A Game Sustained

163 Many employers also saw the merits of the game. The long conflict hadplacedconsiderabledemands onBritish industry, and various government inquiries at the time highlighted the health and welfare benefits of recreational facilities. The 1917 Russian Revolution and the industrial unrest at home in 1919 also gave new urgency to what has been described as ‘welfare capitalism’ – sports and recreation facilities for employees – which had first been seen in some places in the 19th century. Consequently, factory sport and leisure acquired a new significance. After the war the Home Office gave industrial welfare arrangements statutory backing, and many firms introduced a welfare department to promote sports clubs. In Sheffield there were many such examples, and in June 1920, there were 32 clubs linked to the Sheffield and District Works’ Sports Association (established in 1919), although only eleven works had recreation grounds, many of very variable quality. Some firms embraced these developments with enthusiasm. For example, Bedford’s Welfare and Sports Club, a member of the Association, set up a welfare section with cricket as one of several branches of sport available, and there was also ‘tremendous keenness’ at Sheffield-Simplex Limited, where four sports sections were established for cricket, tennis, swimming and golf. The cricket section competed in the Hallamshire League. Public sector employers also revived their sports clubs. Sheffield police cricket got back under way in 1920, helped by the number of new recruits who signed up after the Armistice. In the post office in Sheffield, cricket restarted, having been one of the features of the social life of staff before the war. Employees of the Sheffield Tramway Department also benefited from an athletic and social club which provided cricket, bowls, football and tennis, with weekly employee contributions taken from wages. Such developments were again a sign that cricket was being shaped by the economic and social forces that were changing post-war Britain. It was noted that similar ideas had been suggested before the war, but there had been no support. The war had changed everything. Renewed joy: 1920