§ LORD GORELL rose to ask His Majesty's Government when it is intended to disband the Home Guard; and to move for Papers. The noble Lord said: My Lords, I have put down this very simple Motion to give the Government an opportunity to make an authoritative, and I hope a final, statement about the unusual and remarkable organization to which it refers; and, although I did not so design it by the time-table, it would seem from the course of events this afternoon that I may be giving the Government an opportunity to make a simple and satisfying answer. The present position is not only anomalous but very puzzling. Your Lordships will remember that the Home Guard—or, as it was then called, the Local Defence Volunteers—was called 641 into being by a broadcast by Mr. Eden in May, 1940, when it seemed certain that France was tottering to her fall, to defend our cities, factories, villages, farms and fields by whatever methods were possible. For a long time we were few in number and very ill equipped. I do not know what was the very first occasion on which there was a patrol, but I was out myself in the very first days of the organization, when we had nothing but shot-guns and an old revolver or two; and yet, at any rate in the south of England, we expected that men might be dropped from the sky.
§ We continued ill-equipped, but keen and gradually getting a few more weapons. The crisis reached its supreme tension on September 16, 1940, when we were as ready as we were able to be. Gradually the tension died away a little, though remaining until the attack on Russia, when it no longer seemed probable, at any rate to the uninitiated, that Germany would also be able to turn this way and invade us either by sea or by air. Rightly, however, no chances were taken; the organization was improved and a measure of compulsion introduced, people being directed into what had become the Home Guard. It is true, I think, to say that our efficiency steadily increased, even as the need for it seemed to diminish. So it continued right on through the long years of the war. We remained on tiptoe all over the country. I do not know what it was like in other parts of the country, but right up to D Day in the south every possible precaution was being taken. A slight change, however, came over our work, in that we began no longer to fear being invaded, but to fear a possible interruption in our own plans for invading the Continent.
§ Then came D-Day, and still the work went on exactly as before. After that there was the liberation of the French coast and the liberation of Paris, followed by the liberation of Brussels. It was not until after that that it seemed to dawn on the higher intelligencies of the War Office that the risk of invasion was not so evident, and then for the first time compulsion was abandoned. We did not stand down until two months later. Between October and December, 1944, there took place what may be called the Battle of the Boots—a long wrangle as to whether we could retain the boots in which we had worn out so many of our own socks. That 642 was followed by minor skirmishes about greatcoats and so on. I was interested to see a few days ago that ex-Service men now being demobilized may dye their battle-dress, but so far as any orders have reached me the Home Guard are not allowed to do anything of the kind.
§ We were stood down a year ago, but we are still in being. It makes one think of the old song—" Old soldiers never die, they merely fade away." A large proportion of the Home Guard were old soldiers. I do not know whether that process is to be applied to them, or whether it cannot now be reasonably supposed that the organization is at an end. We were told a good many months ago that after serving for three years in the Home Guard we should be entitled to the Defence Medal. No one entered the Home Guard to gain a medal, but such a long time has elapsed now that it would be rather difficult to establish who had served three years and who had served only a few weeks. In my own organization, all that I was asked to prepare in December last was a complete list of those who were on our lists at that date. No doubt the Territorial Associations will have the full lists, but they will take some looking into.
§ Surely it is time now, a whole year after we have been stood clown, for us to know what the position is. I have heard it stated that we are being kept in being in order to be called up if necessary to deal with industrial disputes. Such a proposition is wholly fantastic. In the Shakesperian phrase, though you may call spirits from the vasty deep it is by no means certain that they will come when you call them. We now have in the south no organization. I hope that the Government will now be able to make a pronouncement and tell us what they think we have accomplished, and tell us finally that in our small way, even as Abraham Lincoln in his big way; we belong to History. I beg to move for Papers.
§ 4.59 p.m.
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (LORD NATHAN)My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Gorell, for giving me an opportunity of making a statement with regard to the Home Guard. It is almost a century and a half ago that Napoleon, from the cliffs of Boulogne, surveyed the shores of this island, and companies of 643 Loyal Volunteers spontaneously sprang together in order that they might be able to withstand the threatened invasion. The Territorial Army of to-day is, in some respects, the natural heir to those volunteers of 1798. The regiment with which I have the honour to be associated traces its history back to the Company of Loyal Volunteers of St. Pancras, and "St. Pancras" still forms part of the name of the Battalion, which, with such a heritage, has worthily conducted itself in two great wars. And I may say, parenthetically, because I think it is a matter, perhaps, of some interest, that the first colours of that company of Loyal Volunteers were presented to it in the cricket ground. of Mr. Lord.
Those to whom my noble friend Lord Gorell has referred are the worthy descendants of the Volunteers of 1798, inspired by the same spirit, aiming at the same end. It was only within a few days of the invasion of France by the Germans, that Mr. Anthony Eden, then Secretary of State for War—whose name deserves to be remembered in this connexion—appealed to the public, to all men under 65, to come forward as Local Defence Volunteers. The primary object of calling them together, at that time, was that, as we had by then become aware of the treacherous methods of the Germans, men in the localities might be ready to meet the foe should he alight by parachute. Thousands, with enthusiasm and energy, flocked together in response to the call. The response was widespread, lively and enthusiastic. A little later, with one of those flashes of imaginative insight which mark his genius, Mr. Churchill let fall, in a casual way, the phrase, "Home Guard." It was a phrase which was taken up, and "Home Guard" has been the title since then of a most remarkable body of men.
Not one of your Lordships will forget the agony of the retreat from Belgium through Northern France, the suspense that led up to the deliverance of Dunkirk, or the agonies of suspense that followed as we awaited the invasion that we thought must surely come. But men such as those who had responded, in so vital a fashion, to the call of Mr. Anthony Eden, in June, flocked to the standard of the Home Guard in even greater numbers and with greater enthusiasm as the danger 644 grew. No wonder that Hitler stated, as has been revealed in the recent Nuremburg trial, that "England, in spite of her militarily hopeless situation shows no signs of willingness to come to terms." The Home Guard were, in themselves, a formidable proof not only of our unwillingness but of our irrevocable will never to come to terms. The old Volunteers of 1859 had as their motto: "Defence not defiance." The motto of the Home Guard might well have been:" Defence and defiance." Indeed for a time, defiance was almost their only armament.
It is, of course, true that in the early days, as Lord Gorell has said, the Home Guard were armed with little more than pitch-forks, shot-guns and whatever else might come most readily to hand. It was inevitable in the circumstances of the time. The Regular Army, the Territorial Army, the Expeditionary Force, upon which we had relied, had returned, indeed, but without armaments, and our first task was to re-arm a body of men who might start, for us, the war again, from almost the beginning. And it was, indeed, long before the Home Guard were satisfactorily supplied with weapons, equipment and clothing. But they never lost that fine, first spirit which brought them together. It was indeed an example of the democratic system working at its best. Old and young, high and low, from the factories, the workshops, the fields and the homes, they came together, united in a single purpose, some wearing rows of medal ribbons to testify to their valour and their experience of war in the past, others fledglings just come to play their part, but all united for the fulfilment of the historic and honourable duty of defending their homes and the homes of their neighbours.
But that, perhaps, would be to put it in rather too material a way. For that was, in fact, the expression of the mystical love of the very soil of one's country, of the institutions and traditions of one's native land. Those men were brought together by a single purpose which they were intent to fulfil. Let it not be overlooked that this vast body which, at its peak, numbered no fewer than 1,750,000 of our fellow citizens, were devoting themselves—especially those who served in the earlier period—to voluntary work and voluntary service, in the way of parades, drills and 645 exercises, in addition to bearing the heavy burdens cast upon them by the war-time obligations arid the war-time difficulties of everyday civil life. After long hours of work they would give their time to this national service—and, not only (luring the ordinary working week, but at the week-ends too. When after February, 1942, an element of compulsion was introduced into the Home Guard, its numbers, of course, grew, but whilst there had been a body enlisted in the first instance for purely local defence, to impede, delay and frustrate the individual foe wherever he might be found on British soil, as time passed they achieved a more coherent shape, able to play their part as formed bodies in the defence of the country and reaching a degree of efficiency which enabled those units of the Regular and Territorial Forces to leave this country, go overseas, and fight overseas, who might otherwise have been restricted to serving within these shores. That was a vital service at a vital time.
It was fifteen months ago that the then Secretary of State for War announced that His Majesty's Government had decided that compulsory drills and parades on the part of the Home Guard should be abandoned and that such operational duty as was still required of the Force should be carried out on a voluntary basis. That announcement was justified on the ground, as Lord Gorell has mentioned, that the risk of the invasion of these shores by our European foes had become negligible, and that the primary reason for keeping the Home Guard in being as part of the Armed Forces of the Crown and at that state of efficiency in which it would be ready to carry out its primary operational role, no longer existed.
But there remained good reasons why the Home Guard should not be disbanded and why the decision then taken should be limited to the standing down of the Force, the order for which was given at the beginning of November last year. Although, happily, the Home Guard has never been called upon to engage in active operations against the enemy in this country, they have made a very real contribution both directly by their membership of anti-aircraft batteries and by the general assistance they rendered to the Civil Defence organizations and to the defence of this country 646 against air attack, and in minimizing the effects of air attack. A year ago, the period of air attacks, as all of us in London and South-Eastern England have every reason to remember, had by no means disappeared. The flying bomb and the rocket still expressed the enemy's last spiteful will to do this country harm where harm could still be done, and had the enemy beaten us in the race for the atomic bomb there is only too much reason to fear that there would have been many calls made upon the Home Guard.
The Government of that day, therefore, was amply justified in not finally disbanding the Home Guard at that time, although willing to give an easement to upwards of a million and a half of the citizens of this 'country upon whom the period spent in drills and training of the Home Guard, however gladly offered, represented a real burden after the strain of upwards of five years of war. But with the termination of hostilities with Germany last May, all operational need for -the further retention of the Home Guard had passed. Yet an organization of this magnitude, with its far-reaching scope, permeating every corner of the United Kingdom, cannot be wound-up over-night. Much valuable equipment was on charge with Home Guard units. Their arms and weapons, of which in the later period there had been plenty, had to be collected and safeguarded. Their premises, their records, including the records of their entitlement to the Defence Medal, and many other aspects of the conclusion of the active life of the Force, required time for adjustment while still the organization remained in being. The admirable co-operation of the Home Guard units, of the Territorial Army Associations and their staffs has resulted in the recall of arms and equipment being effected in a very satisfactory manner which reflects the greatest possible credit on all concerned. And not least upon one body of men whom I would not end without mentioning, the Home Guard unit of the Palace of Westminster itself in which were so many members of both Houses of Parliament and which included also officials of the Palace of Westminster. We may well be proud of our own particular unit of the Home Guard.
Now the Government have decided that the final disbandment of the Home Guard should he no longer delayed. Accordingly, orders are being issued by the War Office 647 for disbandment to be effected within a very few days—on 31st December. As from that date, members of the Force will cease to be liable to recall. Home Guard officers will relinquish their Commissions, although those who have given satisfactory service will be granted honorary rank for the highest rank they have held for an aggregate period of six months. Similarly, all ranks will be deemed to be discharged. Those articles of their uniform and equipment which members were authorized to retain when the Home Guard was stood down will now become their personal property. Permission will be granted for the wearing of the uniform by ex-members of the Home Guard in connexion with victory parades and assemblies, but when articles of uniform are worn for private purposes all military insignia must be removed. So, my Lords, the Home Guard comes to an end. As the Home Guard passes into history, as within a few days it will, I feel that I should be expressing the sentiments not only of His Majesty's Government but of the House as a whole and of all their countrymen when I say, I salute the Home Guard.
§ 5.18 p.m.
LORD GORELLMy Lords, I think it only remains for me to thank the noble Lord for the tribute he has paid to the Force and to thank him also for the very explicit and complete answer he has given to my question. I beg leave to withdraw.
§ Motions for Papers, by leave, withdrawn.