page_title: Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces
section_title: The Second World War
hierarchical_section_title: Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces / The Second World War
caption_attribution_description: English: The Commander-in-Chief Home Forces, General Sir Bernard Paget, in the turret of a Crusader tank of 42nd Armoured Division during a large-scale exercise near Malton in Yorkshire, 29 September 1942. The Commander in Chief Home Forces, General Sir Bernard Paget, spending a day with the 42nd Armoured Division during a large scale exercise near Malton in Yorkshire. He is seen watching from a Crusader tank.
context_page_description: Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces was a senior officer in the British Army during the First and Second World Wars. The role of the appointment was firstly to oversee the training and equipment of formations in preparation for their deployment overseas, and secondly, to command the forces required to defend the United Kingdom against an enemy incursion or invasion.
context_section_description: The post of Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces was resurrected for Sir Walter Kirke on 3 September 1939. He devised the first anti-invasion plan of the war in October, known as Operation Julius Caesar. His successor, Sir Edmund Ironside was retired when his anti-invasion planning fell out of favour with the prime minister, Winston Churchill. Ironside was replaced by Sir Alan Brooke in July 1940. The headquarters was established at Kneller Hall in late 1939 but moved out to St Paul's School in July 1940.
caption: General Sir Bernard Paget inspecting a large-scale armoured exercise in Yorkshire, 1942.
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