2nd/4th South Lancashire Regiment Home Defence Scheme

  • The following document is a copy of the 'Home Defence Scheme' of the 2nd/4th South Lancashire Regiment of 14th October 1940. Such documents record general instructions concerning how military units were expected to conduct the defence of an area. In this case, much of the document concerns how the 2nd/4th South Lancashire's were to operate in conjunction with other military elements in the area. Such schemes were regularly updated and the version presented here is the 3rd edition.
  • Such documents are often heavily abbreviated and contain a high level of detail. For the historian, such documents are useful in that they give unit boundaries and locations for individual positions. In this case, the details of the artillery support for the South Lancashire's and the positions of the observation posts have proved particularly valuable. The locations mentioned refer not to the Ordnance Survey Grid but to the military system known variously as the War Office Grid, Military Grid and the Cassini Grid. This document is appended to the 2nd/4th South Lancashire's war diary (TNA WO 166/4680).

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Defence Plan

List of Abbreviations

AA    Anti-Aircraft

ACK    Acknowledged

Adjt 2/4 S. Lan. R.    Adjutant 2nd/4th South Lancashire Regiment

AMPC        Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps

Arty    Artillery

A.T.k    Anti-Tank

Bde    Brigade

Bn    Battalion

BN    Battalion

Bty    Battery

C. D. Bty    Coastal Defence Battery

Col    Colonel

Coy    Company

DRLS    Despatch Rider Letter Service

DSO    Distinguished Service Order

Fd    Forward

FDL    Forward Defended Locality

FOO    Forward Observation Officer

HD    Home Defence

HG    Home Guard

Inf    Infantry

IO    Intelligence Officer

LMG    Light Machine Gun

Med Regt    Medium Regiment

MTO    Motor Transport Officer

OC    Officer Commanding

OP    Observation Post

TP    Troop

PL    Platoon

Posn    Position

QF    Quick Fire

RAF    Royal Air Force

Rd    Road

Res    Reserve

Rpg    Rounds per gun

S7    A Vulnerable Point (see below), in this case RAF Radar Station at Darsham.

SAA    Small Arms Ammunition

SO     Signals Officer

SOS Task    Defensive artillery fire put down in front of troops during an enemy attack. It is usually pre-arranged and is called for in this case by a golden rain rocket.

VP    Vulnerable Point