Introduction: The Empire in 1946 and Decolonization

On 8 June 1946 it was ‘V-Day’ in Britain. A year and a month after the end of the war in Europe, they held the Victory Parade. For two hours the King and Emperor, George VI, took the salute in The Mall. Below him, beside the podium, sat Clem Attlee, the prime minister, Winston Churchill, leader of the opposition, Mackenzie King, the Canadian prime minister, and Jan Smuts, the South African prime minister. Deputies for the Australian and New Zealand prime ministers sat further back. On the other side of the podium sat the Chiefs of Staff.