Presentation Title: The British relationship with governments-in-exile during the Second World War
Theme: Politics and Power
Presenter: LTCOL David Cave

This research examines Britain’s policy towards governments-in-exile during the Second World War and focuses on three questions: why Britain supported the exiles, how it did so, and whether it achieved its aims. 

Between 1939 and 1941, as Germany conquered and occupied most of western Europe, multiple governments fled Nazi occupation and established themselves in exile in London. Recognised governments included Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Yugoslavia, with Czechoslovakia and the Free French later also gaining assistance. Britain’s support of these European governments-in-exile and their armed forces comprised a significant aspect of its grand strategy for victory in the Second World War. This was particularly so in the early war years when a ‘peripheral’ or ‘indirect’ strategy sought to weaken the Axis by blockade and containment of Continental Europe and promoted resistance and disruption by the occupied populations. 

While the exiles’ importance temporarily waned after America’s entry to the war, post-hostilities planning restored their prominence as a united Europe became increasingly desirable. Their armed forces made largely symbolic but sometimes material contributions to Britain’s war effort, particularly in the final year of the war as many of the exiles re-occupied their territories. The Anglo-Exile relationship had a lasting impact on Britain, as the war led to a deeper involvement in European affairs. In the immediate post-war and Cold War era the wartime alliance underpinned increasingly close collaboration between Britain and the former exiles: it directly influenced the development of NATO and later the European Union.

David is a serving army officer based in Canberra. He has completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) and a Master of Engineering Science from UNSW Canberra, a Master of Geographical Information Science from the University of Queensland, and a Master of Arts (Defence Studies) from Kings College London. The latter degree was completed whilst attending Advanced Command and Staff College in the UK. He is a PhD candidate at UNSW Canberra investigating the relationship between Britain and the governments-in-exile during the Second World War.