Tag: Lewisham

Chislehurst Home Guard: “C” Company 54th Kent Battalion! (7.11.2023)

This did, in some areas, include women – with the purpose of forming a ‘mass’ volunteer force comprised of hundreds of thousands of eager individuals who were dedicated to the task of protecting their homes through the logical use of local knowledge. Foreign Paratroopers, by way of example, despite their fitness and daring, may drop both sides of a house (in an unfamiliar area) and have no idea where they are, giving time enough for the inhabitants of the house to open-fire (from the high ground) – thus removing the threat! The soldiers of “C” Company of the 54th Battalion of the Kent Home Guard wore a Khaki British Army-style uniform and possessed a number of very different (old and new) fire-arms (preserved in the Museum maintained at Chislehurst Cave).

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Imperial War Museum: How a WWII British Anderson Shelter Saved the Lives of My Family! (26.10.2023)

There were different types of government-provided air-raid shelters issued during WWII. However, the version depicted here – is very close to that issued to my mother’s family (surnamed ‘Gibson’) who lived in Lewisham, South London. During September, 1940, the Nazi Germany ‘Luftwaffe’ blanket-bombed East London and killed and wound thousands of British people. During the entire 18-months of the ‘Blitz’ – the Luftwaffe inflicted 40,000 casualties in London and 70,000 all across the UK! My family lived in a three-storied house in Fordyce Road – with a generation living on each floor.

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Kent: Chislehurst Caves! (7.10.2023)

As something of a hobby that its becoming ever more prominent and important as I get older – I have penned an article about the local Home Guard Unit (the 54th Kent Battalion) which operated in the area – that will be published shortly on a dedicated historical website. This Home Guard Unit had the unexpected duty of ‘Policing’ the exterior of the caves and ensuring that law and order was maintained by the thousands of evacuees who turned-up. There was also the issue of ensuring that there was no trouble between the locals and the newly arrived – as Britain is rife with regional conflicts! A positive gained from this influx meant that there was plenty of men and women available to join and assist the Home Guard – making this area one of the best manned of the Civil Defence Authorities! Remember – the Home Guard was premised upon Socialist principles!

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Emails: Donetsk, Bombs and Bullets! (12.4.2022)

Both grandfathers were staunch Socialists and joined-up to fight Hitler and support the USSR! Both had pondered fighting in the Spanish Civil War but were too young or hindered by family issues. So much of that time informs or present and we cannot understand how ordinary British people are allowing a far-right Tory government to force us – as a nation with a proud anti-fascist history – to support a bunch of cut-throats and paedophiles who worship Hitler and hate Russia! 

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