British Expeditionary Force

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British army sent to France and Belgium in World War I and British Forces in Europe from 1939 - 1940 during World War II. The BEF was established by Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Boer War in case Britain ever needed to deploy quickly a force to take part in an overseas war. A senior German commander during the 1914-1918 war had called them a 'contemptible little army' - the name stuck and the BEF proudly referred to themselves as the 'Old Contemptibles'

See also

• British Military Mission to Poland