5. Prime Minister David Lloyd George said, “ we were never faced with famine.” Whereas Charles Young, an injured infantry soldier who had returned home, clearly stated that, “ many died of starvation.” These opinions are of great contrast to each other. However, Lloyd George would have a very different perspective of the food shortages and riots around Britain. Lloyd George would have been informed about the general situation. It is unlikely that he would have been informed about specific towns or villages, and even if he was, it is improbable that he would remember particular events twenty years after the war ended. Lloyd George would have been fully aware of the build up to the Second World War and may have altered his memoirs to convince the public that there was nothing to fear.
Other sources show that although food was valued, there was adequate food for most people. It is also possible that the Young’s relatives exaggerated. Many people say they are starving when they are merely hungry.
6. Source A6 recounts the Lloyd George’s thoughts on how well the British people dealt with having their food rationed. Other sources prove that his generalisation is principally true and accurate. Although there may have been a few riots there was no grand uprising against shortages. However, while Lloyd George’s quote is useful in giving a broad overview, there were instances where situations were slightly worse as seen in source A5.
As the leading individual during the war, Lloyd George was responsible for running the country and defeating the German threat. In order for his book containing his memoirs to have a positive view on him, he might have been more complimentary about the British public. On the other hand, he may have been poorly informed or generally told about the situation concerning food. There is little evidence suggesting that there were mass riots possibly because of Government censorship or due to the fact that is was not common. Many things could have changed Lloyd George’s views over the twenty years in which it took him to establish his memoirs.
7. Government posters are designed to inform the public and create an image that is memorable and therefore constantly reminds the person of the Governments message. The most effective way to convey a message is in the form of pictures as they can be absorbed quickly and are easily remembered. The poster in source A9 has lots of writing and therefore cannot be remembered as easily. However, the poster uses mathematics and basic facts to emphasize how small amounts of waste can amount to great quantities of waste. Whether the figures are correct or not, this poster is good in that it makes the reader feel guilty about wasting food. Other posters including messages like ‘save the wheat and help the fleet’, use guilt and emotive blackmail to reduce waste. Simply explaining that it will save lives of sailors as well as the public does this effectively.
In order to win the war, the Government needs to have full support of the public. For this to happen moral must be high. Therefore, posters must encourage people to save food without introducing fear of a shortage. As in all propaganda, posters are made to be selective, subjective and to give an opinionated view on the situation.
Moreover, although posters are useful in informing people, their value as historical sources can be jeopardised by the fact that they can convey a one sided message.
8. Britain defeated the German U Boat threat in many different ways. Firstly, advancements in new technology. Depth charges and mines, which allowed the Royal Navy ships to be proactive and attack submarines. The use of Q ships, decoy merchant ships, which were armed and could take on the submarine if it chose to attack. The convoy system, where there was strength in numbers. Once a ship was attacked the escorting Royal Navy ships could hunt and attempt to destroy the submarine as opposed to single ships being picked off at random by a U Boat with little or no chance of reprisal. Also the use of aircraft, though itself relatively new in the First World War, there were some aircraft designed to patrol longer distances and act as spotters or look-outs for U Boats. All these helped reduce the loss of merchant shipping and keep the country fed and the war effort resourced. In fact reducing losses by up to 50%. The Government also realised that by producing greater quantities of wheat, potatoes etc. Britain as a country could become less reliant on importing food. In order to do this people would have to help support the war by cultivating their own gardens and using other open spaces for vegetable growing, such as front lawns and municipal gardens. Women who were not employed in the munitions industry were able to join the Woman’s Land Army to help increase yields. This as a nationwide effort was very effective. Along with the introduction of a minimum wage for farm labourers meant that the by 1918, 3 million extra acres of land had been cultivated.
Secondly, by keeping moral high, it meant that the reduction in food that was being imported did not particularly affect people. Propaganda and censorship were key factors in winning the war. If British soldiers knew that as they were fighting on the front lines, their families were fighting for food at home, the war could have taken a turn for the worse. Many of the soldiers chose to censor themselves as they realised that writing home with such horrific details would simply scare and worry their families.
Britain was able to defeat the U Boat threat in two ways. It was able to blockade German ports and therefore reduce the amount of food and raw materials for the war effort. This reduced the German capability to produce greater numbers of U boats. Secondly, by the use of modern technology, such as depth charges and the convoy system, Britain was able to reduce its shipping losses and therefore increase the amount of food and raw material that was getting through to the county. Although Germany, unlike Britain, could still import from other countries linked by land, a large proportion of their resources came by sea.
Propaganda was commonly used to discredit the enemy, as well as to encourage the public to save food and grow their own food. Rumours were started by the Government to increase public anger and disgrace towards Germany. These included how Germans made soap out of bodies. Adults were not the only ones to receive this propaganda. Patriotic books and toys were made for children, to encourage further support for the war effort.
Another important factor in defeating the U Boat threat was threat the Germans did not have enough of them. Historian, Holger Herwig stated that with an average of twenty to thirty U Boats in the vast expanses of sea around Britain they were simply “insufficient do the job”. However the German Admiralty may have realised that with a 50% loss rate they would have needed several hundred U Boats and they knew that the raw materials for U Boat building could be used elsewhere, such as in munitions and gun production. The Germans may have also been put off from building more U Boats as Britain quickly overcame the immediate threat with new technology.
