My PhD research carried out under the supervision of Dr Malcolm Dick explores how providers in Birmingham responded to the need for increased childcare provision for working mothers during the Second World War. Such was the level of provision in Birmingham, it was only exceeded by London in the period. In order to provide a sufficient workforce during the Second World War mothers of young children were encouraged into the workplace. Their young children required care and this research intends to focus its attention on how this service was developed in the city. Creating Birmingham’s pre-school war-time childcare was not a simple process but reflected a complex interplay of characters, organisations and forces. Broadly my research interests are in Birmingham manufacturing and its workforce during the Second World War.