant Colonel G.F. Bell. T.D.				No 5 Group Commandant Lt - Colonel G.D. Jebb CB, CMG, CBM, DSO
		Second in Command Major T Sopwith.
		Assistant to Commander Captain W.G.Bird.
5th Battalion (Gosforth)	15th Battalion ( Forest Hall )	11th Battalion (Newcastle West)	9th Battalion ( Newcastle Central)	12th Battalion (Newcastle East)	8th Battalion (Wallsend)	13th Battalion ( Post Office)
Commanding Officer	Commanding Officer	Commanding Officer	Commanding Officer	Commanding Officer	Commanding Officer	Commanding Officer
Lt.-Col Stephenson W.E. T.D.		Lt.-Col A.D.S. Rogers T.D.	Lt.-Col Parmeter T.P.	Lt.-Col Macdonald J. M.C.	Lt.- Col Hall J.J.W.	Lt-Col Johnstone F.
Majors	Majors	Majors	Majors	Majors	Majors	Majors
Barrett R.S.	Brass H.W.	Wright G.W. M.M	Falconar K.J.	Robinson E.N.	Walker A.	Anderson J.B.D.C.M.
Irwin H.	Hamilton M.C.	Blake. J	Hartley N.H.	Mennie J.B. M.C.	Grice J.J.	Atkinson R.W.
Sweet F. D.S.O.	Keating J.W. M.C.	Blackburn J.W.K.	Nesbit F. M.M.	Patterson H.	Lambie J.M.S.	Bentlett W.J.
Pratt R.S. M.C.		Johnstone W.	Coyle J.E.	Murton H.A.	Tweedy I.M.	Cuthbert L.
Graham C.W.		Smith E.G.	Andrews W.F.	Bell F.V.	Wilson R	Hawitt J. M.B.E.
Lennard W.E. M.C.		Clifford E.K.	Gibson A.	Adam G. M.C.	Lithgow H.
Vart V.		McQueen G.	Cashman J.D.	Ingham C.B.	Redshaw F.W. M.C. M.M.
				Potter H.C.	Crofton H. B
					Nunn G.
					Askew J.
					Maller H.C.
Captains	Captains	Captains	Captains	Captains	Captains	Captains
Watson W. M.C.	Holdstock H.T. M.C.	Rose F. A.F.C.	Howey T.W. M.C.	Keenlyside T.H.	Campbell H. M.C. D.C.M.	Chapman H.W.
Coates J.M.S. O.B.E	Northern A. C.B.E. D.S.O.	Barnett E.P.	Richardson W.	Wright R.W. M.C.	O'Hanlon J.M.	Croney J.B.
Edwards J.T.		Farina T.G.	Seddon E.B.	Pickavance J.	Embleton G.W.	Hayes S.F.
Lough J.W.		Turner W.H.	Peters. N	Walton D.P.	Halliburton R.	Mcgregor J.K.
		Dixon J.G.H.	Trail A.J.F.	Wilkens F.J.M.	Hayes J.E.	Seed W.W.
		Maclennan R.R.F.	Donaldson B.	Storey A. M.M.	Christie P.D.
		Dixon J.E.	Foreman W.W.	Mole J.L.	Lightfoot G.
		Scott H.B.	Richardson H.	Buchan H.R.	Wilson R.D.
		Hendin J.R.	Harbottle G M.C.		Peak T.T.
		Robson E.S.	Cross A.		Wilkin T.T.
		Davison R.			O'Hara J.
		Crawford J. M.M.
		Carr W.
Lieutenants	Lieutenants	Lieutenants	Lieutenants	Lieutenants	Lieutenants	Lieutenants
Rayment F. M.B.E. D.C.M.	Keel S.S.	Turnbull S.	Burgoyne- Johnson G.H.	Smith M.D.	Taylor H.	Beadsmore A.E.
Robson L.C.	Murray D.C.	Cockerell P.C.M.C.	Clapham E.W.	Turner R.	Ness R.	Bowen R.F.R
Mawson G.S.	Christison N.C.	Telfer J.	Coates J.P.	Golightly W.	Martin G.W.S.	Brown E.A.
Cargill D.R.	Hall J.L.	Wallis C.H.	Dix C.W.	Paulin W.S.	Cooper T.K.	Brown J.W.
Donaldson W.A.		Wallace B.J.	Fisher W.L.	d'Assis-Fonseca H.J.M.	Leftwich J.	Collard J.W.
Graham J. M.M.		Garvey F.S.	Gray G.S.	Brown E.D. M.C.	Bolston C.W.	Crow R.W.
Reaney N.		Cotton J.P.	Gunn W.E.	Berkley M.C.	Mitchell W.	Donaldson C.H.
Knox J.		Charlton R.W.	Harvey F.W.	Armstrong H.J.	Moderate J.S.	Dunbar J.W.
McSparron S.		Brown T.W.	Ker G.	Barnett G.J.	Stapylton T.	Elliot W.
Watts E.M.		Langstaff S.	McAndrew T.D.		Guthrie T.	Grant C.
Cockburn J.W.		Douglas G.	McNeil D.		Pringle E.N.	Ingram C.
Milburn R.		Crawford T.H.	Malthouse G.		Laws W.G.	Johnson H.
Whittingham G.G.		Langstaff G.W.	Marks H.V. M.C.		Rhoades J.A.	McArdle T.A.D.
Welton R.G.		Jacob G.H. M.M.	Middleton A.		King J.S.	McDonald A.T.
Scott T.M.		Chisholm C.	Morrison S.		Smith S.	Moore W.P.
Baxter W.		Lattimer R.P.	Pink F.		Craggs K.F.	Rogers J.
Clarke W.H.		Gibb N.	Proctor L.S.		Keywood J.K.	Scrafton C.D.
Wood F.C.		Allinson J.A.	Read K.B.		Waller M.A.	Smith C.J.
Dendle T.A.		Gibson W.	Ridley H.C.		Wedderburn H.	Thompson J.G.
Morley S.		Middlemas T.F. M.M.	Thistle A.G.		Tynan J.	Walton J.G.
Child F.A.		Henson E.W.	Thompson J.C.		Wade S.J.	Wright J.
Stephenson J.S.		Hardie E.R.	Turton P.		Yeoman E.
		Rutter F.W.	Walker A.J.		Turnbull C.F.
		Adams W.	Winter R.		Jopling D.
		Wright M.	Winter W.		Burn J.H.
		Watson S.C.	Watson G.H.		Paul J.C.
		Nesbit A.	Forster T.		Lennox E.C.
		Bamber T. M.M.	Wood J.H.		McColm T.C.
		Wightman W.	Booth M.V.		Anderson G.E.
		Sutherland J.			Banks W.V.
		Anderson G.			Bell R.H.
		Charlton J.A.			Legg R.S.
		Bell A.H.			Mackie G.A.O.
					Petrie E.R.F.
					Gospel J.W.
					Laws J.W.
2nd Lieutenants	2nd Lieutenants	2nd Lieutenants	2nd Lieutenants	2nd Lieutenants	2nd Lieutenants	2nd Lieutenants
Hutt F.	Philipson L.	Dunne C.	Harwood J.C	Baker G.M.	Veitch A.E.	Blyth T.
Calvert J.P.	Smith A.W.	Heron A.T.	Hindle W.V.	Browne C.	Harley W.S.	Clay R.H.
Johnston M.		Turner C. M.M.	Smith S.C.D.	Clark T.	Hopkins H.	Collins J.R.
Brass A.M.		Rowley W.A.	Bell T.R.A.	Craggs W.J.	Spencer W.G.	Cooper H.P.
Proud G.		Browell G.	Bustard E.E.	Cushing T.	Smith F.	Eden G.B.
Gregg J.		Shield T.	Ferguson J.E.	Davidson V.S.	Taylor J.	Firth T.
Ridsdale J.E.		Hutchinson J.	Veitch T.	Duff N.B.	Bolt P.T.	Lang R.H.
Elliott D.		Kerr R.	Carter W.C.	Erikson E.	Dodsworth H.	Leece W.
Slater J.R.		Chester F.A.	Curtice R.W.	Field W.H.	Smith J.E.	Rowell G.R.
Cademy H.		Mawer G.W.	Plunkett J.	Goss J.R.	Whyte W.	Skelly J.E.
Hall A.S.		Pickard F.W. M.M.	Mawer R.S.	Jowett E.	Wood J.L.	Stewart D.H.
Flanagan P.		Smith C.C.	Wheeler H.	Lewis E.L.	Greenshields J.	Stoddart W.
Charlton P.A.				McDowell T.P. M.C. D.C.M.		Taylor T.G.
Howitt V.H.				McQuillen H.J.		Thomson W.
Hedley J.				Murdoch S.S.		Twizell W.
Rae R.A.E.				Richmond I.A.		Walker A.
Armstrong F.G.				Robson S.
Hood G.B.				Sawyers S.M.
Ballardie I.S.				Sisson G.M.
Fenwick F.C.A.				Storey W.
Laidlaw R.B.				Taylor G.
				Torry F.W.
				Stokes A.E. M.M.
				Barton G.J.
				Moorhead F.
				Thompson V.
				Caughey J.A.
				Davidson F.A.
				Duncan W.S.
				Hindmarsh W.J.
				Lucas G.F.
				Ritchie W.A.
				Goodwin R.
				Grainger R.
				Thirlwell J.M.
Adjutant & Quartermaster	Adjutant & Quartermaster	Adjutant & Quartermaster	Adjutant & Quartermaster	Adjutant & Quartermaster	Adjutant & Quartermaster	Adjutant & Quartermaster
Capt Stabell						Capt Snowden Gen.List
Medical Officer	Medical Officer	Medical Officer	Medical Officer	Medical Officer	Medical Officer	Medical Officer
Major Picton G.B. M.B.	Major Craig R.T.G.	Major Stephenson G.E. M.C. M.D.	Major Harrison W.J.	Major Shanley G.H.	Major MacKenzie A.W.R.

Operation Dennis July 12th & 13th 1941

Operation Permac July 19th and 20th 1941

North East Home Guard Telephone Nos 1941

In Memory of

Volunteer John Pattison Daglish

Volunteer James E Smeaton

Volunteer William Edward Burrill

Lieutenant James Bell Robinson

Volunteer Thomas William Abson

On Sunday, 3rd December 1944, at a farewell parade in Hyde Park, King George VI, the Home Guard's Colonel in Chief, declared : ' History will say that your share in the greatest of all our struggles for freedom was a vitally important one'.

At its peak the force had numbered 1,793,000; 1,206 of its men had either been killed on duty or died from wounds, and 557 more sustained serious injuries

If you have any information, documents or photographs relating to the Home Guard in and around Newcastle Upon Tyne please contact me at ph@ccoynblhomeguard.co.uk