A quote from my father's HG account. "Just as I can recall my first lesson at school, at the tender age of four and a half, so too can I remember my first lesson in bomb disposal. The instructor handed me a Mills bomb ( a grenade ), and asked me if I thought it would kill me. I replied yes, very much so. He next pointed to a 2,0000lb armour piercing bomb, a huge thing about six feet long, and said what about that one? Yes that would kill me too. More so than the Mills bomb? - and there was no answer to that. The object of lesson one was that danger was not necessarily connected with size." My father had a remarkable memory and his account of his HG experience is highly informative with lots of humour. Fairchild
Thought I'd bring this thread back up as I have a couple more Home Guard bomb disposal photos that might be of interest. The first one is of the ABDU of H.M.S.O. in Wealdstone, Harrow. Ernest Atkinson is the chap back row second from left. It is his family that kindly provided the photo. The guy in the centre front is thought to be H.W Tisdale. Photo shows their BD qualification insignia quite nicely. In this next one the company is not identified, but they are part of No 9 Region that covered the Midlands. If you want to know more about Home Guard BD you could do worse than check out my book 'Bomb Disposal in World War Two', as I included a chapter about them. A couple more photos that are not in the book include another unidentified unit: - And this one which is more obviously from W.H.A. Robertson and Co in Bedford. And on An A-to-Z of Yeovil's History - by Bob Osborn is some great info, including this photo of Westland's BD unit.
Nice quality photo here – Air raid, 31st July 1942 Guy Motors Wolverhampton Air raid, 31st July 1942 Guy's trucks were used by the military, so workers at Guy's were exempt from being called up. Guy Motors at Fallings Park, Wolverhampton had their own Auxiliary Bomb Disposal Unit of 15 men led by a Mr W.E. Lee. No bomb disposal insignia are on their sleeves, as these were approved in August 1943.
Just resurrecting this thread. - (Don't know about the lanyard?) Came across reference to a Home Guard man injured while involved in bomb disposal, A.F. Lovell, the 43rd Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion's CO, who led an ABDU at Austin Motors Ltd. From the Evening Despatch 7 Oct 1944 The Longbridge Austin Motors ABDU See also - The Home Guard of Great Britain - Warwickshire - Austin Longbridge - 43rd Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion (staffshomeguard.co.uk) Platoon Commander R.E. Cooke was awarded the George Medal for an act of outstanding bravery on 28th October 1940 when he was a member of F7 (Austin Aero Engine Co. Ltd.) Company, Birmingham Zone, which became shortly afterwards one of the constituent units of the 43rd Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion. Platoon Commander Cooke was presumably part of the Bomb Disposal Section (mentioned above) within the Works Unit, although the incident which led to this recognition took place off-site and he might have been more closely associated with Burman's works unit. The investiture took place on 29th July 1941 and a description of the circumstances surrounding the award reads as follows: On 28th October 1940 a 550lb bomb with delayed action fuse was located at the factory of Messrs. Burman Ltd., Highland Road, Birmingham and the clock was found to be still ticking. The bomb had been down for approximately 45 hours and from experience an explosion was considered so imminent as to justify withdrawal of the working party. An attempt to remove the fuse failed and the officers concerned, together with Cooke, who was present the whole time, withdrew to consider the matter. In view of the importance of the factory it was decided to attack the fuse a second time using a heavy crowbar. Three people were necessary and Cooke volunteered to make up the party. This time the fuse was partially removed but the ticking clock and the detonators still remained intact. It was then decided to flood the pit in an endeavour to stop the clock and Cooke's assistance again proved invaluable in what turned out to be a successful operation. The bomb was safely removed.
