Demobilization of the British Armed Forces after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, there were approximately five million service-men and -women in the British armed forces

British Armed Forces

The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...

. The demobilization and reassimilation of this vast force back into civilian life was one of the first and greatest challenges facing the postwar British government

Labour Government 1945-1951

The Labour Party came to power in the United Kingdom after their unexpected victory in the July 1945 general elections. Party leader Clement Attlee became Prime Minister and hastily replaced his predecessor Winston Churchill at the Potsdam Conference in late July. Ernest Bevin was Foreign Secretary...

Demobilization plan

The wartime Minister of Labour and National Service

Secretary of State for Employment

The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment...

, Ernest Bevin

Ernest Bevin

Ernest Bevin was a British trade union leader and Labour politician. He served as general secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1945, as Minister of Labour in the war-time coalition government, and as Foreign Secretary in the post-war Labour Government.-Early...

, was the chief architect of the demobilization plan, which was unveiled to the public on September 22, 1944. Most service-men and -women were to be released from the armed forces according to their 'age-and-service number,' which as its name suggests was calculated from their age and the months they had served in uniform. A small number of so-called 'key men' whose occupational skills were vital to postwar reconstruction were to be released ahead of their turn. Married women and men aged fifty or more were also given immediate priority.

Release process

The release process began on June 18, 1945, about six weeks after V-E Day. During the next eighteen months about 4.3 million men and women returned to 'civvy street'. The process was not without controversy. Frustration at the allegedly slow pace of release led to a number of disciplinary incidents

Post-World War II demobilization strikes

Post–World War II demobilization strikes occurred within Allied military forces stationed across the Middle East, India and South-East Asia in the months and years following World War II...

in all branches of the armed services in the winter of 1945-6, most famously the so-called RAF 'strikes'

Royal Air Force Mutiny of 1946

The Royal Air Force Mutiny of 1946 was a mutiny on dozens of Royal Air Force stations in India and South Asia in January 1946 over conditions of slow demobilization and conditions of service following the end of World War II...

in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

and South East Asia.

Personal challenges

Aside from the institutional problems of release, returning service-men and -women faced all kinds of personal challenges on their return to civilian life. Britain had undergone six years of bombardment

The Blitz

The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...

and blockade, and there was a shortage of many of the basic essentials of living, including food, clothing, and housing. Husbands and wives also had to adjust to living together again after many years apart. One indicator of the social problems this caused was the postwar divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

rate; over 60,000 applications were processed in 1947 alone, a figure that would not be reached again until the 1960s.

External links

Post-Blogging the British Demobilisation Experience: June 1945 - June 1946

Demobilization plan

Release process

Personal challenges

See also

External links

Further reading