Sussex and the Home Guard
Edgar Richardson was born near Manchester in 1905, grew up there and got a job in the timber industry, but in the great depression he was out of work and saw a job advertised for a foreman in a saw-mill, in Charlton, West Sussex. He applied for it, got the job and found lodgings in East Dean. He joined Chichester cycling club, and twice cycled back to Manchester to visit friends and family, as well as cycling around the local area. One day he stopped in Singleton for tea, and met the owner's daughter, in due course they got married.
The war then started and he was in a reserved occupation as the wood was needed for rifle butts. So he joined the Home Guard, he commented that the TV programme Dad's Army was a very true reflection! They didn't encounter many problems, there were a lot of Americans and Canadians in the area and some issues with drunken behaviour but nothing serious.