Home Guard

St Just and Philleigh Home Guard

Report from Peter Teague about his father - Home Guard Henry Teague

This Home Guard group was formed in 1940. The object was to protect the area and resist a German invasion. The group consisted of 36 local men, those too young or too old to sign up or that had a reserved occupation or medical problem. Signing up took place at St Just Institute and the group met there and at The Bible Christian Church, then empty, at Trethewell. They had no weapons to use and so, it being a farming area, they used pitchforks until later in the war when they were issued with rifles and uniforms. These men still had day-time jobs and yet turned out 3 evenings a week on training exercises, sometimes training with the St Mawes group. 1 night a week they were on sentry duty throughout the night, then still worked on their farms again the next day. Often the training sessions took place in Philleigh woods. Their main lookout was from the water tower. There was a sentry box on the bank below what is now St Just car park, created to guard the junction of the main road with the road from the church and river.  Henry Teague became Sergeant of the group and lost 3 stone in weight in the 4 years he served in the Home guard.

The men worked well together because they were all local and friends. The troop was disbanded in June 1944 after the D Day Landing Craft left the Fal.

St. Just & Philleigh Home Guard

1940 - 1945

Back Row

Arthur Blamey, Harry Williams, Garnet Couch, Jim Blight, Claude Blamey, Arthur Harris, Harold Glanville, Harold Lagman, Tommy Couch (jnr), Bill Lobb, Dick Harris, Jackie Glanville.

Middle Row

Bob Evans, Harry Lampshire, Norman Benny, Cyril Dunn, Maurice Hamley, Trice Thomas, Ben Grose, Herbert Palmer, Bert Truscott, Jo Teague, Dickie Buddle, Jimmer Harris, Ginger Rundle.

Front Row

Roy Hannaford, Walter Watson, Henry Teague, Tommy Couch (snr), John Michell, Brown Michell, Jim Eva, Albert Perryman, Roy Dingle, Henry Tripp, Reg Pascoe.