Waging war and building peace: Mobilising industry in Wales, 1934 to 1947

The British economy altered radically between 1934 and 1947. Some of the most dramatic changes were in Wales as its struggling private-sector-led economy was supplanted by one dominated by the state. Initial changes were barely noticeable as pre-war rearmament had little impact on its economy and labour market – yet wartime demands for munitions and raw materials prompted the state to govern an all-encompassing mobilisation that upended its relations with business and eliminated unemployment. New factories employed many thousands of people, agriculture was modernised and metal manufacturing thrived, although coal mining remained mired in crisis. As the war ended, lessons learnt during the conflict helped guide the government as it reconverted the economy to peacetime while retaining a dominant role. This book is the first to fully set out and explore these linkages in Wales between government planning, workplaces and their employees.