The Allied Intervention – Northern Russia 1918-1920

Speaker: Andy Stuart
British Troops Marching Through Archangel (1919) (IWM Q 16041)

For much of the First World War, North Russia was the entry point for much needed supplies from Britain and France to their Russian ally. The Revolution in 1917 changed everything, with the threat of Bolshevism looming ever larger in the minds of some as the war with Germany was coming to an end, leading politicians like Winston Churchill to champion military intervention to address the threat. The result was an Allied expedition that in retrospect appears doomed from the outset. Andy Stuart's talk covers the politics, the motivation, the local plans and conditions, and reasons why it was eventually allowed to fade from memory.

Andy Stuart
Andy Stuart

Andy has a very varied background that includes serving in the Royal Artillery with tours in Germany, Canada and Northern Ireland, followed by a career in investment banking that took him as far afield as New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo before co-founding a technology development business.

During 'lockdown' Andy began writing, drawn to the world described in his grandfather, Arthur Walton's stories of his service during the First World War and the Russian Civil War, researching the topic in depth and using it as inspiration for three books.

Tales From The Great War I (Cover)
Tales from the Great War I
Tales From The Great War II (Cover)
Tales from The Great War II
Churchill's Intervention (Cover)
Churchill's Intervention

Members and non-members of The Western Front Association are equally welcome. Any new visitors are guaranteed a friendly atmosphere and a warm welcome from a group of like-minded enthusiasts.

Main Image: British troops marching through Archangel in 1919 (IWM Q 16041)

Event organiser: London (East) branch
20 November 2025 19:30 to 20 November 2025 21:30
Walthamstow Cricket Tennis & Squash Club, 48a Greenway Ave, London. E17 3QN
Branch contacts
Chris Hunt
(Branch Chair)
Email Chris Hunt
Joy Hunt
(Branch Treasurer)
Email Joy Hunt
Louisa Pawsey
(Secretary)
Email Louisa Pawsey

Other upcoming events for London (East) branch

Cramping His Style Cartoon (Punch 9 April 1919) Thumbnail
15 October 2026

Wartime Cartooning: A Legacy of Laughter

Read more
54 Squadron RAF Football Team (IWM Q9944)
19 November 2026

Sport in the Royal Flying Corps, 1914-1918

Read more
RAF FE4
18 February 2027

From Flying Dreadnought to Dogfighter - The Troubled Birth of the British Fighter

Read more