Moonraker Posted 15 December , 2007 Share Posted 15 December , 2007 This topic description is somewhat rhetorical, because I more or less know at least part of the answer: women, German and other PoWs, with some British and other army units providing labour (eg Canadian forestry workers)and a small number of Portuguese, Belgian and Chinese workers. I don't know about Irishmen, whom I vaguely identify as having been prominent in construction work in the UK during the Second World War; were they also in the UK in any numbers in the First? I don't know that the subject would have merited a book, but are there any magazine articles - or a chapter in a book on the Home Front - that have dealt with the composition of the UK labour market during the Great War? Moonraker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linden Posted 15 December , 2007 Share Posted 15 December , 2007 Ivor Lee is compiling details of the Labour Companies , but that is probably mostly right behind the Front . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivor Lee Posted 15 December , 2007 Share Posted 15 December , 2007 Moonraker Somewhere in excess of 100,000 soldiers were employed on farms and at the docks and in industry. Ivor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthergw Posted 15 December , 2007 Share Posted 15 December , 2007 As far as farm work is concerned, as well as men, horses were conscripted. In fact the horses went first, being requisitioned early on in 14 and 15. This meant that there was a lot less work could be done and freed men for the armed services. In other words a lot of the men were not leaving jobs to join up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 15 December , 2007 Share Posted 15 December , 2007 The official history of the Ministry of Munitions (about 12 vols) covers what was known as the 'dilution of labour'. There are copies at TNA and the IWM - not sure where else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 15 December , 2007 Share Posted 15 December , 2007 There are copious amounts of information about industrial labour in MUN 3, 4 and 5 at the National Archive. See also "Arms and the Wizard" by RJQ Adams. TR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gilinsky Posted 17 December , 2007 Share Posted 17 December , 2007 The official history of the Ministry of Munitions (about 12 vols) covers what was known as the 'dilution of labour'. There are copies at TNA and the IWM - not sure where else. Anyway to give full bibliographical details for all 12 volumes so that I can check WorldCat,LibofCongress etc...? Thanks, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 17 December , 2007 Share Posted 17 December , 2007 http://www.loc.gov/rr/microform/guide/h.html Library of Congress microfiche ref. Scroll down and it is the 23rd entry. According to another source, a copy of the complete History was also lodged with the legislative library of each of the Dominions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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