Online Talk - Brigadiers of the British Army in France and Norway, 1940

Wednesday 30th September 2026

A popular perception is that there was a widespread clearout of British Army officers involved in the simultaneous strategic defeats in France and Norway in the spring of 1940.

Using brigadiers, the operational commanders and middle managers of the Army, this contention is examined to determine whether their social and educational backgrounds, experiences or patronage influenced their professional survival after 1940. A comparison with those officers serving in the initial stages of the Battle of Normandy in 1944 is also made to see what may have changed after four years of war. 

 

Our speaker is Dr Philip McCarty: Former MOD and FCO civil servant, former TA Yeomanry soldier and ACF officer. BA Military Studies, Manchester University 1983, MA War Studies King's College London 1984 and PhD Military History University of Wolverhampton 2021. Visiting Lecturer on MA in WW2 Studies, University of Wolverhampton 2021-2025 Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

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