Home Guard (United Kingdom)

The Home Guard (initially Local Defence Volunteers or LDV) was an unpaid armed citizen militia supporting the 'Home Forces' of the British Army during the Second World War. Operational from 1940 to 1944, the Home Guard comprised more than 1.5 million local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, such as those who were too young, too old or medically unfit to join the regular armed services (regular military service was restricted to those aged 18 to 41) and those in reserved occupations.

Source: Wikipedia — Home Guard (United Kingdom) (CC BY-SA 4.0)