KEEPING UP MORALE Flashcards
HOW MANY RADIOS WERE THERE IN BRITAIN ?
9M
WHY WAS RADIO IMPORTANT ?
Kept the population informed
NAME SOME RADIO SHOWS
It’s that man again - Comedy which poked fun at the Germans and the British way of dealing with the war
‘Music while you work’ - Improved morale in factories
Richard Dimble and Frank Gillard were popular for their vivid account of British troops in action
WHAT DID NEWSREADERS HAVE TO DO ?
Give their names at the start of every broadcast so that listeners knew their voice in the event that they were impersonated
HOW MANY CINEMA TICKETS A WEEK WERE SOLD IN 1945 ?
1.5M
PROPAGANDA IN CINEMA
The MOI produced short information reels to go out before films on the blitz and evacuation
British films were very patriotic
‘Went the day well’ a film about the home guard defeating a Nazi occupied village
‘Tomorrow we live’ about the French resistance
CENSORSHIP IN RADIO AND CINEMA
The MOI censored newsreels to give them a patriotic lift
The BBC were very good at self-censoring so the MOI rarely had to step in
WHAT IS CENSORSHIP ?
Controlling what information is made available to the public during wartime
WHY DID BRITAIN CENSOR INFORMATION ?
To stop information from getting to the enemy
To stop the public from hearing anything that could damage morale
WHAT THINGS WERE CENSORED ?
Letters from the trenches were censored to stop people finding out about the awful conditions and incase it gave away valuable military information
Phone calls were restricted , even Churchill and the King
Distressing images
‘The Daily Worker’ - banned in 1941 for being pro-communist
THE MOI
Ministry of Information
Set up to ensure censorship and propaganda was carried out effectively
Employed over 300 people
PROPAGANDA POSTERS AIM
To encourage patriotism and encourage people to do their bit for the war effort
Also kept people informed on procedures i.e. rationing
THE SPITFIRE FUND
Organised in 1940
If you raised £5000 then you could have a spitfire named after you
Communities rallied to purchase a spitfire
Purchased the framework for a plane
The Nazim of Hyderabad donated so much that an entire squadron was named after him
£13M was raised building 2,500 spitfires
DIG FOR VICTORY
A propaganda scheme that encouraged people to grown their own food in their gardens in order to supplement the food limited by rationing
People turned their gardens into vegetable patches
1.4M had allotments
Potato Pete was the schemes mascot
REASONS WHY CHURCHILL WAS ELECTED ?
Strongly against appeasement
He had improved relations with Labour, good for keeping wartime coalition together
Had public support
Clear Hitler and the Nazis had to be defeated
Would not surrender
