Order of Battle

A total of seven Home Guard Battalions were raised in Dorset, principally covering the more populous and threatened coastal area of the county, just the 4th Battalion with its HQ in Sherborne, covering the north of the county:

1st Dorset (Bridport) Battalion commanded by Lt Col Sir WP Colfox Bt, MC
2nd Dorset (Dorchester) Battalion commanded by Lt Col CD Drew DSO
3rd Dorset (Poole) Battalion commanded by Lt Col MJ Wheatley CBE
4th Dorset (Sherborne) Battalion commanded by Lt Col AK. Norris
5th Dorset (Weymouth) Battalion commanded by Lt Col CE Stewart
6th Dorset (Wimborne) Battalion commanded by Lt Col GC Gowlland
7th Dorset (Wareham) Battalion commanded by Brig R Chenevix-Trench CB,OBE MC

Six Home Guard Detachments or 'Troops' belonging to the Dorset battalions manned light anti-aircraft guns covering the following locations:

386 Troop, B Company 3rd Dorset Battalion – The radio factory at West Howe, Bournemouth
389 Troop, A Company 3rd Dorset Battalion – The Royal Ordinance Factory, Poole
385 Troop, Company 5th Dorset Battalion – The Great Western Railway yards at Weymouth
390 Troop, A Company 5th Dorset - Whiteways and the RN Torpedo Depot at Bincleaves near Weymouth
387 Troop, B Company 5th Dorset Battalion – The Vickers Armstrongs plant at Wyke Regis, Weymouth
388 Troop, A Company 7th Dorset Battalion – The RN Cordite Factory Holton Heath, Poole

In addition there was a Transport Column manned by 2137 (Dorset) Home Guard, Motor Transport Company based at Ferndown.

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