When the Rushden men were all in one Company they were commanded by Mr. A. D. Denton, who is now appointed Captain and takes command of “A” Company. Youngest son of the late Mr. George Denton, of Rushden, Captain Denton showed great promise as a cricketer and might well have had a career as a first-class batsman had it not been for a leg injury which he received in the last war while serving as a Lieutenant in the Royal West Kents. Even with this disability he did well as an amateur at a time when his twin brothers, J. S. and W. H. were in the cricket limelight.

Captain A D Denton	Captain A Allebone	Lieut A F Weale

Captain Denton is a director of the Lightstrung Company, Rushden. He was an early arrival in the Home Guard ranks and succeeded to the command a few months ago when Mr. H. Chamberlain took up a commission in the Navy.

Second-in-command of “A” Company is Lieut. A. J. Sturgess, another good sportsman well-known in local cricket and hockey. He is a Northamptonshire man and came to Rushden 17 years ago as Relieving Officer after filling a similar position in the No.3 (Kettering) district. During the last war Lieut. Sturgess served as an R.F.A. Lieutenant with the 2nd Division in France. Afterwards he was a Boys’ Brigade officer for many years, and last year he formed the “C” Platoon of the Rushden Home Guard.

Command of “E” Company is given to Councillor Arthur Allebone, J.P. C.C., who takes the rank of Captain. Mr. Allebone is one of Rushden’s leading public men and has served on the Urban Council since 1925, being chairman in 1935-6. Principal of A. Allebone and Sons, boot manufacturers, he has been a magistrate since 1934 and is a past president of Rushden Rotary Club. His two sons are serving in the Army. Another member of the Urban Council, Mr. A. F. Weale, is appointed Lieutenant and becomes second-in-command of “E” Company. This is his third period of military service, because as a young man he wore the uniform of the North Staffs Volunteer Battalion and during the Great War he was with the 63rd Royal Naval Division in France and Belgium. His son is now chasing submarines as an officer of the Royal Navy.

A native of Leicester, Lieut. Weale was a Midland Railway clerk at Tamworth and is now L.M.S. town representative for Rushden, Higham Ferrers and Raunds. He came to Rushden in 1901, joined the Urban Council in 1937, and is vice-chairman of the British Legion.

Those appointed as 2nd-Lieutenants in the Rushden and district Companies are Mr. P. Bletsoe (Newton Bromshold), Alderman H. R. Patenall, C.C., (Higham Ferrers), Mr. R. K. Green (Irchester), Messrs. H. F. Jaques, S. R. Fox, W. Edwards and A. H. Sargent.