Welsh History

Lesson 7: A Different Wales

In this lesson you will see what happened in Wales during the period between the great World Wars, how literature became mainly the province of the Anglo-Welsh, how the nation responded to changes in its traditional ways of life, and how feelings of nationalism began to slowly infiltrate the nation.

Recommended reading: Struggle pp. 133-l62; Wales A to Z relevant entries; Intro to Lit pp. 8l-95.

After the Great War

In the spirit of patriotism engendered by the War, the movement in Ireland to agitate for Home Rule was considered treason in most of Wales. Welsh soldiers played significant roles in the great battles of the Somme and Ypres. By suffering alongside their fellows from all parts of the British Isles, Welsh soldiers began to feel less Welsh and more British, less provincial, less "different." By the end of the war more that 280,000 Welshmen had served some time in the armed forces.

The terrible loss of life in the war had devastating effects upon just about every town and village in Wales, but especially in the North, where the men of Gwynedd had enlisted in huge proportions after the slate industry had been declared "non-essential."

In the Southern coalfields, the industrial unrest continued. The workers had wrested some privileges away from the owners, including an increase in their daily wage; they were determined to keep them.

One problem was that the nation’s industries had not kept pace with the rapid growth in the newly-emerging countries of the world.

There was too much reliance on the old traditional methods of mining, shipbuilding, cotton manufacture, etc., all of which were now finding it difficult, if not impossible, to compete in world markets. Each industry was also hampered by lack of investment capital and failure to adapt to more efficient, modern methods.

The great General Strike began in 1926. It was only settled when the resistance of the miners had been worn down by the owners, who were able to demand longer hours and less pay. To help alleviate the miserable conditions in the industrial areas of Britain, the Conservative government of Stanley Baldwin undertook a modest program of social reform to appease working class opinion. The Widows, Orphans, and Old Age Health Contributory Pensions schemes extended the Act of 1911 and insured over 20 million people.

In 1928, the Equal Franchise Act gave the parliamentary vote to all women over twenty-one. Under Health Minister Neville Chamberlain (of later Munich infamy), the Local Government Act of 1929 reduced the number of local government authorities and extended their services. Nothing was done to adequately deal with the nation’s massive unemployment.

In the 1930’s, new health measures, aided by the import of cheap nutritious food from the U.S. (such as canned baked beans), led to a marked increase in population, accompanied by a building boom. Old industries were replaced by newer ones, including the manufacture of bicycles, automobiles, electrical goods, and chemicals, mostly located in the southeastern and midland counties of England.

Very few of the changes reached South Wales, where the repercussions of huge losses in the coal industry have never dissipated. Massive emigration into England or overseas took place from the Welsh Valleys, where ,ironically, the way was paved for a renaissance in Welsh nationalism. Wales was once again to undergo a metamorphosis. Its literary men had already shown the way towards defining their fellow countrymen as members of a separate nation.