Brass

During the war there were huge drives to collect aluminium for the use in manufacturing aircraft, and many other materials too for various war usage.

However, did the powers that be ask people to collect brass in any country? a HUGE amount of brass must have been expended during the two world wars, especially WWII with aircraft spraying spent shells everywhere they went so they were not reused. Were there drives to collect brass in places like Britain or Europe for recycling?

Also, where did Britain get its raw materials for brass? It is made from copper and zinc. Did the UK have sufficiant resources in these metals to keep the war going, or did they have to ship in the materials as they did with much other stuff?

You hear of the munitions workers who turned brass into shells and rounds, but there must have been a huge industry behind them mining and smelting, something never seemingly mentioned. I’ve never heard of any veterans or historic accounts of metal miners for the war effort, only coal (the Bevan boys).