Volunteer Guards

[daggers]

When the First World War began, my Grandfather was 46 years old. In 1915 the Liverpool Courier daily newspaper ran a regular feature on units called Volunteer Guards - presumably a forerunner of the WWII Home Guard - and one piece referred to an Aigburth Volunteer Corps, to be raised by Mr Wethered, a local businessman and politician. The Liverpool VG was commanded by Colonel C. Forbes and had a temporary headquarters at Fraser Street, home of the Liverpool Scottish, but the Aigburth unit was to be affiliated directly to a London organisation and not to the Liverpool Volunteer Guard. On the last day of that year the Courier reported on the 3rd (South) Battalion of the LVG with headquarters at Warwick Street and a rifle range at Great Newton Street. R.F. Daglish had been appointed Adjutant of this South Battalion. In 1916 it announced the merger of the Liverpool Battalion into a Lancashire organisation, and in 1920 it was disbanded.

Has anything been written about these units? Did they have uniforms, equipment, etc? I think there was once a badge in the family, but before I took an interest.

Col. Forbes was a prime mover in the birth of the Liverpool Scottish (8th Vol Bn King's then 10th Bn TF).

Daggers

[Graham Stewart]

The Officers of Liverpool City Volunteer Guard. Sadly as far as I'm aware no history of the unit was ever written.

Graham.

[daggers]

Thanks for the photo - a great team of 'taches' ! Can you say where it came from?

Daggers

[Graham Stewart]

Bought it years ago at a Post Card Fair in York. It's one of many I have to the Volunteer Training Corps/Volunteer Force of WWI. I also wrote an article on the organisation of the VTC for Military Modeller, which included colour illustrations. I now have a much improved scanner and if you would like a copy e.mailing just send me a PM with an e.mail address. The badge of the Volunteer Guards, if I remember correctly, was a star shape with a Liver Bird in the centre.

Graham.

[pbrydon]

A most interesting topic, the Liverpool Volunteer Guard has been a subject on the Forum before. Graham is right about the badge. I have never seen a book or article on the Liverpool Volunteer Guard in years of looking,but thats not to say they dont exist, if they do they are very rare. Christopher Forbes Bell was of couse the C.O. of the liverpool Scottish from 10/1900 to 07/1902. I used to have a very good book on the Cheshire Volunteer regiment so books on such units do exist.

Peter Brydon

[pbrydon]

Just to add to the previous information"Contemporay Biographies of liverpool" published in 1911 has an entry for William Parkfield Wethered of Mossley Hill Liverpool he founded the mossley Hill Conservative and Unionist club etc etc and served as a Lieutenant in the 6th Lancashire Artillery Volunteers. This presumably is the founder of the unit referred to in Aigburth.

P.B.

[daggers]

Thanks to Graham & PB for info on photo and badges. The cap badge is as I remember from the one we had in the family, long gone. Wethered was a city councillor and gave money for a war memorial plaque in St Anne's Church, Aigburth which was put up in 1917 after he had died. The names were added post 1918 and contain errors and untraceables.

Daggers