Documents

The aim of this website is to educate and inform. It is hoped that this engenders informed and constructive debate about the Second World War from the perspective of the United Kingdom, its territories and dominions. My humble opinion is that the historiography of the Second World War in the U.K. is rather narrow, and often focused on what are taken to be the key events such as Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, El Alamein, D-Day and Operation Market Garden. It is probably not a coincidence that these events have been subject to films, and are therefore higher in the public conscience. Personally, I only realised how little I knew, and how narrow my own understanding of the Second World War was, when I attended the University of Birmingham to study for two years to acheive a Master’s degree in British Second World War Studies. I must thank my inspirational tutor, Ian, for bearing with me and showing me how to learn. I must admit that what I miss are the debates we would have as a course on various issues relating to the war.

I have a particular interest in the African forces within the British Army, and the British Indian Army, but not the exclusion of the mainstream British Army which was composed of men and women from across urban and rural England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus many volunteers from Eire. The commitment of the Dominions to support the U.K. in the second major war of that century is recognised, plus the Poles, Dutch, Belgians, Czechs, French, Italians, Germans, Greeks, Jews, Palestinian Arabs, Brazilians, and the Americans, who fought with, and alongside, the British Army.

In addition to the Army aspects of this website, there is a section on Coastal Command and R.A.F. Chivenor. This is because I live in North Devon, and undertook my dissertation on R.A.F. Chivenor, and its role in the defeat of the U-boat, during the Second World War.

My means of disseminating my research is through the medium of this website and the documents I post onto the site. This allows me great flexibility, as often new information comes to light which allows me to update, correct and enhance existing documents. I view learning as a continuous process, and have found that the mere act of posting a document leads to new developments coming to light. This is why I suggest that you visit the website often and see my Facebook page for recent additions.

There are about five-hundred individual documents available, free at the point of download, for the public to peruse. All I ask is for people not to abuse this, and provide credit where credit is due. In addition, I welcome people making donations to this site to keep it going as I find it myself.  Documents listed may sometimes not be available as they are being updated, so if in doubt, please contact me, as indeed many people have.

In conclusion, please make use of the website, and enjoy the art of education.