Gold Coast in World War II

Accra, the capital of the Gold Coast, hosted Allied aircraft as they flew between the United States, Europe and the Pacific Ocean.

World War II changed the demographics of the Gold Coast, concentrating workers in a few large towns and cities.

The colonial government launched a program to deal with a housing shortage, by constructing inexpensive but sturdy local building material (an earthquake in 1939 had badly damaged infrastructure in many cities and towns).

As a result, the Colonial Development Fund was used to finance the West African Institute of Industries, Arts and Social Sciences, in 1943, under the direction of British official Herman Meyerowitz.

The construction of new buildings in Gold Coast cities also benefited the lumber industry, which was able to export four million cubic feet of timber in 1946.