Social and Economic History of Interwar Britain

Revisionist Perspectives on Interwar Britain

• Martin Pugh argues that life in Britain during the interwar years was significantly "brighter" than traditionally suggested by historians focusing solely on economic depression and the rise of Fascism.

• The traditional "gloomy" perception of social history is heavily influenced by contemporary literary works with political biases, including:

  • Walter Greenwood’s Love On The Dole (1933)

  • Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth (1933)

  • George Orwell’s The Road To Wigan Pier (1937): Pugh notes this account relies more on the embellishments of a novelist/journalist than on dispassionate analysis.

  • Ellen Wilkinson’s The Town That Was Murdered (1939).

• These sources are considered "dubious" for social history because they prioritize literary skill and political leanings over objective reality.

The Marriage Market and the "Lost Generation" Myth

• A common myth persists that interwar women were deprived of husbands due to the $750,000$ British male deaths during World War I.

• While the war caused a temporary reduction in marriage rates, the rate soon recovered and accelerated through the 1930s.

• Examples of the drive to marry include:

  • Vera Brittain herself married ten years after the death of Roland Leighton in 1915.

  • Barbara Cartland received $49$ proposals of marriage before accepting one in 1927.

• The press fueled marriage-related narratives:

  • The Daily Mail campaigned regarding "Our Surplus Girls."

  • The Daily Sketch devoted a front page to the engagement of Lady Diana Manners and the impecunious Duff Cooper in May 1919.

  • High-profile weddings included Edwina Ashley to Dickie Mountbatten (1922) and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon to Albert, Duke of York (1923).

  • Women's magazines promoted marriage as "The Best Job Of All" to counter the distractions of feminism and emancipation.

• Long-term trends show that a higher proportion of British men and women married between the 1930s and 1970s than had done so before 1914.

• In 1939, Heather Jenner and Mary Oliver opened a marriage bureau in Bond Street. On the first day, they received $250$ applicants. Men paid $5$ guineas initially and $20$ guineas if they married; women were charged based on their means, sometimes as little as $10$ shillings.

Crime, Law, and the Move Towards Domesticity

• The interwar period was characterized by a move towards respectability and domesticity rather than significant crime.

• Crime trends included:

  • A major decline in traditional Victorian offenses such as drunkenness and prostitution.

  • Fewer murders were committed between the wars.

  • The prison population in England and Wales dropped from $21,000$ in 1910 to just over $11,000$ by 1930, leading to the closure of local prisons.

• Media sensationalism created the impression of a "crime wave," often attributing crime to a small "criminal class" or "alien influences."

  • The News of the World featured stories on errant clergymen like Harold Davidson (the Rector of Stiffkey, defrocked in 1932) and corrupt politicians like Horatio Bottomley (convicted in 1922 for the "Victory Bonds" scandal).

• Two types of offenses flourished despite not being viewed as "crimes" by the public:

  • Illegal Betting: Placing cash bets outside racecourses had been illegal since 1906, yet was universally ignored. Bookies' runners operated at pubs, street corners, and labor exchanges.

  • Motoring Offenses: The massive increase in private cars brought the middle class into conflict with the law for the first time.

Motoring and Road Safety Reforms

• Early motorists often viewed driving as a reckless sporting activity and resented restrictions.

• The Automobile Association (AA), formed in 1905, used patrolmen to warn drivers of police "speed-traps" (constables hidden in bushes with stop-watches).

• Road safety was poor: in 1930, there were $7,000$ deaths and $150,000$ casualties on the road with only $1 \text{ million}$ cars (contrasted with $3,000$ annual deaths today for $33 \text{ million}$ vehicles).

• Legislative improvements under Minister Leslie Hore-Belisha (1935):

  • Introduced Belisha Beacons.

  • Pioneered the Highway Code.

  • Established a compulsory driving test. Initially, only $10 \%$ of drivers failed this elementary test.

Economic Foundations and Consumption Landscapes

• While unemployment and depression existed (notably in the North-East), the depression was less deep than in Germany or America.

• Economic growth occurred in phases: $1919-1920$, the mid-to-late 1920s, and $1933-1937$.

• Falling global prices in agriculture and manufacturing benefited consumers. Salaries increased in real value because prices fell faster than wages.

• Consumption of staples increased: tea, sugar, eggs, fruit, vegetables, and milk.

• The Empire Marketing Board (1926–1932) attempted to direct consumers toward Empire products, but consumers generally preferred the cheapest goods regardless of origin.

Evolution of the Food and Drink Industry

• Fish-and-Chip Shops:

  • By the late 1920s, there were between $30,000$ and $35,000$ shops in Britain.

  • Harry Ramsden opened his shop in Guiseley near Leeds in 1928.

  • Costs: Cod was $3d$ and chips were $1d$ in the 1930s.

  • It was a viable family business requiring a market of only $500$ to $2,000$ regular consumers.

• Canned Goods:

  • Consumption of fruit (notably bananas from Jamaica) tripled in the 1920s.

  • Heinz and Crosse & Blackwell perfected canning technology to remove the metallic taste.

• Milk Sector:

  • Consumption rose by $55 \%$ compared to pre-war levels.

  • Pasteurization became compulsory in 1922 to check tuberculosis.

  • The Milk Marketing Board (est. 1933) stabilized quality and price. Modern "milk bars" with waitresses and bar stools made milk fashionable for the young.

• Alcoholic Beverages:

  • Expenditure on alcohol dwindled. Convictions for drunkenness fell by two-thirds between 1910 and 1930.

  • Government measures: reduced beer output, lower alcoholic content, shorter opening hours, and higher duties.

  • Pub numbers fell from $99,500$ (pre-1914) to $77,500$ (by 1935).

  • Rise of "road-houses" on arterial roads, which were designed to be woman-friendly.

Social Trends: Smoking, Dancing, and Cinema

• Smoking:

  • Habitual for $80 \%$ of men and $41 \%$ of women by the 1930s.

  • Believed by some doctors to "steady the nerves" for women; linked to fitness/health in ads featuring tennis players.

  • Despite the Children's Act of 1908 (illegal to sell to those under $16$), the law was widely ignored.

• Dancing:

  • In 1925, London alone had $11,000$ night clubs.

  • High society (Prince of Wales, Duke of Kent) and commoners alike embraced dances like the Tango, Black Bottom, and Charleston (the latter was denounced by the Daily Mail in 1922 as "reminiscent of Negro orgies").

• Cinema:

  • By 1939, weekly attendance reached $23 \text{ million}$, predominantly women.

  • Shift from "bug huts" to glamorous palaces (Odeon, Astoria, Gaumont, Paramount) seating $1,000-2,000$ people.

  • Architecture often featured Art Deco or "Egyptian temple" motifs (influenced by the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb).

The Housing Revolution and Owner-Occupation

• There was a shift from private renting to owner-occupation and council housing.

• Owner-occupation rates rose from under $10 \%$ (pre-1914) to $35 \%$ by 1938.

• Building societies advanced $£140 \text{ million}$ in 1936, compared to just $£9 \text{ million}$ in 1910.

• Falling costs made homeownership accessible:

  • Land near London was cheap (Croydon at $£100$ an acre, Dorking at $£40$ in 1925).

  • A three-bedroom semi-detached house in south-east England cost $£450$ or less.

  • Repayment terms: $£25$ deposit and $14$ shillings per week over $25$ years.

• Politicians promoted a "property-owning democracy" as a means to promote stability, thrift, and a stake in the nation.