Part Three: Home Front 1914-18

Social Issues
• The blackouts changed the living styles of the people
• The war disrupted the food supply
• More and more women started to work
• Women became more independent:
o Women started to work in armament factories (called Munitionettes or canaries), after conscription
(forcing people to join forces) women received a huge demand in office work as well.
o changing their style of clothing, wearing trousers, smoking in public and visiting pubs.
• Illegitimate birth rate increased
• Began to discuss about the discipline of living in public
• Boy Scout movement had been found in 1908 and Girl guides in 1909. They were used to bring
harvest, carry messages among government departments (telegram boys), to serve soup in kitchens,
to guard railway bridges to guard railway bridges etc., to care for the old and refugee children,
knitting socks and gloves for troops
• The government improved schools and the school leaving age for all the children was risen to 14 in
1918
• They improved welfare for the workers in the industry. (canteens, nurseries and rest-rooms). They
even gave the munitions workers National Insurance which covered pension and health insurance.
• Introduction of official rationing (food card) which included meat, sugar, butter and eggs.

Political Issues
• The unrest in Ireland subsided
• The political parties united and in 1915 created a coalition government
o Liberal party
o Conservatives
o Labour parties
• Lloyd George created a war cabinet
• The government passed the defence of the Realm Act
• In order to save food (wheat), the government reduced the amount of wheat used in brewing.
• The government also took control of food supplies and distribution, exported meat from Australia
and New Zealand, official stocks of sugar, wheat, meat and hides were stored in government
warehouses. (only released for sale at controlled times and prices)
• All men over 21 and most women over 30 were given the vote in 1918 and in 1919 Nancy Astor
became the first woman MP in Parliament.
• After war, more voters went for the Labour party and Liberal party went into decline.

Economic Issues
Industry and workers
• In 1914 trade unions stopped their strikes
• Created the convoy system (a group of ships sailing together for protection, was designed to help
protect cargo in passenger ships during the First and Second World War.)
• Taxes were increased to cover the spending of £5.7 million per day
• Income tax rose from 4p to 30p (6 shillings) from 9 days
• Borrowed money from USA
• Government encouraged people to buy war bonds (debt securities issued by a government to
finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war.)
• Inflation (a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money.) started to rise due
to the government borrowings and shortage of food.
• Innovation came into industry: Rolls-Royce armed cars, Aircrafts and tanks
• The key industries such as mining and railways had two severe problems:
o Shortage of workers, “dilution” of skills
o Industries could not supply key war materials
• They lack mass production on coveyor-belt system, lack of key industries such as explosive industry,
relied on Germany and the USA for machine tools industry, but after 1915 Minister of Munition
arranged supplies from the USA, provided money for British companies to develop and switch to
munition production, created new “national factories” and by 1918, they even supplied France, Italy
and even US troops.

Agriculture
• In 1914, Britain imported most of its food, while the farmers produced a large quantity in the
country. Yet food queues started to appear in 1918.
• Shortage of workers and board of education allowed children to work
• Women’s Land Army and Prisoners of war joined the field d of agriculture.
• The government reorganized farm production and encouraged staple food such as grain and
potatoes rather than luxury food like meat.
• In 1916, the War Agricultural Committees encouraged allotments (a plot of land rented by an
individual for growing vegetables or flowers.) and organized the ploughing of parks and playing
fields for planting.
• In 1917, the Corn Production Act encouraged the farmers to grow grain by guaranteeing minimum
prices for their produce as a result some even ploughed their pastures and planted grains instead.

Worksheet
1. Explain the meanings below

a. Coalition Government
b. Blackouts
c. Gotha bombers
d. Chancellor of Exchequer
e. Admiralty
f. Conservatives
g. Idealists
h. Liberals
i. War cabinet
j. Convoy system
k. Conscription
l. Hoarding food
m. Prohibition
n. Income tax
o. War bonds and treasury bills
p. Inflation and hyper-inflation
q. Rationing
r. Dilution
s. Mass production
t. Prisoners of war
u. Staple food and luxury food
v. Allotment
w. Brewing
x. Propaganda
y. Suffragettes
z. Refugees