HOME GUARD MANUAL 1941

An invaluable handbook employed by the ragtag group of men who formed ’Dad’s Army’ during the Second World War, the Home Guard Manual is as fascinating today as it was vital in 1941. It was May 1940 and Hitler stood on the cliffs at Calais to eye up his next conquest: England! There was a call to arms that saw the founding of the Home Guard, a motley collection of men, poorly armed, many too old to fight in the war. The Home Guard was untried in war, often without weapons or training, and they were Britain’s last defence against Nazi Germany. But all was not lost and over a few months this ragtag group was armed, uniformed and trained using the Home Guard Manual. Taught basic fieldcraft, how to survive in the open, how to destroy tanks, ambush the invaders, make boobytraps, read maps and send signals, the fledgling volunteer was turned into a veritable fighting machine. or was he just another member of ’Dad’s Army’?