The British Commonwealth and Victory in the Second World War by Iain E. Johnston-White (review)

This book is an extremely ambitious study of the role of the four major dominions in the British victory in the Second World War: Australia, Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand, and South Africa. It explores a hitherto largely neglected part of the history of the Second World War. Johnston-White tackles this ambitious subject through four different themes or perspectives: the dominions and British war finance, the British Commonwealth Air Training Scheme, the dominions and British maritime power, and the Dominions in North Africa. Canada was of particular importance when it came to finance, a prominent example being its Billion Dollar gift. Australia, Canada, and Aotearoa New Zealand all contributed in a major way in making the Commonwealth Air Training Scheme a success. Again Canada's navy played a crucial role in escorting much-needed supplies to the United Kingdom. And Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and South Africa were in the heat of the fighting in North Africa, which was a major turning point in the Second World War.

One of the overarching themes of the book is the importance of Britishness in all four dominions in explaining their actions during the Second World War. This was the belief that they were all predominantly British societies (although this was, of course, a problematic concept in South Africa, as the white settler population there was a minority, and British settlers were even a minority of this group) and an integral part of a wider British world, which had the UK at its centre. Therefore the contributions of all the dominions took place in this context, i.e. coming to the assistance of the 'mother country'. However, Johnson-White quite rightly points out that familial motivations were not the only reason for the dominions' significant contributions; rather they had strong economic, military, and political ties with the United Kingdom which would have been imperilled if Britain had fallen to Nazi Germany.

The book also deals with the differences between the dominions as they were not one monolithic bloc. There was generally a divide between Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand on one side, and Canada and South Africa on the other. An excellent illustration of this is their contribution to the British Royal Air Force (RAF). Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand felt much more threatened in their region of the world compared to the other two dominions, and so were much more willing to work under British authority without distinct representation, unlike Canada and South Africa, who, under no real direct threat (and for primarily domestic political reasons), were much keener to establish separate national units within the RAF.

As someone who also works on transnational and comparative history I can personally testify to how difficult it is to accomplish, but Johnston-White achieves it well. His book is based on extensive archival research in five different countries across four different continents, which is an incredible feat. I wholeheartedly recommend it to readers, both expert and general.