WWI was Britain 's first total war - it affected all people in one way or another. It was also the first time British civilians were killed by enemy action (about 1500 civilians were killed from air raids by German Zeppelins...).
As soon as the war broke out Britain started a massive recruitment campaign. Their regular army, the BEF (British Expedionary Force), was small and it was absolutely necessary with many more recruits;
Recruitment offices were put up in every town
Speeches were made by government ministers
Leaflets, posters and other propaganda material was widely spread
Anti-German propaganda was also spread (the Press published stories of German atrocities - babies butchered in Belgium , nurses murdered, German factories making soap out of boiled corpses, etc...)
The campaign was successful!
Half a million men had signed up the first month
By 1916 over two million men had enlisted
In January 1916 Britain introduced CONSCRIPTION - all single men between 18 and 40 had to register for active service (= First Military Service Bill). Why?
The number of volunteers was falling
The demands for more troops was increasing
There was an uneven distribution from different work groups which caused problems within agriculture and some industries (example; coalminers. Several volunteers had to be sent back home).
There was an unfair distribution. Not all groups took an equal responsibility - some groups avoided the war.
In May 1916 came the Second Military Service Bill. This one included all married men as well.
Some men refused to take part in the war - they were called "Conscientious Objectors" - "Conchies”. Some objected due to religious reasons, other political, etc... They had to appear in front of a TRIBUNAL to prove that they had a genuine reason for objecting the war. The TRIBUNAL then decided what should be done.
Some were sent to prison
a few were sentenced to death
other went to the front and worked in field hospitals or as stretcher bearers
Since the Conchies were usually poorly treated very few people refused to fight. About 16 000 men were Conchies out of a possible 8 million. This included 50 MP's... (Members of Parliament...)
When the war started in 1914 DORA was introduced (DORA = Defence Of the Realm Act). DORA gave the government special powers such as the right to take over industries or lands which were needed for the war effort, or to censor newspapers. The first thing the government did was taking control of the coal industries.
In 1915 Britain faced a MUNITION CRISIS. The stalemate on the Western Front meant a huge demand for shells, bullets and armaments. The resources were inadequate. To be able to deal with this crisis a COALITION GOVERNMENT was formed. Lloyd George was made MINISTER OF MUNITIONS. He introduced several different measures to "Deliver the goods";
He tried to force skilled workers to stay in key industries (instead of accepting the best pay)
He also brought women into the workforce
The trades unions protested against both these measures. Since they saw some industrialists make huge war profits they wondered why workers couldn't do so as well. Putting women in the work force could mean less pay - the trade unions made the government promise to not lower the wages and also that the women would not be kept on when men returned after the war... Lloyd George accepted these terms. To be able to employ more women and do something about the munitions crisis the government also opened their own munitions factories.
Food Crisis 1917 - due to the unrestricted submarine warfare. German submarines sunk every 4th British Merchant ship. The effect of this was; - Bread prices went up - but not the wages. Richer people hoarded supplies. Poorer people could not afford the basics which led to strikes and political unrest. The Government reacted;
The government raised the wages for industrial workers
Voluntary rationing (after 1918 rationing of sugar, butter, meat and beer. This increased the populations’ health...)
Fixed price on bread (nine penny loaf)
Posters and Recipe books with the use of less flour
Women’s Land Army – Another way to make sure that Great Britain was fed was to use DORA to take over land and turn it over to farm production. The government did that and then they set up Women’s Land Army to recruit women as farm workers.
Propaganda - DORA - took control of the newspapers and other media. The propaganda was used:
To keep up morale
To encourage people to support the war effort
To create hatred and suspicion of the enemy
Britain was flooded with good news about the war; reports of British heroism, reports on German atrocities, patriotic films... No press journalist or/and photographer were allowed to go with the troops to France and Belgium. No descriptions of the terrible conditions in the trenches were allowed. No photos of dead British soldiers were allowed. All news was filtered through the governments press department - there it was heavily censored. After 1916 the nature of the propaganda changed (especially after the Battle of Somme). The government made a film about the Battle of Somme - it was mostly shot behind the lines with staged attacks but it also included some footage of the battle itself with views of dead and dying soldiers. The government managed to show the battle as a brave and heroic struggle - despite the terrible casualties (half a million dead soldiers).
Opposition against the War - During the early years there was very little opposition against the war. It was some socialists and pacifists that protested but the vast majority supported the war. When conscription was introduced some more people protested (Conchies) - although they were still quite few (around 16.000 men refused to enlist out of a possible eight million soldiers). After the Battle of Somme (July-November 1916) the public opinion started to change. The government was now publicly criticized about the way the war was being fought. In December 1916 Prime Minister Asquith stepped down and Lloyd George took over. The criticism continued (like the poem "Soldiers Declaration" by the poet Siegfried Sassoon which was read out loud in the House of Commons in 1917 + published in The Times and Daily Mail). Some socialists criticized the war but the critics were a minority - most people were of the opinion that the war should be pursued to a final victory...
WWI and British Women - Before the First World War British women had a very traditional role:
They could not vote
They had traditional women jobs: dress-making, cleaning, servants...
Lower payment
The main role was to raise children and take care of the home
Women should not have any leading positions
WWI introduced women into "male jobs" as; farm labors, Steel workers, road repairs, bus drivers, grave diggers, ship builders and especially munition workers (which was dirty and dangerous; fires, explosions, toxic...). In December 1917 all women over 30 were given the Right to vote in general elections - as thanks for the war effort (the government had to revise the voting system because millions of men in the trenches and in the navy were deprived of the right to vote since they didn't live in Britain permanently... When they did this several women leaders stepped forward and demanded the Right to vote). Did the war change anything else for women...
NO:
When the post-war depression set in and factories closed women lost their jobs (especially in the munition factories)
Even if the industries continues the women had to leave because the men who had served in the war came back
The unemployment became high and this hit women much more then men
Women were expected to go back to more typical women jobs with lower pay
Two years after the war it was fewer women in the work force than there had been before the war
Men were now aware of the possibility of women doing men’s job so they became even more protective of their jobs - a harder attitude towards women...
YES (the war did not change the actual work situation for women but their attitude changed):
Younger women said they gained confidence
Some working-class women felt they could stand up for themselves
Less women accepted going back to jobs like domestic servants
Some middle-class women changed their behavior and their way of dressing - short dresses, short hair, smoked cigarette, drank cocktails (they became known as "flappers")
In 1919 some professions opened up for women - educated women could become lawyers and architects + women were now allowed to serve in a jury
In 1921 contraceptive advice was legally available to women