A Dad’s Army won’t save Britain

Eighty-five years ago, on 14 May 1940, Anthony Eden, newly-appointed secretary of war in Winston Churchill’s government, went on the radio to appeal for volunteers to join a newly formed defence militia to guard against a German invasion. Originally called the Local Defence Volunteers, this force later became the Home Guard, immortalised on our TV screens as ‘Dad’s Army’.

As things turned out, the Battle of Britain ensured that Operation Sealion, the Nazi invasion plan, never took place, but the Home Guard remained in being, and while never tested in combat, they were a morale-boosting reminder that Britons old and young were ready to do their bit in defending the country. According to the Sunday Times, the idea of reviving the wartime Home Guard forms a central part of the forthcoming Strategic Defence Review of Britain’s military response to a menacing new world order.

The job of guarding our nuclear installations rests with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, a specially trained and armed branch of the police who have for more than 50 years carried out their job with exemplary efficiency.