The first comprehensive survey of Lord Woolton's wartime role, based on selections from Diaries and Letters 1940-1945, covering his time as Minister of Food (1940-1943) and less familiarly, as Minister of Reconstruction (1943-1945).

Acknowledgements Abbreviations Biographical Glossary Introduction Overview Woolton, the Man The Ministry of Food The Ministry of Reconstruction THE DIARIES AND LETTERS OF LORD WOOLTON, 1940-1945 Minister of Food, 1940 Minister of Food, 1941 Minister of Food, 1942 Minister of Food, 1943 Minister of Reconstruction, 1943-1945 Afterword Bibliography Index

Thematic organisation of selections from Woolton's wartime diaries and letters, exploring the political problems and decisions made on food rationing, post-war reconstruction and Woolton's own insights into these Use of contemporary newspaper coverage, both national and local, of the decisions by the Ministry of Food and Ministry of Reconstruction contextualises the popular impact of, and popular reaction to, rationing and reconstruction plans Showcases a wartime figure who has in prior academic work tended to be relegated to the sidelines, enabling an understanding of the importance of the roles undertaken by Woolton, and a better appreciation of his wartime contribution Provides a substantial Introduction, divided into four chapters, including one on the Ministry of Food and one on the Ministry of Reconstruction. Provides new information on Churchill as a wartime leader, enabling a wider understanding of how Churchill operated as prime minister and national leader

Michael Kandiah is a Lecturer and Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Economy, King's College London, and Director of the Oral History Programme, which seeks to capture the testimony of key individuals involved in significant events in recent British history. The organiser of many important witness seminars, he is a leading contemporary historian. He is also an expert on modern monarchy, especially state visits. This book is based on his PhD research on Woolton, examining both his wartime role and his post-war years as Chairman of the Conservative Party. Judith Rowbotham is a Visiting Professor in the School of Law, Plymouth University, and an established interdisciplinary scholar working particularly in the fields of law and history. Her long-standing research interests in socio-political and cultural history, alongside constitutional history and law, accompanies her other scholarly research focus, which is on crime and offending. Her research is underpinned by her expertise in use of printed primary sources, including newspapers, periodicals and novels. She has regularly collaborated with Michael Kandiah on his Witness Seminar projects, as well as in his work on modern monarchy. One of the editors of the Routledge SOLON series, her numerous publications also include Crime News in Modern Britain, 1820-2010 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, with Kim Stevenson and Samantha Pegg).

Thematic organisation of selections from Woolton's wartime diaries and letters, exploring the political problems and decisions made on food rationing, post-war reconstruction and Woolton's own insights into these Use of contemporary newspaper coverage, both national and local, of the decisions by the Ministry of Food and Ministry of Reconstruction contextualises the popular impact of, and popular reaction to, rationing and reconstruction plans Showcases a wartime figure who has in prior academic work tended to be relegated to the sidelines, enabling an understanding of the importance of the roles undertaken by Woolton, and a better appreciation of his wartime contribution Provides a substantial Introduction, divided into four chapters, including one on the Ministry of Food and one on the Ministry of Reconstruction. Provides new information on Churchill as a wartime leader, enabling a wider understanding of how Churchill operated as prime minister and national leader