
Waging War and Building Peace
Mobilising Industry in Wales, 1934-1947
Leon Gooberman(Author)
University of Wales Press
Published on 15. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
248 pages
978-1-83772-270-9 (ISBN)
Description
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.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Wales
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Not illustrated
Dimensions
Height: 138 mm
Width: 217 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
388 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83772-270-9 (9781837722709)
DOI
10.1234/b11995
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2025
University of Wales Press
€32.49
Available for download

E-Book
10/2025
1st Edition
University of Wales Press
€32.49
Available for download
Person
Leon Gooberman is Reader in Employment Relations at Cardiff University Business School.
Content
ABBREVIATIONS
INTRODUCTION
1 REARMAMENT AND 'PHONEY WAR', 1934-1940
Rearmament, 1934-1938
Crisis and War, 1938-1940
2 WARTIME MUNITIONS INDUSTRIES, 1940-1945
2.1 Governing production
2.2 Governing labour
2.3 Factories
3 WARTIME NATURAL RESOURCE INDUSTRIES, 1940-1945
3.1 Coal mining
3.2 Metal manufacturing
3.3 Agriculture
4 RECONSTRUCTION, 1943-1947
4.1 Secondary manufacturing
4.2 Natural resource industries
CONCLUSION
DATA APPENDIX
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
INTRODUCTION
1 REARMAMENT AND 'PHONEY WAR', 1934-1940
Rearmament, 1934-1938
Crisis and War, 1938-1940
2 WARTIME MUNITIONS INDUSTRIES, 1940-1945
2.1 Governing production
2.2 Governing labour
2.3 Factories
3 WARTIME NATURAL RESOURCE INDUSTRIES, 1940-1945
3.1 Coal mining
3.2 Metal manufacturing
3.3 Agriculture
4 RECONSTRUCTION, 1943-1947
4.1 Secondary manufacturing
4.2 Natural resource industries
CONCLUSION
DATA APPENDIX
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX