An Imperial World at War ─ Aspects of the British Empire's War Experience, 1939-1945

At the start of the Second World War Britain was at the height of her imperial power, and it is no surprise that she drew upon the global resources of the Empire once war had been declared. Whilst this international aspect of Britaina€?s war effort has been well studied in relation to the military contribution of individual dominions and colonies, relatively little has been written about the Empire as a whole. As such An Imperial World at War makes an important contribution to the historiography relating to the British Empire and its wartime experience. It reviews the existing historiography and argues that the war needs to be viewed in imperial terms, and that the role of forces drawn from the Empire is poorly understood and that its deep impact on colonial societies is barely grasped at all in conventional accounts. Themes include the status of the Second World War as a clash of empires; the recruitment and utilization of military formations drawn from imperial territories; the experience of British forces stationed overseas; the use of strategic bases located in the colonies; British policy in the Middle East during the war and the challenge posed by growing American power; the occupation of enemy colonies, and the enemy occupation of British colonies; civil defence measures in the colonies; financial support for the war effort supplied by the Empire; and the commemoration of the war. Through a series of case studies the volume demonstrates the fundamental role played by the Empire in Britaina€?s war effort, and highlights some of the consequences both upon Britain and the countries within the Empire.

Ashley Jackson is Professor of Imperial and Military History at King’s College London?and a Visiting Fellow of Kellogg College Oxford. He specializes in the history of the British Empire, particularly during times of war.

Yasmin Khan is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Oxford, based in the Department for Continuing Education. Her work focuses on British India, decolonisation and refugees. She has most recently published The Raj at War: A People’s History of India’s Second World War (Bodley Head, 2015).

Gajendra Singh is Lecturer in Modern South Asian History at the University of Exeter and author of The Testimonies of Indian Soldiers in Two World Wars: Between Self and Sepoy (Bloomsbury, 2014).