Franco-British Relations and the Question of Conscription in Britain, 1938–1939

Abstract

-This article examines the relationship interaction between the French campaign for the introduction of British conscription during 1938-39 and the ebbs and flows of British public opinion on the same issue. In particular, it will demonstrate how French pressure for conscription varied in intensity depending on their perceptions of British opinion on the subject. It was this interaction between diplomatic and domestic pressures that ultimately compelled the British government to introduce conscription in April 1939. Furthermore, the issue of conscription also sheds light on the wider issue of In addition, the conscription question can be used as a 'core sample' with which to analyse the wider issue of Franco-British relations during the final months of peace. , 1919-1941, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 2French pressure for conscription certainly shows that the notion of an 'English Governess' does not stand up to scrutiny. 4 However, the counter argument is also problematic. Talbot Imlay's suggestion that France adopted a politique de fermeté independently of Britain is persuasive but not clear-cut. 5 The conscription 'core sample' reveals that the reality was more ambiguous: although the French government undoubtedly became more assertive, it did not act entirely independently of Britain, always paying careful attention to British public opinion. Reports from the London embassy during 1938-9 indicated that British public opinion was sympathetic to the firmer foreign policy adopted by Paris and, moreover, was prepared to increase the degree of British commitment to France, even at the cost of conscription.