Women had a lot to cope with during the war. Apart for the newly added pressure of work, many women would of had families to support. There was also the growing worry that there loved ones may never return from war. This all would have a major toll on women’s lives but they would have to overcome their worries and continue on with what they had to do.
Because of the growing shortage of food, rationing was introduced in 1918. Each family were only allowed small supplies of foods such as butter, bread and meat. Families were encouraged to have meatless days and eat things such as offal and liver. This lead to malnutrition and under nourishment of women and children alike. Women would have been forced to queue for hours, even for the whole day. This made women exhausted and could lead to bad health.
Women were not the only ones affected by the war, children were too. Children, just like women had became a valued part of society. Children were encouraged to give part of their pocket money to the war effort, money they would have normally spent on sweets or toys. Boys joined the sea scouts and would be put on tunnel and costal watch. They would have been away from home for days or weeks, not seeing their families or friends. Girls joined the Girl guides and wrapped thousands of bandages for the hospitals. These girls would work with machines, they would of had no knowledge of. Young girls were encouraged to visit wounded soldiers. This would have been daunting for them as before the war all they would have done was play with their friends. Children grew up very quickly between 1914-18 as they had a lot more responsibility put upon them. They would now have to look after younger siblings if there mothers were at work and would have been restricted from doing many leisure activities because of the DORA regulations.
Children's education suffered too. Many schools were taken over by the Army, and lessons were taken in Churches and public halls. As most of the male teachers would be fighting in the war, the children would have been educated by unqualified women. The children's education began to suffer as it came second to the war. Children would have also unable to concentrate as they would be worried about their fathers, older brothers and other family members fighting in the war.
Now that the food was being rationed, Children became under nourished and suffered from malnutrition. This would have caused the children to become ill and would affect their home and school life. To combat this problem the Government introduced public canteens, where the children could get a good meal cheaply. This would have kept the children healthily and eased the pressure on the mothers who couldn’t get good, healthy food for their children.
As many men went away to fight in the war, they wouldn’t have felt the impact of the war on Britain. But when they arrived home after the war they would have noticed huge changes. For example women were now pursuing professional careers such as teachers. Before the men went away to war, they were used to the women in their families being at home and looking after the children. Now they would have to get used to the fact that women were more independent and wanted to work. They would also of had to recognise that women had taken of their jobs and many would still be staying in the positions. This would have been very hard for men to accept and many couldn’t deal with it.
Up until 1916, men could volunteer to join the war. Although thousands joined up there were still men that didn’t want to fight. The British public didn’t like the idea of some men staying at home having fun, while others were away risking their lives for their country. In 1914 the Order Of The White Feather was set up. The organisation encourage women to give white feathers to young men who had not joined the war. All of this put great pressure on the men who stayed at home. The public perceived these men as being ‘cowards’ and although joining the war was voluntary, many men felt pressured to join. Many of these men would have sick family members to look after or couldn’t join for many different reasons. But this did not matter as it was seen as their duty to fight. In 1916, Conscription was introduced. This meant that every fit man aged between 18 and 41 had to join the war. If they did not it could lead to imprisonment. This would of had a major impact on the lives of men who were still at home. The men would of had no idea of what they were walking into and the possibility of death was staring them in the face.
Although most men would have gone to war without question there was a few who objected. These men were called Conscientious Objectors, they wanted to be excused from joining the war for medical or religious reasons. The men would go up in front of a military tribunal and present their case. If they had a genuine reason for not being able to fight they were given a Certificate of Exemption. Other men who were not excused from fighting were forced to fight or throw into prison. The men who stayed in Britain were referred to as ‘Conchies’ and were despised by the public. They men often found it hard to get jobs as no one would employ them. Eventually most of the ‘Conchies’ had to work in Government camps building roads and canals. These men would of have a bad standard of living. Their families may not have spoken to them, and they would have suffered abuse for people in their town and cities. The Government encouraged abuse against ‘conchies’ , putting cartoons in newspapers and on posters to humiliate them.
Home life in Britain was affected by the Defence Of the Realm Act ( DORA). DORA was introduced by the Government to give them the right to suppress published criticism, imprison without trial and to commandeer economic resources. DORA made it impossible to do simple things like throwing rice at weddings, flying a kite and feeding pigeons. This would have affected peoples way of life, by restricting what they could do and when they could do it. Things people could do in their homes was affected too. When it began to get dark, people would have to dim the lights in their homes, to reduce the chance of bombing. This meant people could be sitting in the near dark for hours at a time without anything to do, this lead to depression and heath problems. Street lights were also dimmed, this led to more traffic accidents, and a higher rate of crimes such as mugging and rape. The introduction of Rationing in 1918 meant families couldn't enjoy luxuries such as fancy cakes and sweets, even on special occasions.
During the war the Government used a lot of propaganda and censorship, this was to control how the public perceived the war. The Government needed the support of the Public to succeed, so they issued posters showing soldiers having a good time and Britain defeating Germany. Propaganda such as this was used to boost moral and keep people interested in the war. The Government censored information concerning Britain's defeats so the public would not lose confidence in Britain. The public would have probably believed what they were told by the Government as they would have never imagined what the war was really like. The only way of people knowing what the war was really like, was by soldiers who came home from the front line. The news they heard would have been shocking as the government had told them the exact opposite.
After examining each of the policies and the effects on the Public and home life, I conclude that the war polices and regulations had a great impact on peoples lives in Britain. Every part of society had to make sacrifices for the war. Some their lives, some their childhoods and others their freedom. Even though sacrifices were made a lot was gained from the war too. Women became a lot more independent and children were given more reasonability. Though most of the effects caused by the war were bad, the people of Britain came together and helped lead Britain to victory.