Following a series of events, Anthony Eden, the Secretary of State for War at the time, gave a radio broadcast on 19 May 1940. He asked for volunteers to join the Local Defence Volunteers, as it was known in the start. It originally was given jobs that were not related to combat. It worked as a sort of 'armed police force'. However, after complaints from members, the government allowed it to "delay and obstruct" the enemy advance. This was putting mostly untrained and unwell people armed with aging weapons against trained troops. Later on in the war, it was renamed the Home Guard, following pressure by Prime Minister Winston Churchill. If the Natzis had crossed the channel the Home Guard wouldn't have stopped the Germans for very long.