British Legion Volunteer Police Force
Encyclopedia
The British Legion Volunteer Police Force was formed on the 6th October 1938. It was disbanded on the 15th October 1938, some ten days later.
To set the formation of the British Legion Volunteer Police Force into context it is necessary to briefly mention the International affairs on the go at that time.
The Sudetenland
of Czechoslovakia
was about to be claimed and annexed by the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler
and to this end Hitler had demanded the withdrawal of all Czech troops and police by the 1st October 1938. This alarmed the other European countries and after discussion Hitler agreed
to a Plebiscite controlled by an International Commission. Several plans were put forward which ended by the British Government authorising the British Legion in agreement with Hitler to organise a force of Legionaries to supervise the voting, and its anticipated transfer of the territory to Germany.
To set the formation of the British Legion Volunteer Police Force into context it is necessary to briefly mention the International affairs on the go at that time.
The Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
was about to be claimed and annexed by the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and to this end Hitler had demanded the withdrawal of all Czech troops and police by the 1st October 1938. This alarmed the other European countries and after discussion Hitler agreed
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
to a Plebiscite controlled by an International Commission. Several plans were put forward which ended by the British Government authorising the British Legion in agreement with Hitler to organise a force of Legionaries to supervise the voting, and its anticipated transfer of the territory to Germany.