Yours Sincerely
Adrian Chan-Wyles
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
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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)
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!
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AuthorAdrian Chan-Wyles - Last Male Descendant of the 'Wyles' Family of Duddington! Archives
November 2023
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