Welland and Hanley Swan Battle Platoon Home Guard, 1943

This photo and a list of names were supplied to us by Malvern Museum. The same photo, originally from the late Gordon Bennett of Welland, also appears in Mick Wilks’ Chronicles of the Worcestershire Home Guard (Logaston, 2014) with a slightly different list of names. The photo shows some of the men from Welland and Hanley Swan (HS) platoons, winners of the Worcestershire Sub District ‘Platoon in Attack’ competition in September 1943 (Wilks). We believe the building in the background may be Welland Village Hall.

From left to right:

Front row: Hubert Preston, Frank Hill, Ken Lawrence, Vernon Reece-Pinchin, Mike Hill, Harold Webb, Bill Shipman (HS).

Second row: Walter Reynolds (HS), George Pitman (HS), Owen Bayliss (HS), unknown, Lt (Col retired) C B Grice-Hutchinson, Major M F S Jewell, E C Watkinson (HS), Alec Dare, Ted Wheilden, G Dovey, Joe Dovey.

Third row: Harry Somers, Fred Carter, Raymond Hill, John Harbidge, Ernie Rouse, Charlie Wheeler, John Lewis.

Back row: John Allison, Don King, Bill Weaver, Joe Bullock, Dick Hart, Pat Oliver, Dennis Barnes, unknown.

Please get in touch if you can supply the missing names or think any of the identifications are wrong.