F. J. Swan
Home Guard No 1 platoon 3rd (West Leicester) Battalion
As an underage member (graduating from the Army Cadets aged 15) of No 1 platoon, 3rd (West Leicester) Battalion, Home Guard, I vividly remember during our training sessions, being shown a road block entry to the village which consisted of holes set across the road, into which we had to insert upright lengths of tram track cut into about six foot lengths. We were then shown how we should take one of these lengths, and ram it into an enemy tank track. Another masterpiece which we were instructed to do, was to use our Boyes anti tank rifle, which fired a half inch bore bullet, to dent the rim of a German "Tiger" tank gun turret so that it could not be traversed. The bullet itself was insufficient to penetrate the armour plate of the tank.
We later had a "PIAT" launcher issued to us. This had a missile loaded into a cradle and was fired from on the shoulder like a bazooka. The missile itself looked like a small bomb, with fins, but also it had a long point at the front. The principle was that the charge would go down this point, after penetrating the armour, and explode inside the tank. Fortunately, we never had need to try out these items in real life. After D Day, a lot of Home Guard units were used, on a voluntary basis, and at weekends, to pack various items of ordnance for use by the Army in France. Our particular task seemed to be make bundles of cross pieces for for the top of signal posts to attach the wires to,like telegraph poles.
I was called up just 4 days before Christmas in 1944, and went to Cameron Barracks in Inverness. I was told to report in my Home Guard uniform.
