‘Scotland’s fighting fields’: the mobilisation of workers in rural Scotland during the Second World War
Abstract As the Battle of the Atlantic threatened Britain’s importation of food and forestry supplies, authorities intensified plans to rapidly increase domestic production. In Scotland, this was a herculean task in rural communities decimated by land clearances, economic depression, and population...
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2022
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0956793322000024 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0956793322000024 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0956793322000024 2024-03-03T08:46:44+00:00 ‘Scotland’s fighting fields’: the mobilisation of workers in rural Scotland during the Second World War Moffat, Michelle 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0956793322000024 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0956793322000024 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Rural History volume 33, issue 2, page 231-249 ISSN 0956-7933 1474-0656 Urban Studies Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) History Geography, Planning and Development journal-article 2022 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956793322000024 2024-02-08T08:44:04Z Abstract As the Battle of the Atlantic threatened Britain’s importation of food and forestry supplies, authorities intensified plans to rapidly increase domestic production. In Scotland, this was a herculean task in rural communities decimated by land clearances, economic depression, and population decline. Against the odds, the mobilisation of a range of workers enabled Scottish agriculture and forestry to make impressive gains in production, and significantly impacted Scotland’s ability to meet wartime production targets. This article examines the contributions of four diverse groups of labourers that toiled in Scottish fields and forests: compelled labourers, including conscientious objectors and prisoners of war; adult and child volunteers; women; and foreign lumberjacks from Canada, Newfoundland, and British Honduras. This original research supplements our knowledge of the British rural workforce during the Second World War, and raises the issue of wartime migration and its effects on rural communities. Article in Journal/Newspaper Newfoundland Cambridge University Press Canada Rural History 1 19 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Urban Studies Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) History Geography, Planning and Development |
spellingShingle |
Urban Studies Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) History Geography, Planning and Development Moffat, Michelle ‘Scotland’s fighting fields’: the mobilisation of workers in rural Scotland during the Second World War |
topic_facet |
Urban Studies Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) History Geography, Planning and Development |
description |
Abstract As the Battle of the Atlantic threatened Britain’s importation of food and forestry supplies, authorities intensified plans to rapidly increase domestic production. In Scotland, this was a herculean task in rural communities decimated by land clearances, economic depression, and population decline. Against the odds, the mobilisation of a range of workers enabled Scottish agriculture and forestry to make impressive gains in production, and significantly impacted Scotland’s ability to meet wartime production targets. This article examines the contributions of four diverse groups of labourers that toiled in Scottish fields and forests: compelled labourers, including conscientious objectors and prisoners of war; adult and child volunteers; women; and foreign lumberjacks from Canada, Newfoundland, and British Honduras. This original research supplements our knowledge of the British rural workforce during the Second World War, and raises the issue of wartime migration and its effects on rural communities. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Moffat, Michelle |
author_facet |
Moffat, Michelle |
author_sort |
Moffat, Michelle |
title |
‘Scotland’s fighting fields’: the mobilisation of workers in rural Scotland during the Second World War |
title_short |
‘Scotland’s fighting fields’: the mobilisation of workers in rural Scotland during the Second World War |
title_full |
‘Scotland’s fighting fields’: the mobilisation of workers in rural Scotland during the Second World War |
title_fullStr |
‘Scotland’s fighting fields’: the mobilisation of workers in rural Scotland during the Second World War |
title_full_unstemmed |
‘Scotland’s fighting fields’: the mobilisation of workers in rural Scotland during the Second World War |
title_sort |
‘scotland’s fighting fields’: the mobilisation of workers in rural scotland during the second world war |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0956793322000024 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0956793322000024 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Newfoundland |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland |
op_source |
Rural History volume 33, issue 2, page 231-249 ISSN 0956-7933 1474-0656 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956793322000024 |
container_title |
Rural History |
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1 |
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19 |
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1792502777109282816 |