There were a few men however who benefited from some of the changes. As war started there was a higher demand for steel and coal especially to build and power war vehicles. This brought factories and mines meaning more jobs for those men who were previously unemployed. Source D1 shows that “by September 1939 there were 60” factories significantly reducing the unemployment level. Even though the source is a cartoon produced by the government it accurately shows, along with the figures, what happened in South Wales between 1938 and 1940. This demand also meant wages went up but prices stayed the same which meant many of the poorer men found themselves slightly better off. The even poorer men who weren’t able to get jobs benefited from rationing because they now had a steady supply of good food.
Rationing wasn’t always a good thing though. For the upper class women it meant a vast reduction in the amount of food they got. Source B2 is a cartoon that gives a humorous view of something women found quite demeaning at the time. Rationing became quite a big problem to middle/upper class women as it also included the amount of clothes they had. The coupons system was “introduced in May 1941. At first 66 coupons were allowed per adult person per year. Later, in 1942 when material for clothes became even scarcer, the coupon allowance was reduced to 48 per adult”. This is taken from source B6 which also includes a poster printed in the Daily Express. The list of clothing they get for 66 coupons is shown there and was a big difference from the usual list of clothing upper/middle class women got. Not only did rationing affect women greatly but many women were also forced to work. This meant long hours for little pay. This included working in factories and agricultural work. The cartoon in source B5 shows how it affected all women especially upper class women who weren’t used to doing any work.
To some other women these changes were seen as a good thing. Work gave them the opportunity to earn money and become independent. Kathleen Teal-Jones is a prime example of this. She describes in an interview, in the documentary ‘Bombs at Bedtime’, how much she enjoyed work and how it gave her the freedom and independence to turn her life around. We know this was reliable because it was personal experience and it was present in a very well researched documentary. Not only this but in the speech by Clement Atlee (top of source B3) is says that these women were doing “precision engineering jobs which a few years ago would have made a skilled turner’s hair stand on end”. This source isn’t as reliable though because it was said by a Deputy Prime Minister suggesting it was part of a propaganda speech but a report from an independent source shows how in “December 1942 8.5 million women aged 19 to 46 had registered. In May 1943 6 311 000 were working in industry or the armed services and in December 1943 1.5 million women workers were in the engineering industry, 30% of the total workforce” showing that women working did grow more popular as time passed. Work also became more popular as Ernest Bevin (the Minister of Labour) introduced improved welfare facilities in or near the factories. These included proper canteens, nursery schools and medical help. This brought a big change for the better to those women who couldn’t afford or couldn’t get to schools or medical facilities. These women also benefited from rationing as they now had a steady supply of food and clothes they couldn’t afford before the war. This was a major change because it meant that all British women became equals to some extent giving the poor a good opportunity at a better life.
Not only did the war affect men and women but also children. As before most of the changes were for the worst. The biggest and most extreme of these changes was evacuation. Children were sent to places in Kent, Sussex, Wales, Devon and Cornwall with major evacuation starting on September 3rd 1939. These children had to leave home and go and live with people they’ve never met before. Some of these evacuees were treated horribly as source C1 describes; “the only time we had a cooked meal was when my mum and dad came to see us”. This shows that many children suffered of hunger. Another man writes “my time on that farm is etched on my mind as being very tough and unhappy”. We know these sources are reliable because they are part of an interview describing personal experiences. Not everyone was evacuated though. Just under a half of all London schools were evacuated meaning many other children had to stay and face rationing as well as the biggest change of all, the Blitz. This meant continues blackouts, sirens and the threat of German invasion. These children had to carry around gas masks and stay as close to a shelter as possible. Source A5 is a poster that gives times for blackouts. The photographs in source A3 shows all the damage that happened around these children. Rationing also became a serious problem for the middleclass children as they were not used to having limitations on what they could eat and wear.
For the poorer children however rationing became a good change. Even though they also had to suffer the Blitz many were evacuated, and not all foster parents were bad. The newspaper appeal in source C2 and the picture in source C4 both show children smiling and enjoying themselves. These were produced by the government however suggesting that they were used as propaganda therefore not being very reliable. There is however a quote from a modern historian that states “for others, it was the best time of their lives and they enjoyed the fresh country air, good country food and lots of new things to do”. This is reliable because it gives evidence that both sides were looked at before making this statement.
As you can see there were many changes that affected different people. Most of the changes were very dramatic and for the worse but luckily they were all in the relatively short term. Most people suffered from the Blitz, rationing, conscription, work etc but there is evidence that not everyone suffered. Unemployed men, poor families and children and some of the younger women without children found them selves better off during the war. Not only this but after the war there was a great sense of union. This was discovered through the Beveridge Report in 1942 which wanted to remove ignorance, squalor and poverty. Even though many people suffered from the war a character from the 1941 film ‘Dawn Guard’ said, “We found out in this war how we were all neighbours, and we weren’t going to forget it when it was all over”.
