This study is an extension of my earlier work, The Czechoslovak Air Force in Britain, 1940–1945, which was submitted to the University of Southampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1997. Many of the people who assisted me on that project have taken a keen interest in the development of Airmen in Exile, and I offer my profound thanks to the staffs of the Public Record Office, Kew; the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon; the Air Historical Branch, Whitehall; the Hartley Library and New College Library, both of the University of Southampton; the British Newspaper Library, and Eastleigh, Leeds, Portsmouth, Southampton, Winchester and York public libraries, all of whom have played their part in providing expert guidance and flawless service in the procurement of the books, documents and photographs needed for the project.
I have also received very welcome assistance and correspondence from many organisations connected with the experiences of the exiles in Britain. These include: the Air Force History Unit of the Koninklijke Luchtmacht and the Stichting Dienstverlening Veteranen (Holland); the Fédération Nationale des Anciens de la Royal Air Force et de la South African Air Force 1940–45 (Belgium); and the Krigsveteranforeningen 1939–45 (Norway). Special thanks are also due to Lt Gen Av. e.r. Baron Michel Donnet DFC, President of the Belgian Association, and Lt Gen Wilhelm Mohr of the Norwegian Association, both of whom sent me some useful ideas and some excellent material. General Donnet’s reminiscences, Flight to Freedom, must rank as one of the best aviation memoirs of the war.
There has also been a host of scholars who have shared their knowledge with me and permitted use of their research. These include Christopher Mann (King’s College, London), Matthew Buck (Oxford), Paul Latawski (Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst) and Martin Brown (University College, London). Numerous amateur historians in Europe and America have also contributed information, ideas and encouragement, and I am particularly grateful to Randal Hankla (America), Yves Duwelz and Cynrik de Decker (Belgium), Gert Laursen (Denmark) and Louis Capdeboscq (France). Louis must have a global reputation by now as one of the first dons of the Internet history newsgroups, and it is high time he published some of his work to a wider audience.
Finally, my sincere thanks to my friends and colleagues at Selby College, especially James Broad. Projects of this scale cannot be completed in isolation from ordinary life, and together they gave me a lot of encouragement and plenty of elbow room to see it through to completion. Thanks also to Helen Betteridge, who lent a hand with the research, and to Linda Gray of Chelwood House, Kew, for her excellent hospitality.
Alan Brown
North Yorkshire