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MEMORIES AND INFORMATION - STAFFORDSHIRE HOME GUARD

 41st STAFFORDSHIRE (TIPTON) BATTN.

THE TIPTON HOME GUARD
SUMMARY and GENERAL INFORMATION PAGE


THIS WEBSITE CONTAINS INFORMATION AND IMAGES RELATING TO THE
41st STAFFORDSHIRE (TIPTON) BATTN.

THE INFORMATION MAY BE SEEN ON THESE PAGES
:
41st Staffordshire (Tipton) Battn. - Summary Page (this page)
41st Staffordshire Battn. - Special Orders 1st April 1944

41st Staffordshire Battn. - List of Members
41st Staffordshire Battn. and Pte. Albert E. Barratt
41st Staffordshire Battn. - Territory map
41st Staffordshire Battn and L/Cpl. William (Bill) Duncan

Tipton and the adjoining area was defended throughout the war by the 41st Staffordshire (Tipton) Battalion of the South Staffordshire Home Guard and it operated in its earliest formation from May 1940 until final stand-down at the beginning of December 1944.  In 1941 it was commanded by Lt.-Col. G. G. Heathcock, M.C., M.M., late of the Royal Engineers.
The Battalion was part of the Central Midland Area, South Staffordshire Zone, Group 5 of Western Command.

This page
within the Tipton section of the website provides general information on the 41st Battalion including its organisation, group and individual images and other miscellaneous information.  For all other Tipton Home Guard information, please see links above.


ORGANISATION

Little is so far known of the earlier organisation of the Battalion but a clear picture of it from April 1944 is now available and is provided within this website, on this and associated pages.

For reasons which are so far unknown (although they may be connected to a perceived need to establish mobile units locally in the build-up to D-Day) the Battalion was instructed in February 1944 to reorganise; and a detailed set of instructions - "Special Orders" dated 1st April 1944 and prepared by the Adjutant, Capt. G. W. Shepherd - was issued on behalf of the Battalion C.O. who by then was Lt.-Col. G. M. Rainbird.  (Col. Rainbird had before his promotion been a Major and Company Commander in the neighbouring 28th Staffordshire (West Bromwich) Battalion).

Below is the structure of the Battalion with effect from April 1944. (For further detail, please see Special Orders - 1st April 1944.


MOBILE BATTALION


Battalion  H.Q:  75 Lower Church Lane, Tipton
C.O: Lt.-Col. G.M. Rainbird

******

11 COY. (Mobile)
H.Q: "The Towers", Victoria Road, Tipton
Comd: Capt. H. E. Ratcliffe

Coy. H.Q.
No. 7 Platoon (Lt. G. Smith) - Sections 1, 2, 3
No. 8 Platoon (Pl. Off. Lycett - Sections 4, 5, 6
No. 9 Platoon (Lt. G. Reeve) - Sections 7, 8, 9

******

12 COY. (Mobile)
H.Q: Drill Hall, Tipton
Comd: Maj. P. Pearson

Coy. H.Q.
No. 10 Platoon (Pl. Offr. E. Jones) - Sections 1, 2, 3
No. 11 Platoon (Lt. C. L. Meredith) - Sections 4, 5, 6
No. 12 Platoon (Pl. Offr. W. Fletcher)- Sections 7, 8, 9

******

13 COY. (Mobile)
H.Q: Bullers Ltd., Tipton
Comd: Maj. W. E. Jones

Coy. H.Q.
No. 13 Platoon (Lt. L. Martin) - Sections 1, 2, 3
No. 14 Platoon (Lt. W. C. Nicholls) - Sections 4, 5, 6
No. 15 Platoon (Lt. G. A. Carter) - Sections 7, 8, 9

******

14 COY. (Mobile)
H.Q: Beans Industries Ltd., Hurst lane, Tipton
Comd: Maj. S. Morris

Coy. H.Q.
No. 16 Platoon  (Lt. H. Walker)- Sections 1, 2, 3
No. 17 Platoon (Pl. Offr. G. Hanson) - Sections 4, 5, 6
No. 18 Platoon  (Lt. Paskin)- Sections 7, 8, 9

******

TOTAL STRENGTH: Mobile Battalion
Officers
32
W/Os
5
Sgts.
33
Cpls., L/Cpls.
100
O/Rs
385
TOTAL
555

***********************

TOWN DEFENCE COYS.

H.Q: 75 Lower Church Lane, Tipton
Comd: Maj. J. C. Evans
Coy. H.Q.

******

"B" COY. (Town Defence)
H.Q: M.E.C. Offices, Toll End Road, Tipton
Comd: Maj. E. Thompson

Coy. H.Q.
No. 20 Platoon (Lt. G. F. Ellis) - Sections 1, 2, 3
No. 21 Platoon (2/Lt. W. Newton) - Sections 1, 2, 3
No. 22 Platoon (Lt. P. Gittins) - Sections 1, 2, 3

******

"D" COY. (Town Defence)
H.Q: 39 Neptune Street, Tipton
Comd: Maj. S. Davis

Coy. H.Q.
No. 27 Platoon (Lt. J. James) - Sections 1, 2, 3
No. 28 Platoon (Lt. A. Deakin) - Sections 1, 2
No. 29 Platoon - Section 1
No. 30 Platoon (Lt. T. E. Ordish) - Section 1
No. 31 Platoon  (Lt. B. Allen)- Section 1

******


H.Q. COY.
(All personnel attached to Companies apart from 4 named individuals detailed for special duties)

******

"C" COY.
(Recruit Training Cadre)
H.Q: Drill Hall, Tipton
C.S.M: Powell, G. T.


******

TOTAL STRENGTH: Town Defence Battalion
Officers
31
W/Os
5
Sgts.
22
Cpls., L/Cpls.
43
O/Rs
369
TOTAL
470

***********************

GRAND TOTAL STRENGTH: Battalion
Officers
63
W/Os
10
Sgts.
55
Cpls., L/Cpls.
143
O/Rs
754
TOTAL
1025


***********************

INVENTORY OF WEAPONRY, TRANSPORT VEHICLES and AMMUNITION

         WEAPONRY


Revolvers:  28

Rifles:  388

Sten M.G.s:  697

Browning Automatic Rifles:  48

.55 Boys Anti-Tank Rifles:   6

E.Y. Rifles:  34

Spigot Mortars:   6

Browning M.G.s:  2

Lewis M.G:  1
        TRANSPORT

(under various ownerships and allocated to specific individuals, units and functions)

Motor cycles:  32

Cars: 22

Truck/Load carriers: 18

Ambulance: 1

Breakdown vehicle: 1

Buses: 16
       AMMUNITION

300 S.A.A:
Bandolier:  9,600
Carton:  43,200
Tracer:   5,500
Frankfort:  10,000

Boys .55:   750
9mm:  50,800
.300 Bal:  500

Spigot Mortar:
20lb A/TK:  149
14lb A.P.  60

Grenade 36M:
4 sec:  1,100
7 sec:  490

68 Grenade:  120



 IMAGES

COMPLETE BATTALION


Click on image to view higher definition version
Date:
Sunday 16th May 1943
Location:
probably Highfield Estate, near Jubilee Gardens



A COMPANY WITHIN THE BATTALION

(possibly the Battn. H.Q. Coy.)



Click on image to view higher definition version
Date:
unknown but probably pre-1944

Identifications:
 middle row, extreme right: Sgt. David Blackford
Location: Municipal Buildings, Sedgley Road


AN UNIDENTIFIED GROUP OF OFFICERS AND NCOs


Click on image to view higher definition version
Date:
unknown but probably pre-1944
Identifications:
 middle row, extreme right: Sgt. David Blackford; standing, extreme left: Sgt. L. Stanway.
Location:
unknown

Sgt. LEONARD STANWAY


© Richard Leonard Stanway 2019



TERRITORY MAP


The map below dates from before the 1944 reorganisation and shows the location of four Company HQs and also the HQ of four Platoons. Also shown are details of adjoining Battalions. Click on the map to see a higher definition version of it and also further information.


Click on image to view higher definition version


OTHER INFORMATION

Details of a parade and demonstration to celebrate the Third Anniversary of the establishment of the Home Guard:


from the papers of Pte. Albert Barratt


After the formal inspection the Battalion presented a demonstration during which a unit staged a mock attack on a German sand-bagged emplacement using assault and motorcycle troops.  The Imperial War Museum holds a cine film of this event. During the day a photograph was taken which included almost all members of the Battalion. This is reproduced above and also in a higher definition version here.

Information and images concerning the
41st STAFFORDSHIRE (TIPTON) BATTN.
may be found at these locations within this website


41st Staffordshire (Tipton) Battn. - Summary Page (this page)
41st Staffordshire Battn and Pte. Albert E. Barratt
41st Staffordshire Battn. - Special Orders 1st April 1944

41st Staffordshire Battn - List of Members
41st Staffordshire Battn. - Territory map
41st Staffordshire Battn and L/Cpl. William (Bill) Duncan

and by using the website Search function

********** 

ALF BREAKWELL

A member of the 41st Staffordshire (Tipton) Battalion and a loyal and devoted friend to the Tipton Library

In Memory of

ALL MEMBERS OF
THE TIPTON HOME GUARD

41st Staffordshire (Tipton) Battalion
Home Guard

1940-1944

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Grateful acknowledgement is made to the many sources of the information included on this and associated pages of the Tipton section of this website:
-  J, an anonymous Tipton historian;  Tipton Library (Robert Hazel); The Friends of Tipton Library; Sandwell Archives Service (Ian Gray); Tipton Civic Society (Keith Hodgkins)
; "Home Guard List 1941 Western Command" by Jon Mills (Savannah Publications); "Black Country Bugle";  Tipton in the 50s and 60s Facebook page and its members; and several individuals including Hazel Jones (daughter of Sgt. David Blackford),  David Barratt (nephew of Pte. Albert Barratt); Joan Keeling; Kevin Partridge; Leonard Richard Stanway; Jackie Thickett; and Nicky Stokes (grand-daughter of William Duncan).
- and any original sources of this material whose identity is so far unknown to staffshomeguard.

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x155A - January 2018; updated March, September 2019, May 2022