Oxford and World War Two

Oxford played a significant role in World War II, which has been almost completely ignored in histories of the University. This tour will attempt to fill this gap by telling the story of Oxford’s contribution to winning the war. We will look at life in Oxford in wartime and the effect of the war on the population, including the staff and students of the University, but we will mostly concentrate on the extraordinary work which went on in Oxford and on the service given by exceptional Oxford people elsewhere.

We will uncover the top-secret work of Naval Intelligence at various locations in the city, of the refugee scholars at the University’s Physics Department and the extraordinary efforts of the workers at Morris Motors to put aircraft back into the air during and after the Battle of Britain. The enormous strides made in the medical field, from the development of penicillin to groundbreaking treatments for head injuries patients will also feature. We will also discover more about some of the Oxford people who served elsewhere, from Bletchley Park to SOE and in the RAF and other forces.  

This event will close to enrolments at 23:59 BST on 2 June 2027.