Do you recognise any of these Darlington men fighting for their country?

“He remembers that they used to meet on the right hand side of a large house on the green,” says his son, Mike. “There was a two storey building at the front and a double garage behind with a courtyard between, and the nightly drills took place either in the courtyard or in the garage, if it was raining.

ANDREW CHANDLER spotted this fabulous picture in a junk shop in Whitby for a few pounds and had to have it. He lives in Hurworth, and the photo shows the Hurworth Home Guard in 1942 – No 1 Platoon of A Company, to be precise. There could be other

“The men were given talks on the first floor of the building in front, and on Sundays, they carried out exercises in the surrounding countryside either within their platoon or sometimes against one from Darlington.”

The men of Hurworth were armed with rifles but didn’t have any vehicles, and two of them would be on duty overnight.

George’s memories of 70 years ago are a bit hazy, largely because he broke his back while working as a mechanic and spent six months in a cast.

“Not surprisingly, that seems to be what he remembers most,” says Mike, “But luckily there was no lasting damage as he passed the RAF entrance tests in 1944. He was transferred to the Royal Engineers, as the RAF had more people than it needed, and he served until 1948 in India, Burma and Singapore.

However, he was able to tell us a little more about many of the men on the picture. Back row from right: Ossie Etherington (newsagent and saddler), H Simpson, Jack Bell (assistant butcher), M Shutt, Bill Garwood, George Gent. Third row: S Patchet, R Woodcock, H Row, Keith Robinson, J Garbutt, M Metcalfe, G Wake, T Bell, H Potts, Alan Mackenzie (later joined the RAF), G Allen. Second row: C Holland, T Appleby, F Bennet, Harry Manning (a sergeant), Mr Burnip (on the caption printed below the picture, only the two officers are referred to as “Mr” – everyone else just gets an initial. George remembers that Mr Burnip was the first lieutenant and possibly, in true Dads’ Army style, a bank manager), Mr Challands (captain, who had served in the First World War), J Schoular, RB Bell (village butcher), Tom Robinson, B Monkhouse, J Shutt. Front: B Robinson, B Hunter, Bill Farnaby, Bobby Bell, M Wood

The Dents were a large Hurworth family – George was one of 10 children – and there are quite a few still in the village, including his sister, Florence McNeilly, and her descendants.

The picture was found in a Whitby junk shop by Andrew Chandler, who is donating it to the village hall where it will go on display.

It would be great to learn of the stories of any of the other men on the picture, and to locate where it was taken – what is the building on the left? And, of course, what two storey building on Hurworth Green was the home of the Home Guard?

Roadworks on Hurworth Green in 1971

STAYING in Hurworth, John Wearmouth responds to the article in Memories 515 about buses that were adapted to run on gas during the Second World War.

“From my early childhood in the 1940s, I remember seeing a gas bus pass the end of Grange Avenue on its way towards Hurworth,” he says. “As it had a bag on top of it, I recall thinking the first time I saw it that it was a double decker. I think it belonged to Holland's bus company in Hurworth. Maybe someone would have a photo?”

Can anyone tell us anymore about Holland’s buses, gas or more conventionally powered?