Does anyone know if where I could find out the desertion rates for the British Army during WW2 by division? I had thought that this sort of information would be readily availble online but I don't seem to be able to find anything.
Try looking at the Court martial records held at TNA Kew - probably have to create your own stats from those.
Does anyone know if where I could find out the desertion rates for the British Army during WW2 by division? Hi, Figures for the Army as a whole have been published (broken down year by year), but for any analysis more detailed than that you'd probably have to look at the War Office documents at Kew. Best, Alan
Hi, Figures for the Army as a whole have been published (broken down year by year), but for any analysis more detailed than that you'd probably have to look at the War Office documents at Kew. Best, Alan I don't suppose you happen to know the title or ISBN ref for the publications?
Incidences of desertion in the British Army in WWII (from Ahrenfeldt, Psychiatry in the British Army in the Second World War, p. 273): 1/10/39-30/9/40: army strength (average) 1,538,675; deserters 6,889; incidence per thousand soldiers 4.48 1/10/40-30/9/41: army strength (average) 2,211,547; deserters 22,248; incidence per thousand soldiers 10.05 1/10/41-30/9/42: army strength (average) 2,455,720; deserters 20,834; incidence per thousand soldiers 8.49 1/10/42-30/9/43: army strength (average) 2,681,697; deserters 15,824; incidence per thousand soldiers 5.9 1/10/43-30/9/44: army strength (average) 2,729,480; deserters 16,892; incidence per thousand soldiers 6.19 1/10/44-30/9/45: army strength (average) 2,830,831; deserters 17,663; incidence per thousand soldiers 6.24. Best, Alan
