Scotland & the Great War: Industry
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Shipbuilding •
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After
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100,000 workers (14%) of the male working population of Scotland depended on Industry for their weekly wage.
Main shipyards on the Clyde were Fairfield’s, Beardmore and John Brown – these were taken under control by the R.N (Royal Navy) Beardmore was saved from closure by the pre war naval race. Introduction of automatic machinery and assembly line production increased production but threatened jobs.
International trade slumped and so did the shipbuilding industry. Orders dried up and unemployment rose.
Fishing
Jute
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1900 were seen as the glory days of the Scottish fishing industry.
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The industry faced difficulties before the war.
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1913 – 10,000 Scottish Herring boats caught 25% of the UK total.
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Employed thousands of people in Dundee (25% of male workers and 67% of female workers).
Peak of the Herring boom in 1907 (21/2 million barrels of fish were exported.
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Development of Jute Industry in Calcutta.
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Main markets were Germany, Eastern Europe and Russia. September 1914, Scotland’s east coast ports are taken over by the Admiralty.
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Demand for Jute soared i.e. need for sandbags.
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N. Sea is closed to fishing – restrictions are relaxed as war progressed.
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War demand topped 6m sack in one month.
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R.N chartered many vessels as coastal patrol/minesweepers.
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Profits rocketed.
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War years provided a temporary boom.
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The Jute industry was also protected by a Government ban on Jute being processed in Calcutta. Industry went into a rapid decline.
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Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve kept fishermen fishing until their skills were needed. (This avoided the men being swallowed up in the rush to volunteer) Industry did recover but the war had created problems such as: fuel cost rises, old export markets were gone, compensation for boats used during the war was seldom enough to repair them.
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Factories in Dundee needed new investment/repair and with Calcutta Jute back on the market after the ban– Jute prices fell.