If some had hoped that the war would not last for long, they were to be disillusioned by the inconclusive Battle of Ypres in November, which cost many British lives. By the end of August food prices had risen 10 per cent, and even in October the drain on manpower and dislocations in trade and industry as a consequence of the war were beginning to have an effect. This was compounded by the lack of coordination between the government departments and the failure to plan recruitment to avoid key men leaving their posts to serve their country. In Askwith's own words, ‘In the great armament departments, lack of labour and shortage of production went hand in hand … At the same time the competing claims of the Admiralty and War Departments bewildered employers’.

Apart from mining and transport, the other great industries that were absolutely essential to the successful conduct of the war for Britain, as a maritime country which depended largely on its control of the seas for its strength, were the shipbuilding and engineering trades. Soon after the commencement of the war, the shortage of manpower caused by the army's successful recruitment activities and the demands of the government for more ships led to a critical shortage of labour in engineering. The great shipbuilding firms could not meet the increased productivity required.