Dark Clouds Over the Woollen Industry

The National Wool Museum developed a touring exhibition which focused on the fortunes of the woollen industry in Wales and the impact of a Welsh uniform for the new Welsh Army Corps, which was expected to recruit up to 50,000 men.

With a severe shortage of uniforms in the British Army in late 1914, it was decided to reinforce the national identity of the Welsh Army Corps by tendering for Welsh Grey homespun cloth, ‘Brethyn Llwyd’, from the woollen manufacturers of Wales, which would create a new uniform.

The woollen manufacturers of Wales were in desperate need of these contracts as the industry was in decline due to worker unrest and competition from the larger mills of northern England. But there were early supply problems and the Welsh cloth was sent to Bristol for finishing and then returned to Cardiff, which added to the cost and time to make a complete uniform, especially when compared to cheaper khaki. Due to the additional expense, and initial lack of capacity to supply sufficient quantities, the contracts for the Welsh woollen manufacturers were much smaller than expected, totalling only 8,440 uniforms, despite the Welsh mill owners investing in new equipment in anticipation of larger orders. This exhibition explored the desperation of the woollen mills for contracts during the war to keep the mills open, and the use of Welsh national identity for recruitment.

Left: Soldiers including David Emlyn Jones, a weaver at Ogof Mill Cwmpengraig who was killed during the First World War. © Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales