This is a page within the www.staffshomeguard.co.uk website. To see full contents, go to SITE MAP.
Best viewed in IE or Chrome
MEMORIES
AND INFORMATION - WORCESTERSHIRE
LESLIE SYDALL PIERSON
12th WORCS. (WARLEY)
BATTN.
or
5th WORCS (HALESOWEN) BATTN.
|
 Leslie
Sydall Pierson
(b.1910)
lived during the
war years at 14 Grayswood Park Road,
Quinton. He
was in the Home Guard and a member of either the
12th
Worcestershire (Warley) Battalion
whose territory was
the Quinton, Warley and Langley area on the
south-western side of Birmingham; or the adjoining
5th
Worcestershire (Halesowen) Battalion;
or even the Castle Bromwich factory unit.
(Detailed images of
the officers, and of some other men, in the 12th Battalion can be seen on
this page of the
website).
Leslie Pierson
worked at Castle Bromwich, almost certainly
on Spitfires, as did a good friend of his,
Norman Ray, who lived nearby on
Hagley Road.
They were both 2/Lieutenants or Lieutenants.
It appears that neither Leslie nor
Norman were commissioned at the very
beginning of the life of the Home Guard
although they may well have served in the
ranks from an early stage, perhaps from May
or June 1940. It is no surprise that they
were not amongst the first generation of
officers: the latter, and that of N.C.O.s,
consisted almost completely of those who had
had Great War experience and Leslie was much
too young for that. As time went on, men who
displayed appropriate leadership qualities -
and perhaps possessed specialised other
skills - were promoted and it is likely that
both men fell into this category. What
is certain is that their promotion came some
time after February 1941. One
history of the 12th Worcestershire
mentions the establishment of specialist
units and functions later that year and
perhaps our two men were associated with
this development.
An image of
Leslie and Norman survives, taken in a rural
location on an unknown date and showing a
group of fellow officers. Here it is:
Leslie
Pierson is in the middle row, 3rd from
right; Norman Ray is next to him, 2nd from
the right. Also identified is Lt. R. P.
Bird, back row, 7th from the right.
Click anywhere on the image to see a much
enlarged version
This image is proving difficult to
analyse with complete certainty. Owing to to
their home address the probability is that
Leslie and Norman were members of the local
unit, the 12th Worcestershire (Warley)
Battalion. Yet neither appears in a
group
photograph which shows the officers of that
Battalion at a later date. On the
other hand at least one other officer in the
above group does - Lt. R.
P. Bird;
whilst few other faces seem to appear in
both places. There is no clear answer to
this conundrum: perhaps Leslie and Norman
were members of an adjoining Battalion - the
5th Worcestershire (Halesowen) Battalion is
one possiblity; a less likely one is
membership of the Castle Bromwich factory
unit. Or could the image show, not members
of a particular Battalion, but rather
officers from various units on an officer
training course? Perhaps further
information will one day emerge to answer
these questions.
(Further information obtained in August 2021
about the 5th Worcestershire appears to rule
out that possibility: neither name appears
on its list of 1944 officers).
What is certain
though is that Leslie Pierson and
Norman Ray
served with dedication and skill in
positions of responsibility for year after
year in defence of their neighbourhood and
their country. Let this page stand as
a modest tribute to them and to their
service.
|
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Staffshomeguard is
most grateful to Maureen Baker for
providing the image and information on this
page about her father and for permitting their
publication on this website.
Image ©
Maureen Baker 2015
FURTHER
INFORMATION
Further information about the
Worcestershire battalions is contained
elsewhere in various parts of this website. To view the
Worcestershire sumary page, please use the
Mems-Worcs link below |
x114 March 2015,
amended April 2018, 28 August 2021 |
|
