Dad's Army : The Home Guard, 1940-1944

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9780750926102
• ISBN10: 0750926104
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: The History Press

Summary

The Home Guard was formed during May 1940, when the dark clouds of war rolled over Britain and the nation stood alone, threatened with a Nazi invasion. Within six weeks of a radio appeal for a new civilian army to guard the Home Front, a staggering 1.5 million men had enrolled for service, covering every city, town and village in the country. Despite initial deficiencies in the provision of training and equipment, the Home Guard later developed into a cohesive force and one of impressive diversity.David Carroll draws on the personal accounts of those men and eventually women who served, to reveal what it was really like to spend long nights on duty watching for disguised enemy parachutists to drop on to the fields of Britain, conducting road blocks to identify everyone passing into the village; or as part of the anti-aircraft Home Guard, who saw action in real conflict, dispatching the enemy as they flew overhead. He conveys the fighting spirit of the men while examining the Home Guard's contribution to the war effort and the divided opinion that surrounded its existence. Dad's Army is a comprehensive account of the Home Guard in its many activities and guises in the Second World War - from the early disorganised days of May 1940 until 'Stand Down' at the close of 1944, by which time they had become a force to be reckoned with.

Author Biography

David Carroll is a freelance writer and author of a pictorial history on the same subject, The Home Guard

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	iv
Picture Credits	v
Foreword	vi
Alexander's Rag-Time Army?	1	(9)
Look, Duck and Vanish	10	(18)
All the Bells in Paradise	28	(14)
Playing at Soldiers?	42	(18)
Arms and the Men	60	(9)
Shoot Them Down Yourself	69	(6)
Dad's Diverse Army	75	(10)
Dad's Daughter's Army	85	(7)
Dad's `Secret Army'	92	(9)
Last Orders	101	(10)
Time, Gentlemen, Please -- A Postscript	111	(5)
Bibliography	116	(1)
Index	117	(2)
Index of Place Names	119