Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain

{{Expand Ukrainian|topic=cult|Союз українців у Великій Британії|date=August 2024}}

The Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain ({{langx|uk|Союз українців у Великій Британії}}), known by the acronym AUGB, is an organization representing Ukrainians and individuals of Ukrainian heritage in the United Kingdom.

The AUGB headquarters is in London. The organization has almost 2000 members. The AUGB is the largest organization representing the Ukrainian community in the United Kingdom.{{cite web |title=Ukrainians in Great Britain |url=https://uk.mfa.gov.ua/en/partnership/881-ukrajina-velika-britanija/595-ukrajinci-u-velikij-britaniji |website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine |access-date=22 August 2024}}

== AUGB network ==

Organization has several dozen active branches in England and Scotland. According to the AUGB, a branch is an organized group with at least 12 members, officially designated as a branch by the board of directors.{{cite web |title=AUGB Branch Map |url=https://www.augb.co.uk/augb-branch-pages/augb-branch-map |website=Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain |access-date=22 August 2024}}

The AUGB oversees a network of 28 local branches and 19 smaller branches and sub-branches. While the smaller branches and sub-branches do not have their own centers, they organize periodic events for Ukrainians in their respective areas. Overall, the organization owns 35 properties across Great Britain, which are used for Ukrainian clubs, schools of Ukrainian studies, and other related activities.{{cite web |title=Ukrainians in Great Britain |url=https://uk.mfa.gov.ua/en/partnership/881-ukrajina-velika-britanija/595-ukrajinci-u-velikij-britaniji |website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine |access-date=22 August 2024}}

== History ==

The association was established in 1946 by Ukrainians who arrived in Great Britain at the end of the Second World War.

Initially, its members were primarily Ukrainians from the Polish Armed Forces under British command, and the organization was originally conceived as an Association of Ukrainian Soldiers in the Polish Armed Forces. Membership grew significantly in 1947–48 with the arrival of Ukrainian European Voluntary Workers and former soldiers of the Galicia Division, who were transitioning to civilian life. Between 1946 and 1949, approximately 23,600 individuals became members of the AUGB.{{cite web |title=Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB) |url=https://ukrainiansintheuk.info/eng/03/augb-e.htm |website=Ukrainians in the UK |access-date=22 August 2024}}

One of the first AUGB branches was formed in 1948 in Bolton.{{cite book |title=Lancastrians. Mills, Mines and Minarets: A New History |author=Paul Salveson |year=2023 |publisher=Hurst Publishers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AEPHEAAAQBAJ&dq=Association+of+Ukrainians+in+Great+Britain&pg=PT544 |access-date=22 August 2024 |page=PT544|isbn=978-1-80526-108-7 }}

In 1954, the AUGB started publishing the Ukrainian Review. It was focused on the national question in Ukraine and USSR.{{cite book |title=Gathering a Heritage: The Ukrainian Experience in Canada |author=Thomas M. Prymak |year=2015 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=9781442614383 |page=150 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rkriBQAAQBAJ&dq=Association+of+Ukrainians+in+Great+Britain&pg=PA150 |access-date=22 August 2024}}

== The Shevchenko Library and Archive ==

The Shevchenko Library and Archive (SL&A) in London is managed by the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB) and was established in 1946. Since then, it has become of one of the most extensive collections of Ukrainian diaspora books, periodicals, manuscripts, photographs, and other archival resources in Europe.{{cite web |title=Ukrainian Collections: Libraries & Archives |url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ssees/language-trails/ukrainian/ukrainian-collections-libraries-archives |website=University College London |date=5 July 2017 |access-date=22 August 2024}}

The SL&A houses over 35,000 volumes of academic publications, periodicals, an extensive archive collection with materials from notable figures such as Hetman Danylo Skoropadsky and Stefan Terlezki, and a significant art collection a large collection of Ukrainian postage stamps, sculptures, and photographs.{{cite web |title=Shevchenko Library & Archive |url=https://www.augb.co.uk/about-us-and-our-community/shevchenko-library-archive |website=Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain |access-date=22 August 2024}}