Misplaced British subjects: Balkan Maltese evacuees in transit 1941 - 1949

Deane, Bridget

Abstract

The focus of this thesis is a case study of British overseas evacuation policy during the second World War: the evacuation of Balkan Maltese British subjects from Turkey by the Foreign Office and their subsequent relocations during the post-war period. This group was first evacuated to India in 1941/42 and finally accommodated at the British Evacuee Camp at Coimbatore in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Following Indian independence they were transferred to Eritrea in East Africa in January 1948 which was under a British Military Administration. After eighteen months here the ‘hard core’ relocated to Cyprus where it was hoped they would resettle permanently. Including time in camps, these Balkan Maltese evacuees spent eight years in transit. Their length of time on the move sets them apart from thousands of other British subjects or citizens who were evacuated during the Second World War. Usually evacuees returned to where they had been domiciled prior to evacuation. However, the British government did not wish to send the Balkan Maltese evacuees back to Turkey if they could avoid it. Many had been living in poverty, facing destitution prior to the war as the Turkish government had essentially banned foreigners domiciled in the country from working. The plan was to resettle the group of evacuees somewhere within the British Commonwealth so they could establish new lives, be self-supporting and no longer be a financial burden to the United Kingdom. As the thesis demonstrates this was no easy task.

Citation

Deane, B. Misplaced British subjects: Balkan Maltese evacuees in transit 1941 - 1949. (Thesis). University of the West of England. https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/8188488

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Dec 2, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 2, 2024
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/8188488
• Award Date: Aug 2, 2024