Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The Home Guard was first raised in May, 1940, on a semi-civilian basis in close association with the Police force, and was originally known as the Local Defence Volunteers. It was organized in companies, grouped in zones, corresponding to the Police districts, and In Middlesex there were four zones. In July, 1940, companies were organized in battalions, and after August, 1940; this semi-civilian force became known as the Home Guard. The following January, officers were given commissions and proper military status, and the force was brought under direct military control. In 1942, service in the Home Guard became compulsory. Early in 1943, zones were renamed Sectors. In the County of Middlesex there were 33 battalions, with a flotilla on the River Thames.
The operational, and recruiting area for the 1st (Middlesex) Home Guard, appears to have been within an area comparable with the Metropolitan Police Zone (Division) "T", including Heston and Isleworth; Staines; Ashford; Laleham; Harlington; Stanwell; Yiewsley and West Drayton; Hounslow; Whitton; Osterley; Cranford; Feltham; Bedfont; Hayes.
(Condensed from The Story of Middlesex, New Wartime Series, Vol. I, Number 2 - 1943, pp.59-61).