This thesis is principally concerned with the period between the two Education Acts of 1918 and 1944 and as such, builds on and contributes to the history of education in Wales. Although a number of studies1 have examined aspects of Welsh education there has not been a strong focus on its development during the interwar years. This particular period is generally regarded as one ”untouched by significant research.”2 In spite of this neglect, it was an extremely interesting period, and one when the service was faced with grave difficulties: austerity during the depression years, and severe disruption caused by evacuation during the Second World War. The period culminates with the serious negotiations which preluded the Education Act 1944, which was the only major piece of social legislation to be pass onto the statute books during the war years.3 The study is set against overarching national education legislation and considers how this affected implementation in south and south west Wales. The research differs from previous studies in that it focuses on a neglected period in the history of education in Wales. It identifies and documents the way in which two major sources of influences: politics and religion shaped the society which predisposed education provision in south and south west Wales to be modified in specific ways. It draws strongly on the work of Welsh historians to assess the effect of non-conformity in Wales and how society became radicalised after the publication of the Blue Books in 1847. It explores the part that the non-provided sector had in delaying education change and also identifies the considerable differences that developed between education in England and Wales, caused partly by the Welsh Intermediate Education Act of 1889 and partly by the attitudes and influences of Welsh politicians at all levels.