HOME GUARD MEMORIES AND INFORMATION - OXFORDSHIRE, WITNEY

3rd OXFORDSHIRE (CHIPPING NORTON) Bttn. - WITNEY Coy.
4th OXFORDSHIRE (BULLINGDON) Battalion

VARIOUS GROUP IMAGESS

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Description: A group comprising (probably) the entire Witney Company of the 3rd Oxfordshire Battalion, Home Guard
Location: St. Mary's Church, Witney
Date: probably War Weapons Week, 14th September 1941; possibly on one of the anniversaries of the foundation of the Home Guard, celebrated in mid-May of each year from 1941 to 1944
Identifications
: just one to date. Ivor Rackley is seated in the front row, 7th from the left. (Grateful acknowledgement to SR of Witney, the great-granddaughter of Ivor Rackley).

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Description: A section within the Witney Company of the 3rd Oxfordshire Battalion, Home Guard
Location: St. Mary's Church, Witney
Date: unknown
Identifications
: none to date.

Description: The Witney Platoon of the 3rd Oxfordshire Battalion, Home Guard, or a section of that Platoon (but not the De Havilland Company Works Platoon).
Location: St. Mary's Church, Witney
Date: probably War Weapons Week, 14th September 1941; possibly on one of the anniversaries of the foundation of the Home Guard, celebrated in mid-May of each year from 1941 to 1944
Identifications: Back row, second from left - Frank Ernest Bishop (1906-2002 and a Witney man all his life).
(Grateful acknowledgement to Deborah Bishop of Witney).

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Description: A unit of the 4th Oxfordshire (Bullingdon) Battalion, Home Guard.
Location: unknown.
Date: unknown, but obviously winter (perhaps stand-down, December 1944?)
Identifications: Second row back, third from left: Harry Luckett (b.1894); next to him, fourth from left, his son, Harry Leslie Luckett (b. 1916).
(Grateful acknowledgement to Marvin Coghlan).


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Description: Members of the Cuddesdon unit of the 4th Oxfordshire (Bullingdon) Battalion, Home Guard.
Location: on the bank opposite the Bat and Ball pub in High Street with the houses of School View behind the group.
Date: unknown
Identifications:  (from left to right)
Back row: Albert Spokes - Harry Wilkinson - Nash - Malcolm Rowe - Brane (or Brain) - Taylor - Peddar - Brown - Norman Ried (or Reid) - Billy Ried (or Reid)
Middle row: Victor Lockey - Ron Shirley - Stan Lockey - Bill Cooper - Harry Luckett - Jimmy Dean - John Shorter - Jack Reeves
Front row: Burgess - Arthur Godfrey - Lambert Dexter - Archy Bestley - Tom Bolton - Bob Sawyer - Joe Foster

N.B. Victor Lockey was previously identified as Fred Belcher. Victor was the younger brother of Stan Lockey and has been positively identified by a family member. Later in the war he joined the Royal Navy.
(Grateful acknowledgement to Marvin Coghlan for image and most identifications; and to Steve Jones for further information).


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The first two images above originate from the Witney and District Museum, Witney, Oxfordshire via the good offices of SJ (of Oxfordshire) and AB (Warkworth, N.Z.), to all of whom grateful acknowledgement is made; and similar acknowledgement to Deborah Bishop of Witney, Frank Ernest Bishops's grand-daughter, for identifications and for providing the third image; and to Marvin Coghlan for providing the 4th Oxfordshire images and identifications and to Steve Jones for further information.
Third image © Deborah Bishop 2019
Fourth and fifth image © Marvin Coghlan 2019

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 x47A - updated June 2019, August 2019, December 2019, February 2020