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Eric
William Doody (1914-1972) was a member of the
44th Warwickshire
(Birmingham) Battalion, Home Guard. By
July 1944 he was serving as a Sergeant: the
achievement of this rank infers particular
personal and perhaps specialist qualities
which he must have demonstrated during the
earlier part of his Home Guard service. He was
too young to have had Great War military
experience and there is no evidence of
Territorial Army service in the 1930s, both of
which were often the background of senior
NCOs.
 Other
than his appearance in the Company group
photograph, little evidence of his Home Guard
service survives. One other image shows him in
the centre of a family group
(left),
with, on the left,
Bernard Clarke and, right,
Thomas Clarke,
his brothers-in-law (brothers of Eric's wife,
Frances). Whether they were in the same
Company, or even the same Battalion, is not
known.
Eric Doody
and Francis Clarke (1919-1976) were married in
1936 and lived initially at 1/55 Abbey Street,
Hockley. Eric's employment during the
war was at a Paint Warehouse at the corner of
Icknield Street
and Camden Street.
This gives no clue, unfortunately, as to the
identity of the Home Guard Platoon to which he
belonged. There were two children of the
marriage, Michael and Frances, Michael later
becoming a leading figure in Warwickshire
Local Government.
In the
post-war years Eric did not enjoy good health
and spent several years in
Romsley Sanatorium,
near Halesowen and later, after a family move
to Southcote
Grove, Kings Norton, in
Yardley Green
Sanatorium. After a successful
operation, however, he was able to resume a
normal life and had a successful career as a
Senior Buyer with
Joseph Lucas, initially at
Shaftmoor Lane
and later at Great
King Street. He was still employed
there, and living at
16 Calverley Road,
Kings Norton, when he died of a heart
attack in December 1972 at the early age of
58.
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Commanding Officer in early 1941 was
Lt.-Col. C.W.P.
Blackmore, late of the Royal Artillery.
Later his command was assumed by
front
row, 9th from right: Sgt. Eric William Doody
