Britain during the First World War: The Homefront
Recruitment
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Recruitment offices were set up all over the UK
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Politicians toured the country making patriotic speeches
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Complete orchestras, football teams, bus depots joined together in
‘Pals Battalions’
Women’s organisations tried to boost recruitment - The Mother’s Union
urged its members to get their sons to join up
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White feathers were given to men as a sign of their “cowardice”
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The result was a huge success - Total of 500,000 men signed up in the
first month and by March 1916 2.5 million men had volunteered to join
Kitchener’s army
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By the end of 1915 recruitment had fallen.
Why did men join up? Because they were promised adventure in France, paid job
(good money), thought the war would be won quickly and easily, felt duty, responsibility
for their country, posters encouraged hatred of the enemy and their actions and
because posters and propaganda made them feel guilty.
Conscription
• In January 1916 conscription was introduced- all single men aged 18-40 had to sign up for the army. This
meant that one in three men were conscripted into the army. It was extended to include married men in
April 1916.
Why was conscription introduced? As the war continued the number of casualties grew and
recruits/volunteers were falling. Conscription was seen as fair because it meant that all sections of society
would be called up to do their duty.
Conscientious objectors opposed the war for political or religious reasons - They refused to fight, and
were imprisoned – or executed – for doing so. Others helped the war effort, but not through military
action, e.g. Field hospitals or Stretcher bearers.
Few people had sympathy for conscientious objectors. Their nickname ‘conchies’ was used mockingly and
the authorities took a dim view of them. People were disgusted that they were not out fighting for their
country like all the other young men. People often saw them as cowards.
Defence of the Realm Act (DORA)
• Introduced in 1914 - It gave the government a huge range of unprecedented power to control many
aspects of people’s daily lives, land and production. The priority was to keep industrial production high, but
other things were affected too
What did DORA involve?
Licensing
Hours
Dilute Beer
Censorship
DORA
British
Rationing
Summer
Time
Control of
Mines and
Railways
What happened under DORA?
Licensing Hours
Pubs could only open for 2 hours at lunchtime and 3 hours in the evening. This made sure the workforce was awake and sober
for factory work
Censorship
DORA gave the government the right to control the newspapers and censor all the information that the public received.
Newspapers and radio broadcasts were censored. The government could control what people heard about the war. This made
sure the public continued to support the war effort by only hearing good things.
Rationing
In April 1917, German U-Boats were sinking one in every four British merchant ships. Britain was running out of food. In 1917
voluntary rationing began, led by the royal family. Under DORA the government was able to take control of land. In Feb 1917
they set up the Women’s Land Army to recruit women as farm workers. Food shortages were becoming desperate and prices
were double what they were in 1914 and poor people could not even afford the basics such as bread. Richer people were
hoarding food and shops were closing early because they had run out.
In 1917 they raised wages and introduced voluntary rationing. Then in November 1917
the government introduced controls for the price of bread, ‘the nine penny loaf’ and
encouraged people to economical with bread and flour. But these measures were
ineffective in dealing with the shortages
In January 1918 the government introduced compulsory rationing of sugar,
butter, meat and beer. Every person had a book of coupons when rationed
food was bought and stiff penalties for anyone caught trying to fiddle the
system. Rationing was welcomed as a fairer way to deal with the shortages.
Food was rationed. The government took over land and used it for farm production.
This ensured there was enough food to feed the public and the army, despite
German U-Boat attacks
Diluting Beer
Beer was diluted. The government allowed publicans to make beer weaker. This ensured the workforce didn’t drink so much as
to make them drunk or hung-over while at work
Summertime
British Summer Time was introduced. The government moved the clocks forward by an hour in the summer.
This ensured factories had maximum daylight, meaning they could operate later
Control of Mines and Railways
Mines and railways were taken over by the government. The government had ultimate control over them. This meant production
of coal, and the movement of trains, would be prioritised for the war effort.
Propaganda & Censorship
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All news was tightly controlled (censorship)- Reports aimed to maintain morale, encourage civilians to
support the war effort and create hatred and suspicion of the enemy
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Newspapers, radio broadcasts, films and even board games were used
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The film, The Battle of the Somme, was filmed in 1916 was considered
one of the biggest propaganda triumphs of the war. The Battle was
a disaster for the British Army and they incurred huge casualties- 20,000
on the first day. But the film was a success because people at home felt they
could see how their efforts were helping the troops. Although it showed
some casualties, it also showed advancing troops, helping morale.
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However it is hard to measure how effective propaganda was, BUT Support for the war was
reasonably constant, only really changed with the enormous causalities at the Battle of the Somme in
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1916, People read lots of newspapers, and watched the films, so they were being exposed to
propaganda constantly
Posters- There were 2 and 5 million posters produced in the first year of the war. They played to
emotions, ignored descriptions of the reality, mainly about recruitment and generating support. As the
war progressed they were about keeping up people’s spirits and the heroism of British soldiers
Newspapers- The role of the press and the newspapers was crucial because
they were the people’s main source of information. At first there was no bad news
reported in the papers and no casualty lists were produced until May 1915.
The problem with such reports was that soldiers knew this was far from
the reality and a gulf widened between soldiers and the public who did
not understand their terrible experiences.
Women in WW1
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At first women were expected to play a limited role in the war- to encourage men to join up
But by the Summer of 1915 industry was short of workers- Women were needed.
Munitions crisis
In 1915 the shortage of labour came to a head with the munitions crisis- women would be needed to work in
the factories and end the crisis. At the time Lloyd George was appointed Munitions Minister and
improved the situation getting women into work to produce enough ammunition and guns for the soldiers as
well as setting up government munitions factories. He also ensure that men were in the jobs where they
were needed most.
Women’s war work
In 1914, 5 million women were at work- this rose to 6 million at the end of the war
What jobs did women do? Women worked in industry- munitions factories, banking
and commerce, in armed forces as secretaries, telephonists etc. 16,000 women joined
the Land Army. Women also worked as nurses, black smiths, mechanics, transport
system of trams and trains and even in engineering- anywhere they were needed. By
1918, 800,000 women worked in m munitions factories (nicknamed canaries because
the chemicals used turned their skin yellow) and 260,000 found jobs in the armed
services such as in the WAAC (Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps)
Women were not always accepted and faced a lot of male prejudice- male trade unions did not women doing
the same jobs as men because they were cheaper- when the men returned they would not have any jobsthe solution= dilution- two women to do one man’s job- this meant men’s jobs would be safe. Many men
resented women doing the same jobs and having the same skills.
In 1918 the Representation of the People’s Act (RPA) was passed- giving all men
over the age of 21 and women over the age of 30 the vote who were house-holders
or married to house-holders
Why had women been given the vote?
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Lloyd George as Prime Minister- supported Votes for Women (unlike Asquith)
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WSPU and NUWSS especially the Pankhursts had given up militancy and supported the
government. The Pankhurst’s had done important work in recruiting women into work by organising
the right to serve march in 1915.
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Women’s war work- women had worked hard and served their
country showing that they were rational and capable.
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Coalition government- this meant that all parties worked together
and were included so now party benefited from giving women the vote.