‘Look, Duck and Vanish’
No not a firm of private investigators, but the nickname given to
the Local Defence Volunteers. Set up at the beginning of the
second world war the L.D.V. were men recruited to join the war
effort at home. Ex-Arlesey man Eddie Smith shares some
memorabilia from his time in the Local Defence Volunteers.
Many men who for different reasons couldn’t fight for their country, became
local volunteers with an aim of patrolling their local area for any foreign
infiltrators. Bedfordshire had a large force of these volunteers with Arlesey
having its own contingent.
A radio broadcast on 14th May 1940 asked for volunteers to join the force
at home and it was expected that 150,000 would come forward, but within
24 hours of Anthony Eden’s radio broadcast, 250,000 had joined. By August
1940, over 1.5 million men had volunteered.
Edwin Smith from Fulham in South London and Arlesey’s Daisy King met
and settled in Arlesey where young Edwin was born in 1921 in Mid Village
Arlesey at number 4 Paynes Cottages (now 181 High Street).
Eddie played football and cricket at the Sidings School, and was in the
choir at St Peters church on a Sunday, where after church would go to
Harwoods shop for some sweets.
Eddie in the garden of number
40 Stotfold Road in his new uniform
Eddie with his mother outside their
When Eddie was fifteen the
house at number 4 Paynes Cottages
family moved into the lodge at
Arleseybury when his mother
became the new cook at the girls finishing school in the main house, the
Bury. Eddie’s father died when he was sixteen and Eddie gave up the choir.
1939 war came, the finishing school closed and the family moved
to number 40 Stotfold Road in 1939, and not after the lodge became
headquarters for the Home Guard, Eddie’s mother then started as a cook at
Henlow Camp RAF base.
He then decided to join the Home Guard at the age of 18. Uniforms and
equipment were almost non-existent at first and volunteers had to wear their
own clothes with just an armband. Old rifles were issued – P14’s and P17’s
from the first world war. Eddie was given a P14. “We had a rifle each and
we took it home but had to take out the bolt out and put it in the cupboard
so it was unusable”. He also remembers “We had one clip with five rounds
between four of us, so we took it turns to hold on to it. Two of us patrolled
around the Onion Barn at Waterloo Farm, where we could see the water
tower at Langford and the other two of us on ‘dawn and dusk patrol’ went to
the graveyard at Three Counties Hospital.” Eddie didn’t encounter anyone
suspicious but was ready if the need arose.
Mr Jeeves who was the gardener at the Bury, was in charge at first. He
was an ex-army serviceman and lived in St Peter’s School. Later Mr Edlin
from the brickyard took charge.
Eddie left the Home Guard and signed up for the RAF in 1941 for five and
a half years service. Being an Armourer in 78 squadron he was stationed at
Cardington, Skegness, Carlisle and eventually in South Africa for three and
a half years ‘doing bombs and guns’ on first Halifax and then Dakota aircraft.
Eddie now 95 years old lives in Letchworth an until recently played bowls
for Henlow Bowls Club.
Bury Lodge in a postcard supplied by Doreen Rix
The outside and inside of
Eddie’s Local Defence Volunteer identification card,
and
his National
identity
card. Road, Arlesey. Bedfordshire. SG15 6XT www.onthebuttonarlesey.co.uk
| March
2016 Registration
| on the button,
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