Defending the Nation

Press ‘ESC’ at any time to stop the presentation The Home Guard and the Fire Service. Protecting the people and preparing for an enemy invasion… Defending the Nation By Martin Williams

The Home Guard Please choose a photograph to view. Aberdare Griffithstown On to study the Fire Service Pontypool

Are you surprised by the age of some of these men?Explain your answer carefully. Click here to enlarge picture Aberdare Home Guard – Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Libraries: W.W. Price Collection

Another photograph of the Aberdare Home Guard Aberdare Home Guard – Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Libraries: W.W. Price Collection

Aberdare Home Guard – Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Libraries: W.W. Price Collection

Griffithstown Home Guard, South Wales Can you note any similarities between the Griffithstown and Aberdare Home Guard Units? Picture courtesy of Torfaen Museum Trust

Look at the uniforms of the men of the Home Guard. What do you notice and what does this tell you about the resources available to the Home Guard - especially during the early days of the war? March Past of the Home Guard at Pontypool Park Picture courtesy of Torfaen Museum Trust

Who do you think these people are and what are they wearing? Do you think that this type of training was particularly necessary between the years 1939-45? Photo taken from Picture Post, February 22nd, 1941, ‘An Early Stage of Training’.

What do the following stand for? NFS - AFS - Pictures taken with the kind permission of Torfaen Museum Trust

By the start of the war over 60,000 volunteers had signed up for the Auxiliary Fire Service. There were only 6,000 professional firemen and these often resented the help of the auxiliary force. Many men from the auxiliary fire service were called up to fight during 1939-40 and so the number of firemen in Britain began to dwindle. However, during the Blitz it was recognised that more auxiliaries were desperately needed. These men were hastily trained and were forced to work long hours in dangerous conditions. They soon won the respect of professional firemen nationwide.

A formal cap and safety helmet. A fire fighters tunic with NFS badge and buttons. Pictures with the kind permission of Torfaen Museum Trust

“I was already in the Auxiliary Fire Service in Cardiff when war broke out. When the war clouds started gathering, they began to get volunteers into the AFS. Then, when war came, the AFS men became permanent firemen. I became a police fireman and lived in the docks police station. You have to understand that the National Fire Service wasn’t in existence then.” John Walsh quoted in Wales at War by Phil Carradice(Gomer 2003) Why do you think that so many men were asked to become ‘permanent’ firemen towards the end of 1939?

“We had no experience of fires, none at all really, just some little chimney fires. All we had on the machines were ordinary nozzles for water, jets and stuff like that, not the equipment they’ve got today. I’ve often said that, at that time, all we had was a bit of brains, a bit of guts. That was all.” Wyndham Scourfield quoted in Wales at War by Phil Carradice(Gomer 2003) Think about the types of fires and incidents that firemen may be called out to deal with during the Second World War. How brave must these firemen (many of whom were volunteers) have been?

So, what have we learnt about The Home Guard and Fire Service? 1939 - 1945

Defending the Nation