ABSTRACT
One of the most remarkable features of the second world war was the extent to which Britain took powers to mobilise and relocate labour: powers greater, it has been suggested, than those taken by any other belligerent nation. A number of writers have pointed out that, from the outbreak of war until well into 1940, the main problem faced by the government in relation to production was not a shortage of labour but a lack of industrial capacity. With Bevin in charge of manpower policy and Labour in the coalition, the trade union leadership’s critical support for the war was transformed into active support for the government. In January 1942 a ministry of labour memorandum to regional controllers pointed out that ‘many women have failed to register on account of a conscientious objection to war work’, but it seems few women refused to register on grounds other than conscientious objection.
