Modern Wales

A stirring hymn to Wales' postwar industrial renewal

The dragon rises in this stirring hymn to Wales' industrial renewal. From its pastoral roots through industrial expansion in coal, iron and steel to contemporary advancements in atomic energy, Wales' industrial achievements become a symbol for the success of Britain. This is one of hundreds of films sponsored by the Central Office of Information to promote Britain overseas and encourage international trade in the postwar era.

The interwar years saw a sharp decline in Wales' economy and by the end of WWII its once thriving export trade was moribund. But as the film shows, by broadening its base to incorporate lighter industries - starting with the formation of the Treforest Industrial Estate near Pontypridd, and the expansion into petrochemicals at Milford Haven - the people of Wales, "at once practical and imaginative, poetic and hard-headed", can enjoy prosperity anew.