The Wall Street Crash
Stock exchanges across the world collapse, taking economies with them. By 1930, 2 million men in Britain are registered unemployed. The Cocoa Works Magazine of December that year includes a letter from Seebohm Rowntree, in which he makes clear he understands how workers are being affected: “I know how much there is to discourage..we face a 10th winter of unemployment..” Poor market conditions mean that even some Rowntrees’ staff are put on short-time working.