British Industrial Policy Concerning the Heavy Ordnance Industry, 1900–1917

Abstract

This thesis analyses the complex relationship between the arms
industry and the British Government from 1900–1917. How did the
British Civil Service convey strategic industrial policy in peacetime and
what was its effectiveness in wartime through ordnance contracts and
Westminster policy? The methodology follows a chronological analysis of
both Governmental and industry documentation to see both sides
holistically, through demand and supply, of a high–grade, non–commodity,
durable good: artillery tubes. This thesis will utilize previously secret and
unpublished records from both the Royal Navy and British Army
procurement programmes to analyse the underpinnings of peacetime
supply and wartime demand, institutional and personal relationships,
industrial capacity, the effects of wartime shock under the Admiralty and
War Office, and the creation and effectiveness of the Ministry of
Munitions under future Prime Minister David Lloyd George and others.

Date of Award	2016
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	King's College London
Supervisor	Brian Holden Reid (Supervisor)