Minister of Munitions

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Minister of Munitions was an office created by the Munitions of War Act of July 2, 1915 in the British Government during the First World War . The minister was responsible for supervising and controlling the production and distribution of ammunition. The post was created in response to the munitions crisis of 1915 , when various newspapers reported a shortage of ammunition and suspected sabotage. Under the leadership of the liberal David Lloyd George , the ministry built a system in the first year that significantly expanded production capacities.

task

David Lloyd George, Minister 1915–1916

The munitions crisis influenced public opinion to the point that the army was running out of ammunition. A strong leader was needed to organize the ammunition production. When a new coalition government was formed in May 1915, David Lloyd George became Minister of Munitions. As minister of munitions, he earned a heroic reputation and political rise.

Among other things, he intervened in the labor dispute on the River Clyde . In order to monitor working conditions in the factories, the Labor Intelligence Service under Colonel Arthur Lee , the Parliamentary Military Secretary, was attached to the Ministry. Lloyd George was so successful in his office that he became Secretary of War in the summer of 1916 and Prime Minister in December 1916 . Many historians agree that it had boosted national morale and drawn British attention to the need for higher production, but also suggested that the increase in ammunition production was at least partly due to reforms before his term in office.

In order to increase the efficiency and public relations work of the ministry, a department for workers' welfare was created. This improved first aid in the factories, promoted occupational safety , improved medical conditions for handling hazardous chemicals and TNT , organized child care, limited overtime and provided transport and accommodation for the workers.

The Ministry was staffed at the highest level with senior military and business people on loan from their companies to the Ministry for the duration of the war. These employees were able to match the needs of the companies with those of the state and to reach a compromise on the price of the goods and the profits of the companies. Government officials bought important raw materials abroad. After the purchase, the ministry oversaw the distribution. This avoided price increases through speculation. For example, the entire harvest of Indian jute was bought and distributed. A similar approach was used for steel, wool, leather and flax. By 1918 the ministry had 65,000 employees and employed three million workers in 20,000 factories. For the first time, a large number of women also worked in engineering professions. The ministry was abolished in 1921 as the government restructured. After the armistice in 1918, the work of the ministry was no longer necessary.

Guidelines

Historian John Marriott summarizes the government's guidelines:

"No private interest was to be permitted to obstruct the service, or imperil the safety, of the state. Trade Union regulations must be suspended; employers' profits must be limited, skilled men must fight, if not in the trenches, in the factories; man-power must be economize by the dilution of labor and the employment of women; Private factories must pass under the control of the State, and new national factories be set up. "

“No private interest was allowed to restrict the service of the state or security. Union rights are suspended; employers' profits must be limited, experienced men must fight, if not in the ditch then in the factories; Manpower must be saved by reducing the hardship and using women; Private factories must be brought under the control of the state and new national factories must be built. "

Ministers of Munitions, 1915-1921

Surname Start of term of office Term of office
David Lloyd George May 25, 1915 July 9, 1916
Edwin Montagu July 9, 1916 December 10, 1916
Christopher Addison December 10, 1916 July 17, 1917
Winston Churchill July 17, 1917 January 10, 1919
Lord Inverforth January 10, 1919 March 21, 1921

Parliamentary Secretaries to the Ministry of Munitions, 1916-1919

Surname Start of term of office Term of office
Laming Worthington-Evans December 14, 1916 January 30, 1918
FG Kellaway December 14, 1916 April 1, 1920
JEB Seely July 10, 1918 January 10, 1919
John Baird January 10, 1919 April 29, 1919

Parliamentary and Financial Secretaries to the Ministry of Munitions, 1918-1921

Surname Start of term of office Term of office
Laming Worthington-Evans January 30, 1918 18 July 1918
James Hope January 27, 1919 March 31, 1921

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Peter Fraser: The British 'Shells Scandal' of 1915 . In: University of Toronto Press (Ed.): Canadian Journal of History . 18, No. 1, 1983, ISSN  0008-4107 , pp. 69-86. doi : 10.3138 / cjh.18.1.69 .
  2. ^ Nicholas Hiley: Internal Security in Wartime: the rise and fall of PMS2 1915–1917 . In: Intelligence and National Security . 1: 3, 1986.
  3. ↑ FR Hartesveldt: Caring for workers: the health and welfare programs of the British Ministry of Munitions, 1916-1918. In: Maryland historian 1.1 (2001): 26+.
  4. ↑ JAR Marriott, Modern England: 1885–1945 (4th ed. 1948) p. 376

swell

  • David Lloyd George: War Memoirs (2nd ed. 1934) vol 1 ch 9. 19.

literature

  • RJQ Adams : Arms and the Wizard: Lloyd George and the Ministry of Munitions, 1915-1916. London: Cassell 1978. OCLC 471710656.
  • Anthony J. Arnold: 'A paradise for profiteers'? The importance and treatment of profits during the First World War. In: Accounting History Review 24.2-3 (2014): 61–81.
  • Eugene Edward Beiriger: Churchill, Munitions and Mechanical Warfare. NY: Peter Lang 1997.
  • Kathleen Burk: Britain, America and the Sinews of War, 1914-1918. NY: Allen & Unwin 1985.
  • Hugh Armstrong Clegg: A History of British Trade Unions since 1889: Volume II 1911–1931. 1985: pp.18-212.
  • Bentley Gilbert: David Lloyd George: Organizer of Victory 1912–1916. Batsford 1992: pp. 209-250.
  • John Grigg : Lloyd George: From Peace to War 1912-1916. Eyre Methuen 1985: pp. 223-256.
  • Denys Hay: IV. The Official History Of The Ministry Of Munitions. In: Economic History Review. 1944, 14 # 2: pp. 185-190 in JSTOR ISSN 0013-0117.
  • L. Brooks Hill: David Lloyd George as minister of munitions: A study of his speaking tour of industrial centers. In: Southern Journal of Communication. 1971, 36 # 4: pp. 312-323.
  • Roger Lloyd-Jones, John Lewis Myrddin: Arming the Western Front: War, Business and the State in Britain 1900-1920. Routledge 2016 online review
  • Sehila Marriner: The Ministry of Munitions 1915-1919 and government accounting procedures. In: Accounting and Business Research. 1980, vol 10, sup1: pp. 130-142. ISSN 0001-4788.
  • Angela Woollacott: On her their lives depend: munitions workers in the Great War. University of California Press 1994.