Home Front

Question 1

Why was there a problem at the beginning of the war with recruitment?

Answer 1

Britain only had an army of 250,000 professional soldiers whereas Germany had 1-1.5 million

Question 2

What did Lord Kitchener do to increase recruitment?

Answer 2

• posters (2-5 million copies of 110 different posters was issued)
• pamphlets
• recruitment officers
• patriotic speeches (children with roasted feet)

Question 3

How many men joined up in the first month?

Answer 3

500,000

Question 4

by which month did Britain receive 2.5 million volunteers?

Answer 4

March 1916

Question 5

What were the requirements of the conscription act of 1916?

Answer 5

All fit men between the age of 18-41 must join the war effort.

Question 6

Between 1916-1918 how many men were conscripted into the army?

Answer 6

one in three men

Question 7

Who was excluded from the conscription act?

Answer 7

Men who had disabilities or doing vital work like mining.

Question 8

What was a Conscientious Objector (Conchie)?

Answer 8

Somebody who refused to join the war due to religious or humanitarian reasons.

Question 9

what were they forced to do in order to not join the war?

Answer 9

Prove their religion

Question 10

What jobs were Conchies forced to do?

Answer 10

Drive ambulances or help mining

Question 11

What happened to those who refused?

Answer 11

They were court-martialed, imprisoned or sent to labour camps.

Question 12

What is meant by the term DORA?

Answer 12

Defense of the realm acts

Question 13

When was the first act passed?

Answer 13

8 August 1914

Question 14

What did Dora allow the government to do?

Answer 14

Bypass parliament and pass laws.

Question 15

What major event occurred in 1915?

Answer 15

The munition crisis

Question 16

How was the munitions crisis solved?

Answer 16

• Set up a ministry of Munitions

- controlling 20,000 munition factories

Question 17

Why was a convoy system set up in 1916?

Answer 17

To prevent merchant ships being sunk by u-boats by allowing battleships to accompany Merchant ships.

Question 18

In 1917 how many u-boats were sinking British merchant ships?

Answer 18

1 in 4 British merchant ships was being sunk.

Question 19

By April 1917, Britain only had?

Answer 19

9 weeks supply of wheat and 4days supply of sugar.

Question 20

What was introduced in order to provide families with food?

Answer 20

• The ninepenny loaf
• Rationing (royal family also participated)
• 1918 compulsory rationing for: sugar, meat, jam, butter and margarine.

Question 21

What were farmers persuaded to do?

Answer 21

Turn pasture land into arable land, resulting in 3 million more acres of arable land and 1 more million tonnes of wheat by 1918.

Question 22

What were the Disadvantages due to laws?

Answer 22

Business as usual-criticised by Lloyd George.
Events were cancelled
Pub opening hours were restricted
People were getting drunk and working less hard.

Question 23

When were casualties first published?

Answer 23

May 1915

Question 24

At the start of the war why weren’t War photographers allowed at the front?

Answer 24

Britain did not want people to know they were losing hence only four photographers was allowed.

Question 25

Give an example of how death was made to sound heroic?

Answer 25

Baptism of fire= high casualties

Broken heros= shell-shock

Question 26

How did things change in 1917?

Answer 26

Lord Beaverbrook became Minister of Information who increased the number of artists and photographers at the front.

Question 27

Why did the Battle of the Somme film cause uproar?

Answer 27

The film was released in August 1916 while the war was still continuing. The battle was from July to November.

Question 28

What is meant by Paris peace conference?

Answer 28

9 months-Treaty of versailles.