Page "South Wales Valleys" Paragraph 5

The coal mining industry of the South Wales Valleys was artificially buoyed throughout the war years, though there were expectations of a return to the pre-1939 industrial collapse after the end of the Second World War.

There was a sense of salvation when the government announced the nationalisation of the British Coalmines in 1947 ; but the following decades saw a continual reduction in the output from the Welsh mines.

The decline in the mining of coal after World War II was a country wide issue, but South Wales and Rhondda were affected to a higher degree than other areas of Britain.

Oil had superseded coal as the fuel of choice in many industries and there was political pressure influencing the supply of oil.

Of the few industries that were still reliant on coal, the demand was for quality coals, especially coking coal which was required by the steel industry.

Fifty percent of Glamorgan coal was now supplied to steelworks, with the second biggest market being domestic heating, which the ' smokeless ' coal of the South Wales coalfield became once again fashionable after the publication of the Clean Air Act.

These two markets now controlled the fate of the mines in South Wales, and as demand fell from both sectors the knock-on effect on the mining industry was further contraction.

In addition exports to other areas of Europe, traditionally France, Italy and the Low Countries, experienced a massive decline ; from 33 per cent at the turn of the century to roughly 5 per cent by 1980.