Kirby Muxloe Home Guard
Kirby Muxloe Home Guard
Photograph The Stan Garner Collection
Home Guard WWII
In May 1940, the government made an urgent radio appeal for all men not in the armed forces and aged 17 to 65 to become part-time soldiers. Men came forward who could not, because of their regular jobs, join the regular army. They included railway workers, farmers, teachers, bakers, miners and bank staff who all held necessary jobs to keep the country running.
​
The appeal was very successful with 250,000 men volunteering within the first 24 hours. This number rose to over half a million by the end of July. They were initially known as the Local Defence Volunteers but by the end of July the name had changed to the Home Guard.
​
The men received military style training, but equipment, uniforms and weapons were in short supply. 20,000 weapons were handed in when the public were invited to give their shotguns and pistols to the Home Guard. Improvised weapons were also used at first which included sporting rifles, golf clubs and farm tools.
​
The Home Guard defended five thousand miles of British coastline and key targets, munitions factories, explosive stores and aerodromes. Factories were a priority and many had their own Home Guard units. The men also performed other roles, including bomb disposal and manning anti-aircraft and coastal artillery. Although they continued with their regular jobs, they drilled and patrolled around their work.
​
The Home Guard became a 1.5 million strong citizen militia group who were a well-trained and well-equipped fighting force supporting the British Army on the home front. 1,206 of them were killed on duty or died of wounds.
The Home Guard in Kirby Muxloe
Photograph the Joe Moore Collection
The Home Guard in Kirby Muxloe
According to the Council record books for 1938, Kirby Muxloe had more volunteers than any other village in the area. In fact over 144 men enlisted. Some became Auxilliary Firemen (A.F.S.), some Home Guard and many became A.R.P.'s (Air Raid Precaution) wardens. Initially the group had first been named the "Pioneer Corps" but were soon to be part of the Home Guard. The Home Guard has been depicted so many times in the popular T.V. series Dad's Army, which although originally televised between 1968 and 1977, is still often broadcast from time to time. There were some similarities between the T. V. programme and actual life. However, the Home Guard did a very valuable service as they were trained in combat for the eventuality of invasion by Hitler's troops - if it ever occured. Their combat practices are legendary, even to this day, they were held responsible for the eventual demolition of the old "cruck" cottage at the bottom of Hedgerow Lane. This cottage was empty at the time and the garden and possibly the house were used for Home Guard excercises, unfortunately doing much damage in the process. The Head Quarters of K.M. Home Guard was in the house named The Woodlands, on Woodlands Lane. It has been said that the windows were very low and all blacked out. A tale has been told of a home Guard member patrolling around the Woodlands Lane area, jumped out of a hedge on an unsuspecting walker, raised his bayonet and tore a hole in the recipients jumper. One of the founder members of the K.M. branch was a Frenchman who came to the U.K. after WWI, eventually settling in the village and afterwards in L.F.E. He served in the village until 1943/4 when he joined the Liason Corps which was formed by the Free French Army in Britain. The Home Guard were always patrolling at night and had a "sleeping room" in a house on Castle Road. In 1943, it was reported that a strange form of bomb (marked SAND) had been seen at the top of Blood's Hill behind the Castle. It had been left behind by the Home Guard on one of their many excercises.
Kirby Muxloe Home Guard
Photograph Peter & Pam Cooper
The Home Guard in Kirby Muxloe
Photograph the Martin Freeman Collection