County War Agricultural Executive Committees
| Published date | 01 March 1946 |
| Date | 01 March 1946 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1946.tb03063.x |
| Author | Donald E. Vandepeer |
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
harbours being a typical example. We had
to
build up the labour force
in
the southern ports
of
the country for the purpose
of
mounting the offensive
against the Continent.
In
addition, as the
Chairman
knows
only
too
well, we
had to supply a considerable amount of labour for the railways
in
order that they
might
carry
the vast numbers of Americans who were arriving
in
Northern
ports
and transport our
own
troops and
all
the vast quantities of munitions down to
the
South
Coast. We had to increase that man-power by
30,000.
For
that
purpose we had
to
put into the railways
66,000
people
in
order
to
replace wastage
as well. As a result of
a
very great: effort we did succeed
in
doing that, and
we did increase the intensity of our man-power for operational purposes
right
up
to D-Day.
In
figures, perhaps
I
can
give you the
main
things that happened. First
of
all,
the unemployed, who amounted
to
1,270,000 at mid-1939, were reduced
to 54,000 by the end of 1944. We rnobilised
from
the
"
non-industrial
"
classes
of
the community
half
a
million
men
and
2,500,000 women for full-time or
part-
time work. Then, in the redistribution of man-power, the Forces were increased
from 477,000 at mid-1939 to 5,000,000 on D-Day. The civil defence forces
were increased from 80,000
at
mid-1939 to 384,000
at
mid-1942, when the
peak
was reached.
The
figure
of
people employed
on
munitions and equipment
for the Forces increased from 1,270,000 at mid-1939
to
5,180,000 at mid-1943,
when we had nearly reached
the
peak
of
our munitions effort
in
.man-power.
So
far
as the basic industries
of
the
country
were concerned, agriculture,
mining,
transport,
the
focd
and drink trade, and
national
and local government
services, they remained practically stationary in their total,
though
there was
some alteration
in
the individual figpres. Some went up and others down.
These basic industries and services increased from 5,540,000 to 5,686,000; that
was
from
mid-1939
to
mid-1944.
Finally, the less essential industries
of
the
country were reduced from 9,277,OOCl at mid-1939 to
6,008,000
at mid-1944, a
drop
of
35
per cent. Within those industries the
main
groups, building and civil
engineering, lost 50 per cent.
of
their man-power. The distributive trades lost
900,000
out
of
2,887,000, and the manufacturing industries lost over
1,100,OOO
out of 3,198,000.
Those figures do give you an idea of the vast extent
of
the transfer
of
labour and the mobilisation
of
our m-power.
I
am
sorry
that
I
have
taken
so
long,
but
I
have endeavoured to give
you
some idea of the task which we undertook and
how
we carried
it
out.
All
I
would say, as a
hal
word, is that
I
think we can claim, with all modesty, that
we succeeded
in
mobilising this nation to
a
greater extent than any other nation
in
the world.
County War Agricultural Executive
Committees
By
SIR
DONALD
E.
VANDEPEER,
K.C.B.,
K.B.E.
Pammteni
Secretary,
Mini.ihy
of
AgrinJfure
and
Fisheries
MY
subject is
County
War
Agricultural Executive Committees-their origin,
We had
to
adopt
this
rather
clumsy title
in
order to distinguish these bodies from the starutory County
14
constitution, functions and achievements.
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