"Difference Between BEF and Home Guard Uniforms?" Topic

Is there any appreciable difference between the uniform issued to the Home Guard as opposed to that worn by the BEF? Thanks.

Well, for one thing I think the Home Guard were issued uniform similar in cut to battle dress but made from a different material. Lighter in color, I have seen these outfits referred to as "denims." It is also my understanding this outfit was used for fatigue duties by regular troops. Another difference would be that the Home Guard had their own pattern of web gear. It featured smaller ammo pouches for rifle clips instead of the long pouches issued to regulars, which were designed to hold Bren Gun mags.

I think the Home Guard also had leather anklets and possibly leather belts.

Depends on whether you look at 1940 or 1942………they went from the simple LDV arm band to denim fatigues to regular battledress as it became available.

Leather waist belts and black leather gaiters. HG NCOs were issued with 39 pattern brown leather box pouches for Sten mags.
link

A rubberized canvas haversack was carried, and HG pattern ammo pouches were smaller, square items similar to binocular cases; in fact to film the TV series, they actually used binocular cases because the correct pouches were no longer available!

Rifle was most commonly the US P.17 Enfield. This had a red stripe painted around the butt to signify it used non standard ammunition (.30 rimless as opposed to British .303 rimmed)

As above, the most obvious differences were the front pouches, use of leather instead of webbing, green Dennis and the rifles.

In 15mm from two feet away, these differences are largely invisible. The thing which would most likely be visible is much lighter webbing order (no packs).

Even though it's a 70s sitcom, Dad's Army has authentic uniforms. They wear denims, leather anklets and belts, have the square ammo pouches and in the earlier series have the LDV armbands. Look at stills from the show.

Dads Army used binocular cases instead of the proper pouches, something modern Home Guard re-enactors still do as it is much easier to find bino cases than actual Home Guard pouches.

Goodness knows what happened to all the Home Guard pouches. Burned in the great 37 pattern bonfire no doubt.

As has been said, the denims issued to the Home Guard were also issued to some regular Army units, especially in Summer. For example, the 1st Welsh Guards were largely wearing denims in Normandy. Denims were slightly greener than BD and that contrast is clear in Dad's Army – you can see the woollen caps standing out as brown-khaki against the green-khaki of the uniforms.

In terms of smallarms, the Home Guard made massive use of US Lend-Lease weaponry, in order to standardise on US .30 ammunition and free up .303 for the regulars. Section automatics were BARs (or just Thompson SMGs) and Browning M1917 MGs were used as company/battalion MGs. Lewis Guns were also used (US-built .30 models, perhaps? I don't know).

This was related to me by my grandfather, who served in the Pembrokeshire Home Guard along with his father-in-law, my great-grandfather, who was the CSM. He was always very impressed by the accuracy shown in Dad's Army (his favourite TV programme).

My grandfather eventually became a BAR gunner, but in the early days the only automatic weapon in the platoon was a Thompson with drum-magazine. He used the Thompson to machine-gun a motorcycle copper who blasted through their vehicle checkpoint one dark night… And was then put on a charge by his father-in-law for failing to hit the copper.

Our local museum (Narberth) has some superb film showing a Home Guard firepower demonstration on Penally Rifle Range, near Tenby. The film shows BARs, Lewis Guns, M1917s, Blacker Bombards and the weird Home Guard AT gun that uses one of the wheels as a turntable – I forget the name of it.

Nowadays when you sign the Range Orders at Penally, you have to declare that you won't be using fully-automatic weapons! :)

He used the Thompson to machine-gun a motorcycle copper who blasted through their vehicle checkpoint one dark night… And was then put on a charge by his father-in-law for failing to hit the copper.

Now that got a chuckle from me.

Jim

In terms of insignia, each Home Guard battalion was affiliated to a specific infantry regiment (either Regular Army or Territorial Army) and then had black-on-khaki shoulder-patches to indicate the county/district and battalion. These patches had a two- or three-letter abbreviation for the county/district, above the battalion number.

For example, the Pembrokeshire Home Guard were cap-badged for the Welch Regiment and had PEM 1 and PEM 2 patches to indicate the two battalions.

In the case of Dad's Army, they're cap-badged for the Royal West Kent Regt (50th Foot) and have a fictitious CP 1 (Cinque Ports 1st Battalion) patch.

Jim,

Indeed! The village of New Moat still features the bullet-holes… :)

My Granddad considered Dad's Army to be a historical documentary… I don't know what they did to the Germans, but by God they frightened my Gran! :)

Thinking about it a bit more, they really did do their homework on Dad's Army!

and the weird Home Guard AT gun that uses one of the wheels as a turntable – I forget the name of it.

Would that be the Smith Gun?

Most of the homework had been done – Jimmy Perry, who devised and co-wrote the series – was in the Home Guard and: 'Perry is credited with the original idea for Dad's Army, which was based on his experiences in the Home Guard during World War II.' – link

Thanks for the info. In terms of wargaming, it sounds like the paint job is what will make the Home Guard units, as most details are too small to notice on the table.

Pity Warlord Games don't do a Smith gun and Bombard to round off their range.

GM,

Yes he did. My Granddad bought me a brilliant book of Dad's Army scripts (now sadly lost), which included Jimmy Perry's account of how he came to write Dad's Army and the original men he based a lot of the characters on.

Similarly, 'It Ain't 'alf 'ot Mum' was loosely based on his post-Home Guard experiences in Burma.

There is an excellent drama / documentary on how Dad's Army came into being: 'Dad's Army – Don't Panic'.