Demobilisation of the British Armed Forces after the Second World War
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At the end of the
Demobilisation plan
The wartime
The details involving the criteria and framework for demobilisation were unveiled to the public on 22 September 1944.[6] It was scheduled to be implemented on 18 June 1945 and, a month before that date, British soldiers were already well informed about the process, including the welfare system that would support the veterans.[6] Under the plan, most servicemen and servicewomen 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.[7]
Service personnel being demobilised passed through special
Release process
The release process began on schedule, about six weeks after
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 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 rate; over 60,000 applications were processed in 1947 alone, a figure that would not be reached again until the 1960s.[10]
Demobilisation centres
At the end of
Military Disembarkation Camp Units
Command or District | Title of Unit | Location |
---|---|---|
Southern | No. 1 Military Disembarkation Camp Unit | Ranikhet Camp Reading |
No. 2 Military Disembarkation Camp, Unit | Slade Camp, Oxford | |
Eastern | No. 3 Military Disembarkation Camp Unit | Moore Barracks, Shorncliffe, Kent |
Western | No. 1 Military Disembarkation Camp, Group H.Q. | Hadrian's Camp Carlisle
|
No. 4 Military Disembarkation Camp Unit | ||
No. 5 Military Disembarkation Camp Unit | ||
Northern | No. 6 Military Disembarkation Camp Unit | Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Strensall, York. |
Military Dispersal Units
Command or District | Title of Unit | Location |
---|---|---|
Scottish | No.1 Military Dispersal Unit | Redford Barracks, Edinburgh |
Northern | No. 2 Military Dispersal Unit | Fulford Barracks, York |
Eastern | No. 3 Military Dispersal Unit | Talavera Camp, Northampton |
No. 5 Military Dispersal Unit | Queen's Camp, Guildford | |
London | No. 4 Military Dispersal Unit | Regent's Park Barracks, Albany St., N.W.I. |
Southern | No. 6 Military Dispersal Unit | Sherford Camp, Taunton |
Western | No. 7 Military Dispersal Unit | North and South Camps, Ashton-under-Lyne |
No. 8 Military Dispersal Unit | Bradbury Lines, Hereford | |
Northern Ireland | No. 9 Combined Military Collecting and Dispersal Unit | Victoria Barracks, Belfast |
See also
- Civil Resettlement Units
- Demobilization
- Demobilisation of the Australian military after World War II
- Demobilization of United States armed forces after World War II
- Demob suit
- Military discharge
- Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II
- National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939
- Royal Air Force Mutiny of 1946
- Post–World War II demobilization strikes
References and sources
- References
- ^ Allport (2009), p. 3
- ISBN 3110127385.
- ^ ISBN 9781472816979.
- ^ a b c d Broad, Roger (2017-05-27). Volunteers and Pressed Men: How Britain and its Empire Raised its Forces in Two World Wars. Fonthill Media.
- ISBN 0631209670.
- ^ ISBN 9781472590770.
- ^ Allport (2009), p. 23-4
- ^ Allport (2009), p. 26
- ^ Allport (2009), p. 43
- ^ Allport (2009), p. 87
- ^ HL Deb 17 October 1945 vol 137 cc353-5, UK Parliament
- Sources
- ISBN 0-300-14043-6
- Hansard - HL Deb 17 October 1945 vol 137 cc353-5
Further reading
- Barry Turner & Tony Rennell, When Daddy Came Home: How Family Life Changed Forever in 1945, Pimlico, 1995, ISBN 0-7126-7469-1
- Roger Broad, "The Radical General: Sir Ronald Adam and Britain's New Model Army 1941-46", The History Press, 201,ISBN 978-0-7524-6559-3
External links
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