The 29th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion consisted entirely of members of the various departments responsible the city's utilities - the Water, Gas, Electricity Supply and Salvage Departments - and the Council's offices; it was responsible for the defence of all these facilities. Other units had similar responsibilities in respect of other Birmingham Corporation services, such as City Transport. Their members were based at the various departmental premises throughout the city and beyond. The primary role was to defend and protect these depots against enemy action of any kind, including sabotage. Individual units also cooperated with other Home Guard formations who were responsible for the geographical area in which the particular  facility was located and were thus involved in the broader scope of Home Guard infantry activity.

For most of its life this Battalion was commanded by Lt.-Col. E. Victor Horton, M.C., J.P. (right).

The following is some essential information about the Battalion which in common with many other HG units evolved  in terms of structure, designation and command, especially in the earlier years.

STRUCTURE May 1940 - July 1940 9th Birmingham (P.U.) Battalion Local Defence Volunteers July 1940 - October 1940  9th Birmingham (P.U.) Battalion Home Guard October 1940 - December 1945 29th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion Home Guard	COMMANDING OFFICERS Major T.B. Pritchett, M.C. (1940)   (Lord Mayor of Birmingham) Lt.-Col. E.V. Horton, M.C., J.P. (1940-1944)
STRENGTH AT STAND DOWN (December 1944) " A"  Company (Council House)......135 " B " Company (Gas)........................400 " C " Company (Water)....................337 " D " Company (Salvage).................169 " E " Company (Electricity) ............169 TOTAL BATTALION.....................1210	SUMMARY OF ACTIVITY Number of points at which Vulnerable Point Guards were mounted (excluding 24-hour guards on the Elan Aqueduct) 19 Total number of Guards mounted by the Battalion at the above V.P's. between Formation and Stand Down 25,735

Most of the information about this Battalion, consisting of over 1200 men in total, comes from a commemorative booklet published in 1946 and titled "The Birmingham Corporation Home Guard - the 29th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion".  In the following associated pages of this website the full contents of the booklet - essentially an official record of the Battalion -  can be read. It gives a fascinating insight to every aspect of the Battalion's life which lasted effectively from late May 1940 until stand-down in early December 1944 and final disbandment a year later - organisation, military duties, personnel, casualties, parades, awards, competitions, recreation and much else.

The booklet is divided into sections. The first shows the Introduction section of the booklet (pages 1-12). For all sections, please see the Summary box below.