The Interwar Years

Verdon, Nicola

doi:10.1007/978-1-137-31674-5_6

Nicola Verdon²

179 Accesses

Abstract

The interwar period was marked by continuities and contradictions. The statistical data shows that the number of workers in agriculture continued to fall, but this was not consistent or linear, and the experiences and identities of farmworkers continued to be shaped by gender, age and region. In some areas of farm production scientific thinking and modern methods were transforming work practices, with the replacement of horse power with motive power; however, in other areas traditional techniques persisted and mechanisation played little part. The uneven impact of change in the arable, dairying and horticultural sectors is examined here. The newly reconstituted Agricultural Wages Boards offered some protection after 1924, but this chapter shows that not all workers received the same treatment or assistance.

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Notes

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27.
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28.
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33.
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34.
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35.
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39.
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52.
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53.
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71.
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72.
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73.
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74.
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75.
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76.
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77.
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78.
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79.
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80.
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81.
HMSO, ‘Employment of women in agriculture’, p. 73.
82.
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83.
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84.
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85.
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86.
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87.
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88.
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89.
Nicola Verdon, ‘Agricultural labour and the contested nature of women’s work in interwar England and Wales’, Historical Journal, 52, 1 (March 2009), pp. 109–130.
90.
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91.
Humphries and Hopwood, Green and pleasant land, p. 143.
92.
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93.
B.P.P., 1934–1935, Cmd. 4786, Report of the Unemployment Insurance Statutory Committee, pp. 21–22; The Land Worker, January 1936, p. 9.
94.
Pedley, Labour on the land, p. 13.
95.
Reffold, Pie for breakfast, p. 111.

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Modern British History, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK
Nicola Verdon

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Verdon, N. (2017). The Interwar Years. In: Working the Land. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-31674-5_6

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-31674-5_6
Published: 15 July 2017
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-230-30439-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-31674-5
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