Glamorgan Home Guard

Bridgend had two Battalion's,  GLN 03 Was responsible for the town of Bridgend and district. GLN 23 was responsible for The Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF), which was on the outskirts of the town, it was one of the biggest munitions factories in the UK. 23nd Battalion was responsible for guarding the perimeter of the works. This was a big undertaking as the area of the ROF was massive.

 Machine gun Pillboxes were built on the hillside along the site, these were manned by the Home Guard. Some of the smaller entrances were also controlled jointly by the Home Guard and the ROFs own Security team. The biggest fear was not enemy bombing, but that Saboteurs would infiltrate the site and plant explosives, or set off explosives already in the plant, which would have been catastrophic, both in terms of damage and loss of life, but also as a set back to the war effort.

There were 10 pillboxes in total, each manned by either 2, or 4 home Guards depending on the size and design of the pillbox. Each box had either a Corporal, or a Sergeant in charge. It was common for a Sergeant to take responsibility for overseeing 3 boxes and a Corporal 2 boxes. Whilst they commanded the surrounding area and perimeter, the Home Guard never manned the gates, or stepped inside the factory ground. The ROF had it's own security force of 60 people, but as yet we can find out little of what they were like.

We know that the Post Office in Bridgend had it's own Home Guard Platoon and we suspect so did the railway.

 We will update this page as more information is discovered. [Last Update 26/06/08]