A Diversion from the New Leisure: Greyhound Racing, Working-Class Culture, and the Politics of Unemployment in Inter-war South Wales

This article examines the development of greyhound racing in inter-war South Wales and its relationship to the prevailing economic conditions of the coalfield, regional political culture and popular aspiration. Making use of recently recovered archival sources, company records and newspapers, it builds upon existing historical work and argues that greyhound racing
gained popularity not only for its commercial novelty and the release it provided from day-to-day hardship but also because it created new jobs and brought new investment vital to economic recovery.