Grow Your Family Tree
If your ancestors helped to keep the UK safe from invasion during World War 2, follow Judith Batchelor’s advice to…
During World War 2, over 1.7 million men supported the war effort by joining the Home Guard – memorably portrayed in Dad’s Army. It was formed in May 1940 as the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV), but was renamed the Home Guard two months later. Its purpose was to slow down the advance of enemy troops if the country was invaded.
By the end of 1940, it had been organised into 1,200 battalions, 5,000 companies and 25,000 platoons. It was disbanded in May 1945, after being stood down at the end of 1944 when the threat of invasion had receded.
Browse county records
Whether you’ll find details of your ancestor’s service depends largely on where they were based. Ancestry’s Card Catalogue has records for Lancashire and Surrey, as well as a small list for Berkshire – but that’s it. Still, they’re worth checking, so search for ‘Home Guard’ at www.snipca.com/49556. Now choose a collection, enter a name (yes, even if it’s Pike!), and as many other details as you know – such as unit and company.
In the results you’ll see whether the records contain date of birth ( 1in our
screenshot above), place of residence 2
and enrollment date 3 . The results might also contain occupation, rank, unit and family members.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) keeps enlistment records for the whole of the UK, although they’re being transferred to the National Archives (where, for the moment, you’ll find Durham’s collection but no others: www.snipca.com/49557).
The MoD records contain “personal details on enlistment and very little else”. To apply, visit www.snipca.com/49531 and fill in the two forms at the bottom. You’ll need to know a lot of information about your ancestor, including name, date of birth and county they served in.
Find officers who served
To search specifically for over 46,000 officers in the Home Guard, visit Ancestry’s Fold3, which is a collection of military records c
