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The Local Defence Volunteers, (often referred to as the
LDV, or Look, Duck and Vanish by those who were associated
with it), was set up by the British Government in the
early part of World War 2. Later they were renamed to "The
Home Guard", but their purpose remained the same; that
of defending Britain should our nation become under attack
by the German army.
Many of the men who made up the ranks of the LDV were veterans
of the earlier World War 1, and some who were young too
young to join the regular army, or who were in what were
termed, "reserved occupations". A reserved occupation
was one which was deemed necessary to the normal operation
of the country; such the medical or police professions.
Miners and steelworkers also fell under this category, as
a nation without coal and steel couldn't hope to stand victorious
against the onslaught of the Nazis.
The LDV was formed
by The Commander in Chief, General Walter Kirke, and was
initially set up to defend Dover from the German army that
amassed across the English Channel. Local volunteers, too
old but eager to fight, quickly swelled the ranks of the
new organisation.
On the 14th of May
in 1940, in a live radio broadcast to the nation, Secretary
of State for War Anthony Eden made the following announcement:
"We want large numbers of such men in Great Britain
who are British subjects, between the ages of seventeen
and sixty-five, to come forward now and offer their services
in order to make assurance, that any invasion would fail,
doubly sure. The name of the new force which is now to be
raised will be the Local Defence Volunteers. This name describes
its duties in three words. You will not be paid, but you
will receive uniforms and will be armed. In order to volunteer,
what you have to do is give your name at your local police
station, and then, when we want you, we will let you know."
Over the next 24 hours, police stations all over the country
were deluged with men willing to offer their services for
the defence of their country.
In the Doncaster area
there were several divisions of the LDV, based at each of
the villages around the town, and also in the town itself.
At first the men who volunteered were armed with nothing
more than sticks, and the promised uniforms were long overdue
by the time they arrived. However, as the war dragged on,
the LDV became an organised body of men, with more than
the basic training required to operate various armaments;
including rifles, artillery and grenades.
The men spent many hours guarding what were considered strategic
points around Doncaster, usually bridges and rail crossings,
as well as practising their marksmanship at the firing range
in Cantley.
In Stainforth there
were two divisions of the LDV; one, Company "A",
was based at the large house on the corner of Thorne Road
and East Lane, and the other, Company "B", at
Hatfield Main Colliery.
These two groups were made up of men who were too young
to enlist and miners, who worked at Hatfield
Colliery.
Throughout the war
Stainforth was relatively quiet, with little evidence that
the country was facing Hitler's threat from across the English
Channel. On some occasions though, fighter aircraft could
be observed dogfighting in sky to the south. On another
occasion, a German bomber that had been on a mission to
drop bombs on Sheffield, flew low over Stainforth as it
tried make its way back home. As it passed near the village,
the crew dropped their remaining bombs, desperately trying
to make the aircraft lighter so that it could gain height.
Other than these odd occasions of activity, the LDV spent
most of their time guarding strategic points around the
area and later, learning the art of resistance warfare.
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