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Coal

Coal miners about to begin a shift underground in the Second World War.

Coal miners about to begin a shift underground in the Second World War.
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At the end of the First World War, the British coal industry was characterised by decentralisation, overcapacity and poor industrial relations. The industry experienced extensive strikes, rationalisation, war and nationalisation.

Related documents

Interwar legislation

Cabinet Memorandum. The Coal Crisis. Memorandum by the Lord Privy Seal. 4 August 1925 (PDF, 0.542MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Report of the Coal Commission. Memorandum by the Secretary for Mines. 10 March 1926 (PDF, 2.457MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Report of the Coal Commission. The Proposed Nationalisation of Royalties. Memorandum by the Secretary for Mines. 10 March 1926 (PDF, 2.889MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Report of the Royal Commission on the Coal Industry (1925). March 1926 (PDF, 52.619MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Report of the Coal Commission. Memorandum by the Secretary for Mines. 22 June 1926 (PDF, 1.238MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Coal Dispute. 29 June 1926 (PDF, 2.458MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Mining Industry Bill. June 1926 (PDF, 3.828MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Co-operative Selling in the Coal Industry. Memorandum by the President of the Board of Trade. 14 January 1927 (PDF, 12.746MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Report on Coal Amalgamations. Note by the President of the Board of Trade. 1 November 1928 (PDF, 2.485MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Government Assistance to Rationalisation. Note by the President of the Board of Trade. 24 February 1929 (PDF, 3.226MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Coal Situation. Note by the President of the Board of Trade. 23 March 1931 (PDF, 2.193MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Coal Mines Bill, 1931. July 1931 (PDF, 1.724MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Coal Mines Reorganisation Commission. (Part II of the Coal Mines Act, 1930). Note by the President of the Board of Trade. 13 February 1936 (PDF, 1.445MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Extension of Part I of the Coal Mines Act, 1930. Memorandum by the President of the Board of Trade. 6 April 1936 (PDF, 0.335MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Committee on the Organisation of the Coal-Mining Industry. The Coal Mines Bill, 1936. Report. 26 May 1936 (PDF, 0.760MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Committee on the Organisation of the Coal-Mining Industry. Fourth Report. 3 May 1937 (PDF, 19.589MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Committee on the Organisation of the Coal-Mining Industry. Coal Bill. Note by the President of the Board of Trade. 5 November 1937 (PDF, 22.528MB)

War and nationalisation

Cabinet Memorandum. Coal. Note by the President of the Board of Trade. 1 June 1942 (PDF, 1.812MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Position in Mining Industry. 10 March 1944 (PDF, 0.678MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 7. Industrial Unrest. 3 April 1944 (PDF, 1.287MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Coal. Report by the Committee on the Organisation of the Coal Industry. 11 February 1944 (PDF, 2.714MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Future of British Coal Mining. Memorandum by the Minister of Fuel and Power. 16 May 1945 (PDF, 0.519MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 6. Coal. 13 December 1945 (PDF, 1.972MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Bill for the Nationalisation of Coalmining Industry. Memorandum by the Minister of Fuel and Power. 8 December 1945 (PDF, 8.295MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Bill for the Nationalisation of the Coalmining Industry. Supplementary Memorandum by the Minister of Fuel and Power. December 1945 (PDF, 0.730MB)

Coal shortage

Cabinet Conclusions. Coal and Electricity. 7 January 1947 (PDF, 1.404MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Coal. 7 February 1947 (PDF, 1.301MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Coal and Electricity. Memorandum by the Minister of Fuel and Power. 3 January 1947 (PDF, 0.860MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Dislocation of Coal Supplies through Transport Difficulties. Memorandum by the Minister of Fuel and Power. 5 February 1947 (PDF, 0.331MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Coal: Allocations to Industry. Note by the Secretary of the Cabinet. 28 April 1947 (PDF, 1.054MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Coal Supplies in the Winter 1950/51. Note by the Secretary of the Cabinet. 3 November 1950 (PDF, 0.847MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Coal Supplies in the Winter 1950/51. Note by the Secretary of the Cabinet. 3 November 1950 (PDF, 0.826MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Coal Emergency Measures. Memorandum by the Minister of Fuel and Power. 5 December 1950 (PDF, 0.761MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Coal Investment. Memorandum by the Minister of Fuel and Power. 24 March 1956 (PDF, 0.559MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Open-cast Mining. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 28 July 1956 (PDF, 0.892MB)

Colliery closure

Cabinet Memorandum. Fuel Policy and Problems. Memorandum by the Minister of Fuel and Power. 19 December 1958 (PDF, 0.718MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 9. Coal. 5 July 1962 (PDF, 1.618MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Reappraisal of the Coal Industry. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 3 July 1962 (PDF, 2.547MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Scottish Coal Industry. Note by the President of the Board of Trade. 4 July 1962 (PDF, 0.499MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 5. Coal Industry: Financial Position. 1 July 1965 (PDF, 2.727MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Financial Position of the Coal Industry. Memorandum by the First Secretary of State and the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. 29 June 1965 (PDF, 0.882MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Financial Position of the Coal Industry. Memorandum by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury. 30 June 1965 (PDF, 0.405MB)

Cabinet Conclusions. Coal Policy. 5 December 1972 (PDF, 1.448MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 4. Coal Policy. 7 December 1972 (PDF, 2.267MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Coal Policy. Note by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. 28 November 1972 (PDF, 0.736MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Coal Policy: Revised Draft Statement. Note by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. 6 December 1972 (PDF, 0.494MB)

Search using Sankey Commission Coal Mines Reorganisation Commission

Further reading

Buxton, K.N., The Economic Development of the British Coal Industry (London: Batsford, 1978)

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