Home Guard

The Norfolk Home Guard at King's Lynn

The activities of the Norfolk, Home Guard, number two platoon, three company, 7th Battalion. The film opens with the film-maker, Charles Scott, standing in front of a notice board announcing the above information. The subject of the film begins with a dramatised reconstruction of a middle-aged man listening to Anthony Eden's announcement on the 9 o'clock news on May 14th, 1940. He goes along to his local police station to sign on for the Local Defence Volunteers, later the Home Guard. There are shots of the streets of Kings Lynn, including the Saturday Market. The volunteers repair to the Swan Inn, Gaywood, and are seen strapping on LDV armbands. Late the volunteers visit the QM Stores to be fitted out with their home guard uniforms. There are shots of Home Guard training activities in the grounds of Gaywood Park School. These include square bashing, a lecture on ordnance survey symbols, bayonet practice, and combating smoke and gas attacks. Other shots include mortar firing and grenade practice before returning to the parade ground where the troop is inspected. This looks like a school playground. The platoon marches through the streets. On the heath they shoot rifles and machine guns. Civilian identity cards are checked. Other manoeuvres in the field, on the heath and on sand dunes, are shown before a lengthy sequence shots among bombed out buildings in Kings Lynn. The Home Guard practice a variety of urban warfare techniques. There is film of a Home Guard Parade - this isn't captioned, but includes interior shots of a church. The men march through Kings Lynn. There are shots taken at an undisclosed camp in 1943. These show the men going about their everyday business. There is a Home Guard card school running. The men practise using a Browning Gun. No. 2 platoon also help out with the harvest. The 7th Mobile Company is filmed at Westacre in 1944. The BN Shoot winners at Shouldham clean their rifles, and practice target shooting. The final shots of he film are of the last Home Guard Parade in Tuesday Market Place, Kings Lynn in April, 1945.

Featured Buildings

The Swan Inn, Gaywood

Featured Events

Home Guard Parade, King's Lynn, April, 1945

Keywords

Home Guard

Intertitles

May 14th 1940. The next day.'LDV' becomes 'Home Guard'. By night and day indoors and out Drills Lectures. Military objectives. Identity cards please. Manoeuvres. Runner. The sniper. Street fighting. Roof men. Headed by an RAF band. At camp 1943. The Browning gun. No. 2 Answers the call.7 th mobile coy At Westacre 1944. Winners at BN Shoot Shouldam.

Other Places

Gaywood; Shouldham; Westacre