N.C.O.s (NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS)

SUB-SECTION LEADERS

The first and essential duty is to keep in touch with every man in his Section.

He should know when any man misses a Sunday parade or training parade and why.

That is, some Volunteers work on Sundays or alternate Sundays and cannot therefore attend every Sunday parade.

If however a Volunteer in his Section does not turn out on a Sunday the Sub Section Leader should make it his business to call on this Volunteer as soon as possible to find out whether illness, absence from Bristol or what other reason has accounted for his absence.

Having found out he should report to his Section Leader who in his turn should report to the Platoon Officer and through him the Company Commander will know why a Company nominally over 300 strong cannot parade more than 150 at a time.

It should be a comparatively simple matter for one Sub Section Leader to keep constantly in touch with his 8 men. While it is too big a job for a section Leader to go round to a whole section of 24 to 30 men and even more impossible for a Platoon Sergeant or Officer to keep personally in touch with a whole Platoon of 60-80 men.

We have lost the services in the past of many men who joined the Home Guard simply because they were of a retiring disposition, and no one followed them up by making a personal contact.

Keenness sometimes wavers but can be revived by a personal call, without which this Volunteer may lose all his keenness permanently, and a potentially valuable man may thus be lost to the Home Guard.

I look upon this duty of the Sub Section Leader as by far the most important one he has to perform.

While making these personal contacts he may easily, by keeping his eyes open, secure new recruits to replace the wastage which is constantly taking place.

Beyond this a Sub Section Leader should be the perfect Home Guard Volunteer and by his example and bearing in everything he does on and off parade should be a constant example for recruits and Volunteers to follow.
 

SECTION LEADERS

The Section Leader should keep his section records always up to date and through his Sub Section Leader should always have a complete knowledge of the performance of all the Volunteers in his Section. He must realise that he is responsible for seeing that his section receive all the training they should have and that his Section does not fall behind any other either in keenness or ability. He should look after any recruits that may join his section, and give all the information asked for by his Platoon Sergeant or Platoon Orderly Corporal punctually when asked for.

He must be able to take charge of his section, and remember that he more than anyone else will control the actual fighting whenever it may take place.

He must see that he is absolutely on top of such duties as Message Sending; Taking charge of Road Barricades; Reconnoitring Patrols; Standing Patrol; Fighting Patrols. He should know the abilities of all his Section and their Civilian jobs, so that Volunteers can be used to the best advantage. He should know his best bombers, the capabilities of his automatic machine gun teams, his best shots, and scouts. He should know his front and other Platoon fronts. The whole plan of defence and objects of the disposition. He is more concerned than the Sub Section Leader with the actual fighting and field work of his men.
 

PLATOON SERGEANT

Just as a 2nd in Command of a Company relieves his C.O. of detail work leaving his C.O. more free for training, so a Platoon Sergeant helps his Platoon Officer in a similar manner.

He is especially responsible for collecting all the information required from a Platoon and for keeping everyone up to scratch.

He is a man who has to make himself a nuisance by getting on everyone’s back and seeing that all instruction issued are carried out by Volunteers, and that no slackness is allowed to creep in.

J. H. Bromhead