Why am I interested in Czechoslovaks
during World War 2? Until a few years ago I knew absolutely nothing about what happened to
Czechoslovakia during the Second World War. I didn't know that there was a Czechoslovak
Government in Exile based here in London, I didn't know that there were thousands of
Czechoslovak civilian refugees that had reached Britain before the outbreak of war, and I
didn't know that there were Czechoslovaks fighting with the British (the Czechoslovak
squadrons in the RAF, the Czechoslovak Brigade, and many individuals serving in ordinary
British units).
If you really want to know why I started looking at
this subject, read the Curiosity about an old 'Czech' book
article. However, things have rather snowballed from my original limited investigations
and I have been overwhelmed by the amount of material that I have found. Part of the
reason for this is that I was able to visit the Public
Record Office regularly for about a year. Much of the information I include in the
articles listed below comes from the original documents I've seen there. This is just a
hobby for me. I have no experience in historical investigations, I'm not a detective, and
I certainly don't know very much about web design, so please forgive me if my work is not
up to professional standards! Any information, help or constructive advice will be
gratefully received. Please contact me using the following E-mail address: rgaskell@zmail.sk
The items here provide only limited details about
those areas of particular interest to me. Others have sites with much more information,
and details of some of them can be found on the Sources
page.
Links
to lists of names of Czechoslovaks in Britain during WW2. Although most of the lists, and
links to them, are available elsewhere on this site, they are gathered together here to
provide easier searching for specific persons. Entries on the lists total just under
20,000.
After
the Munich Agreement and the German occupation of the 'Sudetenland', part of
Czechoslovakia, refugees left for the unoccupied remnant and fled even further. The
British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia (BCRC) and the Czech Refugee Trust Fund
(CRTF) had their origins in the voluntary movement which developed in Britain to help
those in fear of their lives.
After
the fall of France in the summer of 1940 the Germans were poised to invade Britain. A
handbook was prepared, ready for distribution to the 'occupying' forces, which included a
list of people for immediate arrest. Many of these had Czechoslovak connections.
With
the collapse of the front, most of the Czechoslovak Division located east of Paris
retreated southwards towards the Mediteranean coast and their HQ at Beziers and depot at
Agde, others heading to Bay of Biscay ports. Only about a quarter chose to continue the
fight and be evacuated to Britain.
The
Czechoslovak soldiers evacuated from France to Britain were sent to Cholmondeley, but more
than 500 were unhappy with the military and political leadership recognised by the British
and were unwilling to serve in Czechoslovak units.
Most
of those unwilling to serve in Czechoslovak units were, after being interned for a short
time, enlisted in the Pioneer Corps, part of the British Army.
The
majority of the soldiers evacuated from France formed the new Czechoslovak Brigade, which
spent the next 4 years in Britain employed on anti-invasion duties and training. In late
summer of 1944 it was transferred to northern France and used to lay siege to the isolated
German garrison in Dunkirk. It remained there until a few days after the end of
hostilities in May 1945, then travelled across Germany to Czechoslovakia.
With
American forces approaching the Czechoslovak border in the spring of 1945, the
Czechoslovaks wanted the whole Brigade transferred from Dunkirk to take part in the
fighting in Germany and then on to their homeland. The British and Americans did not
permit this, but allowed a small unit to accompany American troops.
