The most popular programme was the nine o'clock news. At the beginning of the programme people were greeted with "Here is the news and this is (whoever) reading it". Some of the more well known news readers were Alvar Lidell, John Snagge and Bruce Belfrage. Three times the Broadcasting House was bombed, but the news carried on. The readers slept in bunks in an underground studio. The readers had to wear dinner jackets/ evening dress. Their accents were all southern English and upper middle class. When the Germans had invaded Poland they tricked the poles by putting out phoney news broadcasts in Polish. By getting the readers to say their names each time they went on air the public would associate a name to a voice, resulting in that the Germans could not fool the British people. The BBC carried out an experiment where they put a Yorkshire man in named Wilfred Pickles reading the news. They thought that the people of northern Britain would respond better to a more common accent. Unfortunately, the BBC found out that the people listening to the news were concentrating more on his voice than the actual news. The news was the main way of giving the public information on the war.
The BBC broadcast all over Europe. They even broadcast in Germany; many listened even though it was banned.
Radio was a major contributor to raising the public's moral. People could be taken away from the blackout and be entertained.
Cinema: Cinemas and theatres closed on the 3rd September 1939, they were soon reopened due to the lack of bombings over Britain. During an air raid a man would walk onstage and tell everyone there was an air raid. They could leave if they wanted to, but most people stayed. 25-30 million cinema tickets were sold each week during 1940. People queued for hours to get in. The most popular movies were the adventure, comedy, westerns and musical films, most of them being produced in the United States. The most successful film was 'Gone with the Wind' (1939), which played in the West End (London) non-stop from the spring of 1940 to the spring of 1944. British films compared to the Hollywood's were dour and dutiful. The Gentle Sex (1943) is a good example; it was a documentary in the treatment and the dedication that women were playing in the war effort. One outstanding British film was made in 1942; it was called 'In which we serve'. It was a fantastic patriotic piece, starring and directed by Noel Coward; other stars included John Mills and a very young Richard Attenborough. It was based on the wartime experiences of Lord Mountbatten. The film was about the surviving crewmembers of the destroyer Torriv, which had been torpedoed off the coast of Crete. It highlighted the courage and team spirit of the men in the British army. The destroyer in the film was a kind of metaphor for Britain. Britain had been struck as well, and the British people stuck together and helped each other out, the team spirit. There were also a lot of romance movies about during the war. One classic was Noel Cowards 'Brief Encounter' (1945) starring Trevor Coward and Celia Johnson. It was about a suburban housewife and the local doctor who were having an affair. This film took up quite a controversial subject for its time. British women with husbands and boyfriends were tempted away by the American G.Is. The film struck a familiar cord with a lot of women. But it made the people get away from everyday life for a period of time. All films of the time helped the nation hang on in troubled times. The films would whisk the public away to where there were no wars, no bombs and no rationing. They raised the morale of the whole country. There would be an interval during the film; this is when the newsreels would be shown. This news was very quick and punchy; it combined war news with local and funny news. They never showed burials, mass funerals, bodies being pulled out of the rubble otherwise they would seriously damage the country's moral. They would focus on the aftermath of the bombings. People pulling together and helping everyone out was focused on. It showed the women groups giving out food and blankets to the newly made homeless. This showed the people of Britain that if they were bombed they would be looked after. American newsreels were different in their approach to making newsreels. They showed the bombings of Coventry and London, this was because they wanted to justify their government's actions of going to war. This showed the Germans ruthlessness to the American people, making them feel that they should do something to help. The Germans took an entirely different approach to their newsreels. They showed the actual bombings-taking place over Coventry and London. The newsreels featured very patriotic music and were quite dark. The similarities between the American, German and British newsreels is that they were all trying to justify there countries actions.
Newspapers: Some newspapers of the time were the Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Telegraph and the London Gazette. The picture below was published on the 15th September 1940; it is an ideal example of togetherness. All the people have survived and helped each other along the way. Even though there houses have been bombed and all there salvageable furniture is in a lot they are all happy to be alive and are holding each other by the arms and have all got smiles on their faces! Some are even giving the thumbs up. This photograph was used to boost morale, it showed community spirit and teamwork. It makes the Blitz seem liveable.
The picture below was taken on the 21st January 1943; the government's censors banned it. It shows dead children in body bags from the London, Catford Girl's School. This would have been to upsetting for the public. The moral would have fallen dramatically; support for the war may have wavered. Children would be considered too innocent to die. The picture would have upset to many people.
The British and the German newspapers had two completely different views on what happened at Dunkirk. A 1940's German picture magazine called Signal published this ' The great battle of annihilation. Altogether more than 1.2 million prisoners have fallen into German hands, besides limitless amounts of war material.... France and Britain's finest troops are annihilated. England is now separated from France and exposed to a direct German attack. On June 4th this battle of annihilation came to an end with the fall of Dunkirk'. An English version of the event was published in the Daily Mirror on Saturday, June 1st 1940 this is what it said 'For days past thousands upon thousands of our brave men of the B.E.F have been pouring through a port somewhere in England, battle-worn, but thank God, safe and cheerful in spite of weariness. We may hope that already at least half of that gallant force has been withdrawn from the trap planned for them by Nazi ruthlessness...Praise in words is a poor thing for this huge and heroic effort. But praise we must offer for all engaged, and for the brilliant leadership in the field...Praise, then, for him and for them! Both sides have over glamorised this event, but more so on the German side. The article speaks of many captured when in fact there were almost none. The writing is very optimistic, saying that the French have fallen and now the British are alone. It almost suggests that Britain will fall as 'easily' as France did. This was written to raise the moral of the German people, with stories of many being taken and an added boost to the German's war materials although the latter is very much reality. To them Britain is not as able to fight since it has lost it's finest troops. The English article concentrates more on their own triumphs than on the Germans failures. It shows how the country can pull together and save many soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk. The Germans are portrayed as ruthless because of the trap that they laid for the British. There is also mention of God, this may be hinting that God is own there side. It describes British troops as 'heroic' and 'gallant'. This would raise the moral of the country. The newspaper does display Dunkirk as a slight failure but all is forgotten when it goes on to explain about the troops. Towards the end it could have been read that the British had taken Dunkirk with all the cheeriness of the writing. The two articles are very different, the Germans magazine has concentrated on what Germany has won out of this battle while the English newspaper has concentrated on the performance of it's troops. They have a similarity in that they were both used to raise moral of their country. The German piece is quite dark, it talks of annihilation and attacks, this is denting Britain's war efforts tremendously in the eyes of the German public. Whereas then British article is more cheery and is full of praise.
Everything that was going to be published had to be vetted by the government's censors. If something were slightly upsetting it would not go to print. If a newspaper/magazine published something without having it vetted they would be shut down.
Posters: Was the most effective way of getting a point over to the public. All areas were covered national security, healthy eating, recruitment and the war leaders. They were always very patriotic, they displayed people either as heroes or villains, and they could tap into the basic feelings of loyalty to the family and also the country. The government used posters so often since they could be put everywhere in the country, and they could be certain that they would do the job intended.
National security was quite a sensitive subject; humour was very effective with this particular subject. The one of the most successful catch phrases was 'Careless Talk Costs Lives'. This was the creation of Kenneth Bird who worked for Punch magazine. It used a certain amount of humour that was gently persuasive on the population. The subject of careless talk was tackled in a very different way to Kenneth Bird. Abram Games created 'Your Talk May Kill Your Comrades'; they were one of the most powerful images during the war. Spies were a real threat to Britain, even though humour was used it was a serious matter. Using humour made the point and made people remember think before you speak.
The domestic front was the receiver of the most famous slogans of the war years. The women of Britain were constantly being constantly urged to 'Make Do and Mend', to 'Dig for Victory or to save their kitchen waste. The government needed the women of Britain to do what was asked; otherwise Britain would have been in crisis, with shortages in food, clothes and metals. Nearly all campaigns were successful. The campaign for 'Dig for Victory' made a large impact on where families got their food from; they were growing it for themselves. Some famous vegetables were Doctor Carrot and Potato Pete. Since these vegetables were not in short supply the government urged women to use them instead of the rationed ones. Dr Carrot would carry a black bag, which said that 'Vitamin A- excellent for night vision', according to the posters this helped the average person to see better at night, as well as RAF fighter pilots. That comment may have encouraged boys to eat their carrots because they looked up to the pilots.
Some posters were not able to have an influence on the population. One example of this is a poster that shows the countryside with the words, 'Your Britain, Fight for it Now'. It had ignored that most of the British people live in towns or cities not the rural and idyllic picture that was portrayed. The Ministry of Health attempted to prevent mothers from bringing back there evacuated children. They used the words 'Don't do it, Mother' this failed to influence mothers in anyway because the Ministry of Health underestimated there feelings towards there children.
It was important for the people to know their leader, Churchill was the favourite subject, and the posters captured his leadership qualities perfectly.
The spirit of wartime Britain is typified by Churchill's words 'Let us go forward together'. He was portrayed as a determined and tough leader who called on the British public to keep up their spirits.
The recruitment drive was of supreme importance. Posters in this category were particularly eye-catching. The W.L.A allured over 80,000 women with images of rosy-cheeked women holding lambs and strolling across the countryside. Women were also desperately needed in the factories and workhouses to fill the spaces created by men who were on active service. The government began called for volunteers but not enough women came forward. More persuasive actions were needed; they introduced posters to their campaign. It was a huge success the numbers of women who were joining swelled. The slogan 'Women of Britain- Come into the Factories' coaxed women to try work for the first time. The need for labour was great, if women had not come forward for the W.L.A Britain would have not been able to feed itself also if the factory workers had not joined, the production of war materials would have been impossible.
The RAF also needed men. The poster below is an example of this kind of propaganda. It makes the reader want to be one of the pilots, that they want to help their country more than anyone else. This poster was published just after the Battle of Britain, the words are true, and the pilots defended Britain brilliantly.
The posters made people feel apart of the war effort. They also helped many people to feel that they were not alone, and that they did not have to put a brave face on everything. These kinds of posters were needed so they kept the moral up of the people who found it hard to cope during the war years.
Conclusion: The media played an enormous role on the home front. It tried to improve the every day life of every person in Britain. It certainly did its job. At the beginning of the war people opposed the war but with the combined effort of posters, newspapers and other media areas the opinion changed. The daily encumbrances that the population had to cope with were oppressive and burdensome. So the media had to lift the moral of the country, otherwise all support for the war would be lost and all the industries that were needed for the war effort would not be able to produce anything without there workers. The media invented the Blitz spirit, which kept most Londoners going during the worst days of the bombings. It also raised spirits with the daily reports of courage and bravery from the front lines. People would congregate around radios when the comedy shows were on, they would laugh and enjoy themselves. The cinemas would whisk away their occupants for a few hours, the bombs and the harshness of war was left outside. The moral of the country was also important for the production of war materials. If the public were depressed and scared of a town or city since it was being bombed they would move. The government did not want this to happen, because if the people left the cities there would be no one to work in the factories or workhouses. So in turn the government made every effort to keep the spirits up. Due to the extended efforts of all the media sections, the countries moral remained high during the war.
The people of Britain needed to know what was happening in the war. The media provided the country with information about the war, at home and abroad. The newspapers and the news were the main ways in which the public obtained their information.
Entertainment was important for all people. They needed to have a little fun and get away from the war for a little while. The cinema would be the best example of this. As well as going out to be entertained another main option was to stay in and listen to the radio. With your family around you, you could joke about the day and listen to some comedy programmes. Entertainment was desperately needed to raise moral of the people, without it life may have just been a bit too monotonous.
The media reinforced the community spirit; it made the people continue on in their everyday struggles. Each person in Britain was fighting Hitler in his or her own way. The media was responsible for this; it kept Britain fighting on.
