Britain Alone: Why did Britain Forget its Allies? A 12 Myths show

Britain Alone: Why did Britain Forget its Allies - A WWII Myths show
With Jenny Grant
Part of our WWII Myths series of short shows

This is a new type of show for the channel. Our guest historian will examine a popular claim made about the Second World War and either confirm or debunk it. There probably won't be time for questions from viewers but we hope the shorter length will be popular.

Britain's Allies had operated from British soil and alongside British forces since the first month of the war, in the form of the Polish Navy.

Britain, from its cities to rural villages, welcomed thousands of foreign servicemen, both those of the Commonwealth and its wider Allies, and these left their mark in everything from personal friendships and marriages through to a wider media presence on the BBC.

At Dunkirk, Dieppe and D-Day, Britain fought alongside its Allies.

By the end of the war, however, British cultural influencers - the state, the BBC, filmmakers - began to write Britain's allies out of the wartime narrative. This was most evident in the Victory Parade of 1946, when the Allies were an afterthought, and certain Allies were not invited.
How can this be explained?

Jenny Grant is a Postgraduate Researcher at QMUL, researching wartime Britain and the Polish Armed Forces in the West. The granddaughter of Polish survivors of Siberia, she has spoken at conferences, festivals and on podcasts, challenging myths about the Polish contribution to the Second World War.

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[marktuffield]

As someone who was born in Australia but brought up in the UK I have always been conscious that Britain was never strictly alone from Dunkirk to Barbarossa/Pearl Harbor. It was however geographicaly isolated from its friends and trading partners facing an enemy who controlled territory from the coast of France to the far east of the then Soviet Union, as an island nation anchored off continental Europe, very much alone. The tragedy of Poland to lose a country and its freedom from the invasion by Germany in 1939 to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 tugs at the heart stings (as it does for that of the Czechs and Slovaks). The tragedy of post-war realpolitik writ large seems to me to be often put at the foot of Britain, but is this fair, perhaps, perhaps not? However, I am also reminded as to why both Britain and France went to war in 1939 and in the process lost so much, something which seldom if ever seems to be acknowledged by their critics.

[nicklehuray]

Always a pleasure to hear Jenny talk as she has a vast knowledge to share on the Polish contribution to the war. Always really engaging talks. Thanks both.

[janfelchner]

I am a Pole. Thank you for this video. This is a very important video for both nations: British and Polish.
Yes, let's build more bridges through understanding each other!

[mikesmith]

I grew up close to Ringway Aerodrome in the 1950s and spent a large part of my childhood playing in the abandoned supply base near Heald Green, complete with posters still on the walls and papers still on the notice boards of the remaining brick office buildings. Ringway was the paratroop base in the UK, so we had a lot of Poles living around South Manchester in the 50s, along with several of the associated Dom Kombatanta (spelling provisional), unofficial Polish ex service men’s clubs that lasted into the 1970s (that was where I discovered Slivovitz, plum brandy, made on a railway siding near Birmingham I believe). There was also a large Canadian contingent (who seem to have favoured wooden houses, there were quite a few dotted around into the late 1960s), including one couple who ran a small chicken farm where we bought our eggs. The adults of course had all lived through the war and and many men had served on the front lines, so the traditional Christmas John Wayne War Movie was subject to considerable derision for its ‘America saved the world’ approach. Perhaps that gave the children of my age an early insight into the nature of ‘propaganda’ and that has stayed with me to this day. I was made very aware that the war had been a team effort, that seems to have been largely air-brushed from history.

[alanansara]

Although I don't get to watch many of these live, I think you''ve hit on a short format that delivers a ton of information in a short(er) video than your usual deep dive into very specific topics. I enjoy both but these are great for when the viewer doesn't have as much time or the ability to deliver 100% concentration on the topic. Jenny was great in this one. Well done.

[InTheFootstepsofHeroes]

Have followed Jenny for a while now so I knew she would be on form with this one. Excellent show.

[ErrolGC]

Nice work bringing these points together into a nice summary. Regarding Dominion troops in the UK in 1940, besides the Canadian Division there were substantial numbers of Aussies and Kiwis. A troop convoy with a reinforced Brigade of each was diverted away from the Middle East in May as Italy was expected to join the war and the convoy couldn't be protected going through the Red Sea. They continued their training in the UK while being on anti-invasion standby.
Also New Zealanders were the third largest 'national' group amongst the Battle of Britain fighter pilots, due to a pre-war RAF recruitment program.

[NjK]

I'm glad people are more willing, to move beyond these myths, there's an older historian called Gordon Corrigan, who has discussed getting death threats, for taking on similar myths about World War 1, but as The American historian Carol Reardon says, revisionism shouldn't be a bad word, because we are always learning new information.

[gmdyt]

Wonderful. Very challenging to our comfortable myths.

[ronbednarczyk]

Always great to have Jenny on your show.

[robmarsh]

I love this 'myths' idea Paul. Can't wait to get a bit of time to deep dive them.

[thcdreams]

Another interesting part of the war I wasnt fully aware of. Thanks to you both.

[pjogorman]

Really impressed with this format superb presentation. Thanks so much Jenny very informative and balanced.

[andymoody]

Great episode and a typically insightful presentation from Jenny.

[frogland]

in 1940 britain did have the common wealth and other defeated nations forces but after the fall of france it was the only major power facing germany

[TheWirksworthGunroom]

I remember ten years ago a bloke down the pub claiming to me that The UK would have been stuffed in the Battle of Britain without Polish pilots flying fighters as though they made up the majority of Fighter Command so I'm not sure that the premise that all allies were forgotten stands up universally. Pointing out to him that there were far and away more Poles serving in the Wehrmacht in 1940 than serving alongside British forces didn't go down very well.

[philbosworth]

Jenny gets even better every time she comes on

[Caratacus]

It's worth mentioning that a single Canadian infantry Division and perhaps 20% of the RAF were the main overseas troops in the UK throughout 1939-1942. Most British and Empire troops in India / Asia had to be retained there on home defence duties and more sent out besides. So what actual practical military help could the Empire have been to the defence of the UK home islands especially during a 1940 invasion? Unfortunately food and natural resource imports aren't going to help much in that scenario.

UK armaments had to be made at home or imported from North America because the Empire itself was not industrialised. Also historians agree that the Empire was famously suffering from Imperial overstretch at the end of the First World War. It was losing money when factoring in the costs of maintaining and garrisoning it all which is why the British eventually began their de-colonisation drive. Like the Late Roman Empire it looked impressive on a map but was fundamentally broken internally.

FWIW I'd love to see a historian do a totally non-political assessment of the Empire defence balance sheet 1939-1942. To get a fuller picture of whether their Empire was an unalloyed win-win for the British we need to also consider its financial and material downsides. Was it a strength or an overstretched weakness?

But it was certainly an interesting presentation on her topics about memory by Jenny. I threw the above lot in for potential consideration and for the algorithm 😁

[ralphbernhard]

Saying that "GB stood alone" after May 1940, is like saying Operation Barbarossa was fought by the Wehrmacht, "alone"...

[adrianwaygood]

'Britain stood alone' refers to the island of Britain under seige, NOT 'The British stood alone'.! I think you've completely missed the point!!!