Within 24 hours of the broadcast the LDV would number over 250,000 men and by the end of June their numbers had swollen to 1.5 million.

In July 1940, the Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred to the new citizen army as the "Home Guard" and the name stuck. Many of the early recruits were veterans of the First World War. The promised uniforms initially were just an arm band marked "HG". A public appeal for firearms brought in 20,000 weapons including: assegais from the Zulu War, cutlasses, golf clubs, truncheons and, in one unit, packets of pepper ‘to interfere with the vision of any persistent unwelcome visitor’.

In the early days training and equipment was down to the ingenuity of individual units. For example saloon cars could be transformed into armoured vehicles with the addition of a few strategically placed sheets of boiler plate and chicken wire to repel German stick grenades.

Some volunteers were veterans of the Spanish Civil War and their expertise in guerrilla warfare was put to good use, particularly in the use of Molotov Cocktails.

In August 1940 units were affiliated to county regiments. In the case of Renfrewshire units including Barrhead platoons, the affiliation was to the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (A&SH). By the Summer of 1943 a total of 1.75 million men had been uniformed and properly armed and were now almost identical to the Regular Army. If invasion took place the auxiliary units would scatter to positions all over the country and there seems no doubt that the Germans would have put them in front of firing squads.

In the Barrhead area there were a number of Home Guard units including an LMS section who were responsible for the protection of the Railway lines and Stations in the area . There were also factory units, like the Tubal Works Section, which was responsible for the largest factory in the area (Shanks). Other units would disperse to strategic positions during an ‘Alert’ and co-operated with other Civil Defence organisations.

During an enemy air raid a direct hit with a German bomb was said to have been made on the Railway Bridge in Paisley Road. Members of the HG were said to have been in the station at the time. Casualties, if any, are not known. Another incident was when a huge rail mounted Heavy Anti-aircraft gun was positioned just outside Barrhead Central Railway Station. During an air raid, when the gun was firing at German aeroplanes, the blast from the gun caused most of the windows of the houses in George Street and Henry street to be blown out, probably causing more local damage than to enemy aircraft.

During an air raid late one night, a German bomb hit a building at Allan’s Corner demolishing it, killing one man. The blast from the explosion caused many ceilings to collapse and soot from the chimneys was ‘swept’ into houses for quite a distance from the blast. However the Home Guard was never to face the ultimate test. From 1942 the Home Guard provided training to 16&17 year olds before they were called up for regular service. By September 1944 nearly 150,000 Home Guard men were serving in Anti-aircraft Batteries. The Home Guard stood down in December 1944. Throughout Britain there were parades to mark the occasion.

Thirteen George Medals and two George Crosses (both posthumously) were awarded to members of the Home Guard. The Kings Badge was awarded to members who were discharged through injury from war service. No Home Guard Medal was awarded, much to the disappointment of many who served in its ranks.