Britain's 1980s Cold War Dads Army/Home Guard - The Home Service Force

Cold War Conversations

Ian Sanders

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

4.8 • 758 Ratings

🗓️ 28 October 2022

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Home Service Force or HSF was UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Cold War version of the World War 2 Home Guard. An almost forgotten unit, the HSF was established in 1982 and recruited from ex-regular Army, ex-territorial and ex-uniformed service personnel aged up to 60 years old. Its mission was to guard key points in the UK as the perceived threat from Warsaw Pact special forces increased towards the end of the Cold War. I speak with Richard Coles, who served as an officer in the HSF Company of The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC). He tells of the setup of the unit, the incredible characters he served with and details some of the exercises that he participated in. 0:00 Introduction and overview of the Home Service Force 2:38 Richard Cole's background and establishment of the Home Service Force 6:34 Recruitment and training process for the Home Service Force 13:51 Role and perceived threats of the Home Service Force 21:45 Diversity and roles within the Home Service Force members 29:12 Memorable characters and experiences within the Home Service Force 34:31 Career paths and attitudes towards promotion within the Home Service Force 38:35 Various training exercises and anecdotes from the Home Service Force 47:28 Disbandment of the Home Service Force and its irony 51:44 Richard Cole's service in 2 HAC companies and reflections on the bond between old soldiers 53:18 Sponsor: Episode extras, acknowledgements, and invitation to Facebook discussion group Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ The Cold War Conversation continues in our Facebook discussion group and on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll become part of our community and get a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link. I am delighted to welcome Richard Coles to our Cold War conversation… Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode259 Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
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0:49.3	One chat was a rather quiet and diffident sort of character, and he was wearing para wings on his uniform.
0:58.3	I discovered that he had been at Goose Green, and he was telling me, it was quite, he said it was quite lively when a Beaufort's anti-aircraft gun was being fired in the horizontal at you.
1:10.7	This is Cold War Conversations. If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen
1:17.2	to first-hand Cold War history accounts. Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app or join
1:23.7	our emailing list to keep up with the latest episode.
1:36.9	The Home Service Force, or HSF, was UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Cold War version of the World War II Home Guard.
1:39.9	An almost forgotten force, the HSF was established in 1982 and recruited from ex-regular
	...

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