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https://durhamuniversity.zoom.us/j/96908798471?pwd=eFdTSEhUMGp0RlVwaDVKd3AxK2haUT09

Meeting ID: 969 0879 8471

Passcode: 590286

BBC TV’s Dad’s Army has immortalised a certain vision of the wartime Home Guard, one which in some respects isn’t far from reality but theirs was a serious role and had Germany invaded it wouldn’t have been half as funny, in fact not funny at all. During this talk we will look at how the Home Guard was formed, its kit and weapons, and the experiences of many of those who served. We’ll look at this region during WWII, and at how the war came about and just how unprepared we were, at the British Expeditionary Force deploying for France, the Battle for France and the evacuation at Dunkirk followed by the Battle of Britain and the region’s role in that pivotal fight. Next, formation of the Home Guard, evacuation and the Blitz, life on the home front and the experiences of local people during the horrors of German bombing, of collaborators & spies, women’s roles and Churchill’s Secret Army.

Speaker John Sadler is a successful author, lecturer, heritage consultant/historical interpreter, storyteller and battlefield tour guide. He has been telling stories, teaching, and writing about history for over thirty years. He regularly lectures at The National Army Museum, Imperial war Museum, RMA Sandhurst, Heriot Watt University, Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, The Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle, Durham University, the DLI Museum & Art Gallery. He has some 42 published works on historical non-fiction and fiction in print with a number of docu-dramas commissioned annually for Holocaust memorial Day.

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