Second World War

British troops practising for D-Day, 1944

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Second World War

The Second World War took place between 1939 and 1945 and was the bloodiest conflict in human history. It split the world's nations into two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis Powers.

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Breaking boundaries

During the Second World War, women took on increasingly diverse roles. But, like their First World War predecessors, they were still prevented from fighting.

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Claude Auchinleck: The auk

After initial successes in North Africa during the Second World War, Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck transferred to India as Commander-in-Chief. His unstinting logistical support there was vital to the Allied re-conquest of Burma.

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East African soldiers with a captured Japanese flag, 1944

The Far East campaign

Between December 1941 and August 1945, British Commonwealth troops and their allies fought a bitter war across the vast expanses of Asia and the Pacific Ocean against a tenacious and often brutal enemy.

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Major Herbert 'Blondie' Hasler and a colleague paddling a canoe, c1942

Herbert ‘Blondie’ Hasler: A Cockleshell Hero

Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert ‘Blondie’ Hasler was an inventor, pioneering yachtsman and special forces canoeist. In December 1942, he led the daring ‘Cockleshell Heroes’ raid on Bordeaux harbour.

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Nigel Clogstoun-Willmott: Covert beach surveyor

During the Second World War, Nigel Clogstoun-Willmott founded the Combined Operations Pilotage Parties to undertake covert beach reconnaissance. This proved vital for the success of Allied seaborne invasions.

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Roger Courtney: SBS pioneer

Major Roger ‘Jumbo’ Courtney founded the Special Boat Section during the Second World War. This became one of Britain’s most important Special Forces and was a parent unit of the modern Special Boat Service.

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Lieutenant Colonel Robert 'Paddy' Mayne near Kabrit, Egypt, 1942

‘Paddy’ Mayne: An Irish Lion

Lieutenant-Colonel ‘Paddy’ Mayne played a vital role in the early successes of the Special Air Service (SAS), becoming one of its most important commanders.

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‘Jock’ Lewes: SAS mastermind

As the co-founder of the Special Air Service (SAS), Lieutenant ‘Jock’ Lewes played a vital role in establishing the unit’s ethos and high standards of training and discipline.

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David Stirling: The Phantom Major

Colonel David Stirling was a pioneer of British Special Forces. In 1941, he founded the Special Air Service (SAS) in Egypt to undertake small-scale raids behind enemy lines.

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Gun disguised as a pen for use by SOE agents, 1945

Special Operations Executive

Formed in 1940, the SOE was an underground army that waged a secret war in enemy-occupied Europe and Asia. Its agents demonstrated incredible courage and resourcefulness.

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Sergeant Herbert Chambers with fellow Special Boat Service soldiers in Athens, 1944

Origins of the Special Forces

During the Second World War, Britain created a range of special units who undertook a variety of daring operations against the Axis Powers. The bravery and commitment of these forces has become the stuff of legend.

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Bagnold sun compass used by the LRDG, c1942

Desert innovator: Bagnold's sun-compass

The Long Range Desert Group were masters of navigation. They owed much of their success to the scientific talents of Major Ralph Bagnold, whose sun-compass invention revolutionised desert travel.

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Explore Second World War events

Leading Aircraftwoman Pearl Bradburn recording details of casualties before take-off from Bazenville, Normandy, 1944

Talk At Museum / Online

20 September 2024, 12.00pm

FREE

Getting Them Home: The Flying Nightingales

Dr Emily Mayhew tells the remarkable story of the Flying Nightingales, a group of nurses who flew across the Channel to help evacuate injured soldiers from the beaches of Normandy.

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Talk At Museum / Online

27 September 2024, 12.00pm

FREE

The Brutal Fight for Hill 107

Join Robert Kershaw at this year’s Chelsea History Festival as he sheds light on the Battle of Crete and the pivotal action at Hill 107 during the Second World War.

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Explore Second World War learning resources

Video

KS2-KS3 (Ages 7 to 14)

Shirley Hamilton: ATS Servicewoman

Explore the contribution of Caribbean women who joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) during the Second World War.

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Women of the West Indies Auxiliary Territorial Service, c1944

Video

KS3-KS4 (Ages 11 to 16)

Virtual Exhibition: West Indian Soldier

Explore the history of Caribbean people in the British Army, and of the British Army in the Caribbean, through this virtual tour of the West Indian Soldier exhibition.

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