The British Imperial Establishment, Post Imperial Era, and the ‘Churchillian’ World View, 1945-2016. (Adjustments & Challenges in Contemporary British Diplomatic Strategy)

169

CONCLUSIONS

The two World Wars each
had a different impact on the British Empire.
The First World War accelerated the ever growing rise of the
British Empire, as
the defeated mandated territories of the enemies became entrusted to
Britain’s
care and also the relationship between Britain and her Expire stood its greatest
test.
This was demonstrated by the massive contribution that the Empire nations
made to Britain’s war effort.
The white Dominions alone sent two and a half
million soldiers to add to the five million British soldiers
and fought the War
alongside each other. Other Empire countries such as India, and the Colonies in
Asia
and Africa also made a striking contribution by sending many troops to fight
the War alongside the rest of
the Empire. Consequently, the “British” imperial
power was not just the United Kingdom’s power,
it was also due to the co-
operation of the Dominions and all the contributions that the various
Empire
nations had made to winning the First World War. In fact, the Cabinet Committee
on defence
co-operation was called the “Committee of Imperial Defence”. After
the First World War, over a
quarter of the world’s land surface and a quarter of
the world’s population had been covered by the
British Empire as opposed to the
period from the turn of the century up to the 1914-18 War, when the
British
Empire had covered one-fifth.

The
impact of the Second World War, however, was a turning point in the
history of the British Empire. Britain
survived the War of 1939-45, together with
her Empire, but at a heavy cost. The post-World War Two period was
a new and
changing world of demands and pressures placed on Britain from various
directions. Although
Britain’s Empire grew larger after the First World War and
she emerged on the winning side against
Germany, be had lost a sixth of her
wealth in that War. The United States, on the other hand not only turned
out as a
creditor rather than a debtor but also as a nation producing half the world’s

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