The Local Defence Volunteers, later known as the Home Guard, was launched on May 14, 1940 in response to Germany’s invasion of the Low Countries, and within 24 hours more than a quarter of a million men had come forward to join. One such volunteer was William Arthur Townsend, the son of John, a moulder at the GWR works and his wife Elizabeth. William, also known as Art, was born in 1903 and grew up at 280 Cricklade Road, Gorse Hill. On leaving school he followed his father ‘inside’ to begin a boilermaker’s apprenticeship. By the time war was declared in 1939 William was married with a young family. In a collection of pocket diaries William recorded his daily routine providing a unique account of one man’s war time experience in the GWR 13 th Battalion of the Home Guard. The official age range for Home Guard volunteers was from 17-65 but there were reports of more than just a few old soldiers joining the ranks, some in their 80s. By June 1940 more t...