The ‘Bloody Post Office’: The Life and Times of the Dominions Office

Abstract

The Dominions Office has been largely overlooked in the bibliography of the administration of the British Empire. It was a Whitehall department with a small staff and scant resources but it played a key role in the maintenance of Britain's relationship with its overseas Dominions. The Second World War provided it with a critical challenge which it handled most effectively. Through its efforts, the unity of the wartime coalition remained intact despite the many tensions that arose. Yet its passing, just 22 years after its creation, was barely acknowledged either in London or amongst the foreign partners it had so loyally supported.