The Home Guard

The Home Guard. National Trust Cayman Island. , A company of the Jamaican Home Guard was established on Grand Cayman in June 1942 and functioned until the end of World War II in 1945. It consisted of forty-two recruits and two officers. Joining the Home Guard provided a fulltime occupation for many patriotic Caymanian men who wished to do their part fo the war effort, while earning seven pounds ten shillings a month. , The Home Guard was set up for the island's defense to maintain a twenty-four coastal watch for German submarines. During the war there was a real fear that the Cayman Islands would become a target for attack due to its strategic location along the shipping lanes from Panama to Nova Scotia in which allied vessels passed to and from the east coast of the United States. , The main barracks for the company was in Dobson Hall, just north of the fort. The building contained cots for men to sleep on but no mess hall-- the guardsmen were expected to arrange for their own meals out of their wages.