An illustrated introduction to how British industries, supported by thousands of newly recruited women, strove to meet the nation's wartime need for munitions, armour, shipping, uniforms and aircraft.
During the Second World War (1939-45), Britain stretched every sinew of its industrial might to fend off a Nazi invasion. As the nation stood alone against Fortress Europe, it harnessed, coordinated and maximised its resources, firstly to defend itself and then to help liberate Axis-occupied countries.
Wartime Industry uses informative text and beautiful illustrations to show how the men and women of Britain met this unprecedented demand for military and home-front materials. It explores the work of Lord Beaverbrook's highly organised Ministry of Aircraft Production; the 'Shadow Factories' that enabled manufacturers such as Vauxhall and Rootes to make tanks and aircraft; the Royal Ordnance Factories that produced firearms and explosives; the 'Bevin Boys' conscripted to work in the coal mines; the Women's Timber Corps; and war workers - who, together, helped the nation to make it.
An illustrated introduction into industrial life in Britain, as the nation geared up to meet the wartime demand for munitions, armor, shipping, uniforms and aircraft.
In 1939 Britain was pitched into a war on the Continent for which it was ill-prepared, starting the fight against the Nazis on the back foot. As the nation stood alone against Fortress Europe, it desperately needed to turn all of its industrial might firstly to defending itself and then to expelling Axis troops from occupied countries. Peacetime factories such as car plants were turned to aircraft and tank production; the railway network was timetabled around military needs; and women were brought in to work in factories and shipyards, to fell timber and to bring in the crops. This beautifully illustrated book shows how every aspect of industrial life was coordinated to equip the fight for victory, and how Britain made it.
