Civilian precautions the search for allies economic precautions

THE HOME GUARD

The Civil Defence forces outside London were disbanded in September 1944, although the stand-down order did not come until May 1945 and was not completed until 31st December 1944. The London Civil Defence Force was stood down on 2nd December 1944.

The Home Guard was the army that never fought. Hastily organized in May 1940 as the Local Defence Volunteers, it was armed with a mixture of outdated rifles, old fowling pieces, shotguns and improvised weapons and by the end of June the Home Guard numbered some 1.5-million ill-equipped but enthusiastic men. Shortly a consignment of half a million US-made P17 Enfield and Canadian Ross rifles arrived from the USA. By November 1941, the Government introduced military ranks and discipline into the Home Guard, as it numbered 1.5 to 2 million men. It still consisted of volunteer, unpaid and part-time soldiers, formed into units to defend local communities, airfields and vital infrastructure and traffic routes. Later in the war, the Home Guard helped to man AA sites and coastal artillery, as well as defend them, releasing regular troops for other duties.

 

Strength of the Home Guard and Royal Observer Corps (Thousands)