31st January 2003
The Home Front
Question 2
During the First World War more than 6 million British people joined the armed forces. This left many jobs to be filled at home, and as a result 1.2 million women went to work for the first time. Many women had always worked, but many middle-class women had never worked before. Most women supported Britain's involvement in the war, however the Prime Minister Asquith's policy of 'business as usual' did not think that women's working was the answer. Nevertheless, many went to work at the front or in munitions factories for patriotic reasons. For example one woman went to work in munitions because:
...that's where they kept saying, you know, your king and country needs you.
The Home Front
Question 2
During the First World War more than 6 million British people joined the armed forces. This left many jobs to be filled at home, and as a result 1.2 million women went to work for the first time. Many women had always worked, but many middle-class women had never worked before. Most women supported Britain's involvement in the war, however the Prime Minister Asquith's policy of 'business as usual' did not think that women's working was the answer. Nevertheless, many went to work at the front or in munitions factories for patriotic reasons. For example one woman went to work in munitions because:
...that's where they kept saying, you know, your king and country needs you.