REFERENCES

1.  Clifton Rugby Football Club History - www.cliftonrfchistory.co.uk

2.  www.awm.gov.au - Australian War Memorial, AWM28 2/128 – (Recommendation file for Honours and Awards. AIF 1914-18) A.L.H. Book Recommendations 10.3.1918 to July 1919.

3.  Bristol Archives, 42421/D/3: J. H. Bromhead's personal history of R Company, 11th Battalion Home Guard

4.  Although this is the end of the JHB’s “Personal History of “R” Company 11th Bn” memoirs, there are more items in the JHB collection such as diaries, notes, and photos held in the Bristol Archives, 42421: Records of Jack Bromhead, 11th Battalion Home Guard, Gloucestershire Regiment.

5.   Photographs from the personal family collection of Ian Smith. Photographer unknown. Date: 1941

6.   Information and forms for requesting Home Guard Service Records can be found at the Government website page: - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-home-guard-service-records

7.   The England and Wales Register taken on 29th September 1939 - The register was compiled, due to the onset of war, for the purpose of producing National Identity Cards. A person’s National Registration Number can be determined from the register which can be viewed on many ancestry websites – charges may apply.

8.   J.J. Whyte later became Captain as noted by J.H. Bromhead in his history when he refers to him as the late Captain J.J. Whyte. He was part of the group that looked after enrolment, which is borne out on John Francis Smith enrolment form.

9. "The 8th (Burton) Battalion of the Staffordshire Home Guard - An Appreciation of Their Record of Service to Their King and Country". This important image has been kindly shared by Austin Oz J. Ruddy who owns a copy of this booklet. Photographer unknown. Austin Oz J. Ruddy is the administrator and owner of the Remember Britain’s Home Guard Facebook page.

10.  The British Library Board’s, British Newspaper Archives. The newspaper in which the article was found is noted in the body of the text. All articles in this history have been manually transcribed by the author, Ian Smith.

11.  UK, WW1 War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920. National Archives- 2nd 6th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment - WO95-3021 (transcribed by Ian Smith)

12.  UK, WW1 War Diaries (France, Belgium, and Germany), 1914-1920. National Archives - 1^st 6^th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment – WO 95-2685 (transcribed by Ian Smith)

12a. https:/www.gov.uk/apply-medal-or-veterans-badge/apply-for-a-medal - Home Guard Service Questionnaire plus MOD Medal Application form. 

10/- = 10 Shillings - Half of £1 – In paper form was also known as a “Ten Bob Note”

American Rifles - Lee Enfield M1917

A.T.S. - Auxiliary Territorial Service

A.W. Glass phosphorus bombs - Also known as the No. 76 grenade, or SIP (Self-igniting Phosphorus) Grenade, was manufactured by Allbright & Wilson and was an incendiary grenade based on White Phosphorus. The grenades construction was a glass bottle that contained a mixture of petrol and phosphorus. When thrown, the glass would break and the phosphorus being exposed to air would spontaneously ignite, thereby burning the petrol and causing a fire.

Blacker Bombard - 29mm Spigot Mortar.

Bren Carrier or the Universal Carrier - A light armoured track vehicle manufactured by Vickers-Armstrong and others.

Bull Ring trainings - The Bull Ring was a name given by troops to Base Camps. The most famous was at Etaples, France, one of the main base camps in Northern France. The camp was used as a retraining ground to “toughen up” those returning to the trenches on the front line following a period of leave or convalescence. The intensive training would include square bashing, marching over dunes at the double, gas warfare, and bayonet drills. I imagine the context used by J.H. Bromhead in his memoirs when referring to “CSM Philpott starting his Bull Ring Trainings”, is that the training was intensive but not necessarily brutal and was intended to get the Company members well-drilled and battle-ready.

Brentry Colony – A mental hospital in the estate and grounds of Brentry House, consisted of a “Men’s Village” and a “Women’s Village” and contained dormitory blocks and wards, kitchen gardens and flowerbeds, woodlands and fields, for the work and recreation of the inmates. The hospital ceased in 1998. St Peter’s Hospice was built within the grounds in 1996 and many of the “village greens” became housing developments. The site is now known as Royal Victoria Park and is a public open space. The underground tunnel mentioned by JHB as being on “Dr. Mason’s estate” was located within the grounds - Dr Joseph J. Mason was the Medical Superintendent of Brentry Colony.

Charmey Down - Near Bath, there is an Airfield Memorial at the location and several disused buildings from WW2 still exist on the site.

Cribb (Cribbs Causeway) - JHB mentions “the Cribb itself” and “the empty house at the Cribb”. I would suggest he is referring to Cribb Farm which in the day was located around the back of Dick Lovett BMW car dealership. About 1,000ft due south of the Lamb and Flag (currently Miller & Carter).

Colston Fort - A building entrance doorway can be seen located in Henrietta Street, Bristol, BS6. Much of the building was destroyed by a bomb during an air raid as described by JHB. The building was briefly used as the Battalion’s Machine Gun Headquarters prior to its direct hit. The new building on Montague Place is still used by the NHS.

Daily Mirror “Jane” Type girl - Jane was a humorous comic strip created and drawn by Norman Pett for The Daily Mirror and ran between 1932 and 1959.

Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE – British Army Commander during Second World War.

Fountains Hill, Bristol - This road has since been renamed- it is now part of Ladies Mile. Fountains Hill was the section of road from the junction of Circular Road and Ladies Mile down to Clifton Down (A4176).

H.E. - High Explosive

N.F.S. - National Fire Service

{North Hill Cottage, Haw Wood} - The location was omitted from JHB’s original memoir text, he alludes to this in a note on the inside of the rear cover. The sentence just had a blank space where the location should have been written. I inserted this as their location from my best estimate after looking at old maps of the area. I imagine that JHB’s description of where they stood to observe “on hill under Haw Wood” was accessed via the lane leading to North Hill Cottage, now called Berwick Lane. This location would certainly allow them to be in the proximity to hear Lt. Jackson call out orders for the 2nd phase of demonstration. I would suggest the farm that No.16 Platoon started the demonstration from was Norton Farm. Brent Knoll House still stands today a hundred yards from the Shell Petrol Station on Cribbs Causeway, though it was recently up for sale and much development is currently underway in the surrounding area. Interestingly my transcription places “lane leading to” on page 37, the same page as JHB had written in the back of the book. The note also alludes to the fact that maybe a typed version was made.

Junior Division O.T.C. - Officer Training Core

K.O.Y.L.I. - King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

O.P. - Observation Post

Pailliasses - Straw mattresses

R.E’s - Royal Engineers

R.G.N. - Registered General Nurse

Ridgeway - The Ridgeway is a road off Passage Road, near Westbury Cricket Ground and opposite Charlton Road.

Robb Wilton - Robert Wilton Smith (28 Aug. 1881 – 1 May 1957) - English comedian and actor. Famous for his monologues. One was about joining the Home Guard called “The Day War Broke Out” which is readily available to be listened to on media sites such as YouTube.

Roneo - In the days before photocopiers the Roneo machine was a must-have for reproducing documents and most schools and offices had one. A stencil paper was created by drawing or writing in it and then this master was rolled around a drum, and when a handle on the machine was turned ink would be forced out through the cut marks on the stencil and thereby reproducing the image on another piece of paper.

Rockingham - JHB mentions on 23rd April 1941 work was started on a Battalion Bombing Range at “Rockingham”. I believe this is Rockingham Park in Avonmouth, Bristol – where an Anti-Aircraft Battery was sited. The site and remains of the AAB can be seen on satellite images.

SAA - Small Arms Ammunition

Sangar - A temporary fortified position or sentry post from which to keep watch and/or fire from. Originally made from stones (sang being the Persian word for “stone”). Sangars were constructed where the terrain meant it would be impractical to dig trenches.

Snow Ball system? - My best guess is something to do with communication of information, messages, orders, etc to units in reaction to a specific event.

SMLE - Short Magazine Lee Enfield

Solo School - Solo Whist is a card game.

S.T.C. Orderly Room - Bristol University Senior Training Corps Orderly Room

T.A. -Territorial Association

Tom Wintringham - Opened a private Home Guard training school at Osterley Park in July 1940. The British Army took over the training at Osterley Park in September 1940, and Wintringham and fellow veterans of the Spanish Civil War were side-lined. Wintringham eventually resigned in 1941. He was not allowed to join the Home Guard, despite being an avid campaigner and supporter, due to his political memberships.

“Warship Week” - The Royal Navy had lost many ships during the war, so a British National Savings Campaign was implemented between 1941 and 1942 to raise funds within communities to sponsor ships. The ships and crew would be adopted by the city or town once the set target had been reached. I understand that Bristol adopted HMS Jamaica – a Fiji-class cruiser.

Westbury Cricket Club - Now Bishopton Cricket Club

White Tree Garage - Was located opposite the White Tree Road, Henleaze, Bristol, adjacent to the Orpheus Cinema. The cinema and garage have been demolished and a Waitrose supermarket built where they stood on Northumbria Drive.

W/T Sets - Wireless Telegraph (Trench Set)

W.V.S. - Women’s Volunteer Service

U.X.B.s - Unexploded Bombs

Yeo Bros. Paull & Co. Ltd. - Store once located in Victoria Street Bristol. Sold Tarpaulins, Ropes and Twines, Sacks and Bags, Tents, Hammocks, Rick Sheets, Wagon Covers, Marquee Hire and much more.

Yoxter Range - Near Priddy, Wells and is still an active range.

“Z” Scheme of entry into the Navy - JHB mentions this coming in on 8th October 1941, I have been unable to find any detailed information on this special entry scheme.