Home Guard Middlesex 13th Battalion, 'B' Company short film

[rcathey]

Generally they tried to keep one type of ammo within units. The documents in the Public Records Office show, (later on) a concerted effort to locate all .303s of whatever type in the Home Guard and exchange them for .30s. They also did this for some static army units that were not realistically likely to encounter combat.
25,000 BARs were on the initial buy list (valued at $1,519,000)

$60.76 each? I’ll take 10.

[Mk VII]

US Ordnance also took the opportunity to offload the Colt-made .30 Vickers guns, plus Marlin and Lewis guns. 10,000 M1917 Brownings (not the -A1 modification guns) were sold along with all the M1918 tripods, which nobody had liked anyway.

[browningautorifle]

$60.76 each? I’ll take 10.

I'll take two, one for shooting and one for church on Sunday...

[CINDERS]

Good to see the elderly L/Cpl taking the radio information was wearing WWI ribbons is still "Not outa the fight yet."

[bigduke6]

Good to see the elderly L/Cpl taking the radio information was wearing WWI ribbons is still "Not outa the fight yet."

There were many like him Cinders, a great deal of LDV (later Home Guard) were veterans of WW1, it was the initial figures the Government couldn't believe, when you get told your too old at 42 its a bit of a kick in the teeth ( I know I've been there) so guess the initial request for Volunteers there was a big rush.

You have to admire them, Veterans that had probably seen enough horror of WW1 some who had served in South Africa then WW1 still wanting to join the fight...........I'll dig out my Grandfathers Proficiency certificate sometime, he was WW1 veteran who joined up the next day he was de mobbed in 1919, did another 3 years in the Army.

[CINDERS]

One would think BD6 the powers that be would have employed within reason seasoned veterans to steady the un-blooded raw recruits to the horrors of combat not that in the ETO theater early on it manifested itself like the horrors of Flanders or Passchendaele the latter always remembered for the clinging mud.
By the time the battles like D-day, Falaise gap came about troops had seen enough war to understand the true horrors of such a conflict even so there were plenty of new recruits wanted and enlisting for the cause but had the benefit of combat veterans from previous actions.

As a civie I am not even going to try and imagine what conditions were like or being under fire in any conflict and to those past and present that have seen action in keeping freedom alive you as always have my eternal gratitude I may just be one person on this merry go round planet but its my thoughts that are with those that serve and continue to do so.