Dear C I accessed the National Archives - looking for evidence of a Duddington Home Guard - and I discovered the attached document. This ascribes the '2nd Huntingdonshire' Home Guard Battalion to a Sergeant recommended for a BEM - and who appears to have marched as a Home Guard representative in 1952 during the Coronation of QEII (this is described in the document). Was there a Home Guard contingent reformed this late after WWII just to take part in this march? Furthermore, if it is correct that the 1st and 2nd Peterborough Battalions of Northants were transferred to Huntingdonshire - as suggested in the standard Northants work - and if each kept its own number designation, then this would have meant that Huntingdonshire would have possessed two '1st' and '2nd' Battalions! Of course, you have pointed-out a contradiction in this. Best Wishes Adrian
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Just a few books that look interesting. The second in the list seems to be equating the 'Socialistic' Home Guard of WWII with the Local Militias that the UK raised from time to time - but these were not 'Socialist' in anyway and were dependent upon status and income. As only the socially trusted and prominent could serve - providing they could afford their own uniform, weapon and ammunition - and were wealthy enough to have 'leisure' time to drill! Some UK authors are adopting the anti-intellectual language of the US - referring to the time-span 1945-1991 as being the 'Cold War'. Up until Thatcher abolished 'Free' and 'Universal' Education in the UK (and began the privatisation of the NHS and dismantling of the Welfare System and Social Housing) - the UK had far more in common with the USSR than America - but what we are seeing is the attempted re-writing of history and the establishment of a preferred narrative. The philosophy underpinning the British Home Guard of WWII grew-out of the Soviet-backed International Brigades (comprised of volunteer workers - male and female - from around the world) that fought the Hitler-backed (Catholic) General Franco during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)! My suspicion is that Duddington might well have been in the 2nd (Soke) Peterborough Battalion on the Northants Home Guard between 1940-1942 - but was then transferred to the Huntingdonshire Home Guard (keeping its designation) between 1942-1944. This is premised upon data gleamed from the Northants Home Guard book you forwarded - but the even then the author states that this Unit was still considered part of Northants Home Guard even though it was officially associated with Huntingdonshire!
Dear Hunts Archive I am researching whether the village of 'Duddington' - listed as now being in 'Northants' - possessed a 'Home Guard' Unit between 1940-1944. Although nearby King's Cliffe possessed such a Unit in the Northants Home Guard - I have reason to believe that 'Duddington' may have been included in the '2nd (Peterborough District) Battalion' which existed in the 'Northants Home Guard' between 1940-1942 - before being transferred to the Huntingdonshire Home Guard - within which it served between 1942-1944. The '2nd (Peterborough District) Battalion' (also known as the '2nd Soke of Peterborough Battalion') possessed '4' Companies designated 'A'-'D' - and patrolled an eighty square mile area. Interestingly, it was the '2nd (Peterborough District) Battalion' Home Guard Unit which was responsible for guarding the RAF King's Cliffe Aerodrome - and not the nearby King's Cliffe Home Guard Unit. Today, all postal addresses in Duddington possess a 'Peterborough' (PE) Postcode, etc. Thank you for your time in this matter.
Yours Sincerely Adrian Chan-Wyles Northants Home Guard was comprised of 15 Battalions - with each Battalion being comprised of 3 Companies. Each Company was usually comprised of 3 Platoons. A Platoon should be comprised of around 30 men. Of course, these are ideal numbers not always followed due to local conditions. Incidentally, 3 Battalions usually form a 'Brigade' - with 3 Brigades forming a 'Division'. The book referenced below gives the exact designation of the King's Cliffe Platoon - although we do not know the exact number of the Platoon - which was part of 'A' Company of the 3rd (Oundle) Battalion of the Northants Home Guard. Oundle Divided into Six Companies The 3rd (Oundle) Battalion (Lt-Col FR Berridge) was well in step with the new regularization. It now divided into six companies, with the area reaching from Denford and Addington in the south to Easton on the Hill in the north, and from Lutton in the east to Brigstock and Deene in the west A Company (King’s Cliffe) was originally commanded by Major FJ Lenton, MC, who later became the Battalion’s second-in-command. He was succeeded by Major Simpson, a farmer, and a veteran of the 1914-18 war Chapter VII – The Battalions Reviewed, Page 75 Another interesting observation quoted below states that the 2nd (Soke Peterborough) Battalion of the Northants Home Guard also covered the King's Cliffe (and by implication - Duddington) area, Just what this means is open to interpretation - but it seems to suggest that some Home Guard Units 'overlapped' their defensive capabilities: Like other battalions, the 2nd also had its own special problems and responsibilities – among them being the Wittering, King’s Cliffe and Westwood aerodromes, the works of P Brotherhood & Co, the Royal Army Ordnance Depot at Walton, and the Wainsford viaduct on the Great North Road. Chapter VII – The Battalions Reviewed, Page 73 Quoted from: BG Holloway – Zone HQ Intelligence and Public Relations Officer (Editor) & H Banks A Company, (Northampton) Battalion (Collaborator), The Northants Home Guard (1940-1945) – A History of the Services of Men and Women of Northamptonshire Who in the World War of 1939-1945 Forsook Their Rest and Leisure to Rally in the Defence of the Homeland and Defiance of the Invader, The Naval & Military Press Lrd, (2019)
According to the memories of elderly people living in the Duddington area - and relayed to Diane Wyles through online communication - Volunteers from Duddington (probably men and women) DID participate in the Civil Defence of the area! I suspect this included the 'Home Guard', the 'Air Raid Patrol' and the 'Auxiliary Fire Brigade', etc! These volunteers would patrol the QUARRY area - which we now know was at Collyweston! High-points were produced overtime by hills being made from the debris involved through the quarrying process - where tonnes of rock and soil were displaced. From these vantage-points - enemy aeroplanes could be easily seen - and the alarm raised locally!
My mother - Diane Wyles - has been speaking (online) with people born in the King's Cliffe and Duddington area whose elderly relatives are still alive and are willing to share their memories and local knowledge. This dialogue has confirmed that there was a vibrant and proactive population in the area during WWII - and that Civil Defence activity did exist. Prior to this testimony, I was not sure if there still was viable a population in Duddington as my last direct relative (my great grandfather Archibald Britton Wyles) left the area in 1906 - although his mother (my great great grandmother) stayed in Duddington and did not pass away until 1917. Furthermore, the WWI War Memorial contains the name of a Duddington man who was a 'Sergeant' in the (Regular) British Army who was killed in North Africa during WWII. I will confirm the name of this brave man the next time I am in Duddington. Slowly but surely we are building-up a historical picture of Duddington during WWII!
My mother - Diane Wyles - received the above photograph from an individual online. This person stated that her father served in the King's Cliffe Home Guard between 1940-1944 (that is during most of WWII). This confirms that King's Cliffe possessed a Home Guard Unit and strongly suggests that the nearby village of Duddington (situated 4.7 miles North of King's Cliffe) also possessed a Home Guard Unit! As of yet - we do not know the Platoon, Company or Battalion designation - but this is an ongoing research project and we will post all our resulting findings on this website! The soldier standing second from the left in the back row is one 'Jim Bollans' (the 'father' in question) - although we cannot ascertain whether this gentleman is a 'Private' or an 'NCO', etc. As the sun was shining brightly during the taking of the photograph - we have not been able to successfully enlarge and/or clarify the details of the cap-badge - which could give us the Battalion designation - but it could be the Northants insignia as follows:
On the bottom of the WWI Monument situated at the gate of St Mary's Church - Duddington - there is a section recording the death of a 'Sergeant' Killed in Action in North Africa during WWII! His name is obscured by the wreath. This means there were men in Duddington who had joined the British Army during WWII. Interestingly, although there is a metal plaque and hand-written list honouring the Duddington men who fought during WWI - there is nothing recording the men who fought during WWII. This might explain why I cannot find anything about a Duddington 'Home Guard' during WWII! The dedicated online website detailing the Northants Home Guard mentions all the surrounding areas - but does not mention Duddington, King's Cliff or Gretton for that matter! Given that the British government ordered (in 1942) that all areas of the UK had to have an 'Invasion Plan' - these areas must have possessed some type of Civil Defence Force. This makes me wonder whether perhaps the Duddington Home Guard defence did not fall in the Northants area. I have contacted the local Vicar for Duddington, the Northants Records Office, the Women's Institute, King's Cliffe Museum and an 'expert' on the history of the Home Guard - and none of these depositories of knowledge have anything to add to this subject. However, the general consensus is that Duddington probably did possess a Home Guard - even if their is no tangible evidence for it!
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