World War 1 on the Home Front

• Britain went to war in August 1919

• Women were still no nearer to gaining vote

• The suffrage movement threw itself behind war effort

• Suffragists and Suffragettes suspended campains for the vote

• Women did NOT fight in the trenches
• British army copied French and set up hospitals near the front line
• These wered manned by mainly female nurses.
• Women joined voluntary organisation such as the Salvation Army to cook for soilders
• The Women's Auxilary Army Corps (WAAC) were formed in 1918

• These worked on the western front as drivers, secretaries and officials.

• Female members of Active Service League encouraged men to enlist

• The Mother's Union criticised mothers who stopped there sons joining up.

• Suffragists worked to persuade men to join up

• The Order of the White Feather identified male cowards

• Women employed into typically 'male' jobs- 500,000 by the end of the war
• Government took on over 200,000 women (mainly as clerks)
• There was resistance to women in industry from trade unions fearing male would earn less and have reduction in hours
• However by 1918 over 800,000 women in engineering
• 260,000 women joined the Women's Land Army to produce maximum food.
• Women kept football teams going!
• 1.6 million also took jobs as bus conductors, road layers, grave diggers etc.

• Women worked in munitions factories (places where weapons and amunition were made)

• Backed by Mrs Pankhurst

• Most factories were private and government-owned factories

• Was dangerous work but chance of explosions or health effects of dangerous chemicals

• 1914- Britain had small army- need volunteers for British Expeditionary Force (BEF)
• Government began recruitment campain- posters/films/leaflets/speeches
• Very successful- 2.5 million men joined up between Aug 1914 & March 1916
• 750,000 men in first few weeks alone
• Groups of friends joined as a 'Pals Battalion'
• In late 1915- volunteer numbers reduced due to number of casualties- less willing

• May 1916- Conscription (compulsory military service) was introduced under Military Services Act

• All men 18-41 were conscripted

• Unless they were in 'reversed occupations' (eg .munitions or mining)

• Conscientious Objectors- often known as conchies

• Someone who refuses to join the army or fight for their country

• Reasons- political- socialists thought capitalists were ganging up on working class
• religious- saw fighting as wrong

• Conchies had to go to military tribunal to check they weren't cowards
• If you passed you worked in medical or support services (stretcher bearer)
• If you failed you went to prison or to fight
• 1,500 conchies were imprisoned

• Defence of the Realm Act (DORA)- passed in 1914
• Gave Government powers to control daily life in UK
• Allowed Censorship
• Gov took control of coal industry- no energy wasted and gov fixed profits
• Similar in railways and shipping
• Early 1915- Munitions Crisis- shortage of shells, bullets etc. on Western Front
• David Lloyd George became Minister of Munitions
• He set up state-run factories- 20,000 by end of war
• Resisted by trade unions- 900,000 striked against proposals

• Before 1916- no shortages by food prices up by 60%
• Under DORA Gov took control of land for farm production after German U-boats started attacking supplies
• Gov increased production- 3 million extra acres by 1918
• Voluntary rationing schemes in 1916-17 did not work
• Gov introduced complusory rationing in 1918
• Rationed- sugar, meat, butter, jam & marg
• People supported rationing as it kept prices down
• Black market dealers suffered servere penalties

• Civilian casualties very light compared to military casualties

• December 1914- German warships shelled towns in north-east England

• January 1915- giant Zeppelin airships bombed London, total of 57 raids

• May 1917- German Gotha bombers raided 27 British towns

• Propaganda- spread of important information, often by the government. Usually has one side message
• Censorship- preventing people from finding things out (eg. bad news)

Aims of Propaganda and Censorship

• keep up morale
• avoid panic & win the war
• keeping people helping war effort
• prevent gov from looking imcompetent
• end anti-government feelings

• Newspapers- circulation of patriotic newspapers (eg. Daily Express) increased
• Newspaper editors were keenest supporters of war effort
• Authors such as HG Wells, Thomas Hardy & Rudyard Kipling produced patriotic materials for free
• Children- books, toys and games were created to encourage children to be patriotic
• Films were produced such  as Battle of the Somme (seen by some 20 million) and For the Empire
• Letters from soldiers were censored
• Hard to judge success however most British people supported war effort

• 1915- Suffragettes and Suffragists differences disappeared, they focused on war effort
• 1916-  All men given vote in changes to Representation of the People Act, women argued they should have the vote aswell.
• - David Lloyd George (supporter of Female Suffrage) became PM
• 1917/8- Act to give some women vote approved by the Commons in 1917 and Lords in Jan 1918
• Women voted in their first general election in December 1918

In the 1918 general election-

• All men over 21 could vote
• Women over the age of 30 could vote
• Women over 21 who were householders or married to householders could vote

All women could vote in 1928!

• War gave MPs excuse to end oppostion to female suffrage
• Women now took part in defence of country
• Voting had to be reformed anyway as soldiers has lost right to vote because they were abroad
• Men were impressed by women during the war
• Government did not want suffrage movement to begin again after war
• HOWEVER trade unions still did not favour work
• Some women did not support war effort, seen as hinderence

• Germany signed armistice at 11am on 11th November 1918
• Feeling toward Germany was negative- german owned shops attacked
• German Shepards became known as Alsations
• Royal Family changed name to Windsor from Saxe-Coburg Gtoha
• D L-G reflected opinion-
• "We shall squeeze the German lemon until the pips squeak"