Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

History - Britain > The Home Front > Flashcards

The Home Front Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
AP® U.S. History flashcards World History 101 flashcards European History 101 flashcards AP® European History flashcards AP® World History flashcards World History 102 flashcards U.S. History 101 flashcards U.S. History 102 flashcards
1
Q

From when did the government start preparing for war ?

A

1935

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What did the British government expect from war ?

A

German planes to bomb Britain as soon as war broke out + poison gas attacks

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

How did the government prepare people for war ?

A
  • sets of cigarette cards advising how to protect homes from bombing + what to do in a gas attack
  • air raid precautions + wardens - shelters were organised and training was ran on tackling emergency situations
  • identity cards
  • fitting stations fitted people with gas masks and explained how to use them - shortages of masks caused panic
  • people told to carry gas masks, indemnity cards and a torch at all times
  • leaflets - reminded people of importance of procedures
  • evacuation of children from cities
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

New ministries set up by the government fro war

A
  • Ministry of supply
  • Ministry of food
  • Ministry of information
  • Government took over vital industries such as coal mining and railways
  • existing ministries given additional power - ministry of labour organised armed forces and war effort on home front
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Ministry of supply

A

set up in 1939 to take over iron and steel production and organise war production

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Ministry of food

A

in charge of supplies and rationing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

ministry of information

A

set up to control the information people were given and kept them informed of rationing and the government requirements

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Air-Raid Precautions service

A

(ARP) set up in 1937 with voluntary ARP wardens - by September 1939 there were over 1.5 million ARP wardens

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What did ARP wardens do ?

A
  • put sandbags around buildings to stop bomb damage
  • put barrage balloons in air to stop German planes flying low
  • organised the blackout - all lights off after dark - street lights turned off and people covered windows with cloth
  • sounded the air-raid siren
  • checked people went to shelters in an air raid
  • when bombing began they called emergency services
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Council air raid shelters

A

councils built a few air raid shelters for 50 people but incase of mass death the government gave out iron Anderson shelters from 1939

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Local defence force (LDF)

A
  • On 14th May 1940, war minister Anthony Eden asked for volunteers for LDF - he expected about 150,000 volunteers but there were 250,000 on the first day
  • By August 1940 there were 1 million volunteers - renamed the home guard
  • Due to great numbers it took until 1941 for all equipment and uniform to be distributed
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What did the home guard do ?

A
  • manned anti-aircraft guns during air-raids - over 1000 people were killed on this duty during war
  • helped rescue workers after air raids and cleared bomb damage - roads first
  • removed or painted over road and station signs - enemy wouldn’t know where they were
  • put obstacles in large fields were enemy could land
  • put barbed wire along beaches
  • in charge of detonating/ disposing of unexploded bombs
  • trained to fight a german invasion
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

preparations of bombing and invasion

A
  • people didn’t rush to buy blackout material as they were expensive
  • many bought torches and spare batteries
  • buses and trams were barely lit
  • homeguard trained to kill
  • blackout - people took tie to adjust so minor injuries at start
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Evacuation

A
  • government began evacuation before war was declared
  • most evacuees were children but also pregnant women, mothers of young & blind
  • reduced the number of people in cities and freed parents to work in volunteer groups e.g ARP or WVS
  • those who could afford to do so made their own evacuation arrangements
  • most children evacuated with school by train or bus
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

When did evacuation begin ?

A

1st September 1939 - 3 million people were evacuated in first four days but by December there had been no bombing and so many children were brought back home again

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Process of evacuation

A
  • parents were nor forced to evacuate their children
  • went by bus/train/boat
  • psychological effects known but suppressed
  • strictly no hand held toys
  • payment to those who took in evacuees
  • no checks on families - cases of physical and sexual abuse of children
  • some evacuees neglected and taken in juts for money but others treated well + educated
  • very busy - no room on platform and carriages were dirty
  • very unorganised as government left children arrival arrangements to local authorities BUT organisation was good in London
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

When did the Blitz begin ?

A

7th September 1940 to May 1941

18
Q

when were the blitz raids ?

A

at first they were in daylight but by October 1940 the Luftwaffe bombed at night for they had lost so many planes

19
Q

What did the Blitz target ?

A

At first the industrial East end but then civil targets in attempt to destroy British morale which would result in surrender of the british

20
Q

How many cities were target in the Blitz ?

A

16 e.g Glasgow, Plymouth, Swansea, Hull

  • London was bombed first, most often and heavily - it was bombed for 75 out of the first 76 nights of bombing
  • Liverpool targeted as most likely port for US supply ships
21
Q

Effects of the Blitz

A
  • over 43,000 civilian killed
  • over 2 million made homeless
  • roads and railways destroyed
  • gas, electricity and water supplies affected
  • disrupted sleep - survey of Londoners for night of 12th September 1940 showed that 32% got less than 4 hours sleep and 31% got none at all
  • second evacuation of children from cities
  • morale was weakened for some but main aim of Blitz failed in turning British citizens against the government
  • ministry of information produced a lot of propaganda stop show strength of morale
22
Q

Blitz on Coventry

A
  • 8th November 1940, RAF bombed Munich and in retaliation Luftwaffe bombed Coventry on 14th November = very destructive - ‘coventration’
  • bombing began at 7.20pm
  • bombs dropped in city centre to start fires to guide later bombers - visible from 150 miles away
  • 500 bombers & thousands of bombs
  • 380-554 killed & thousands of injuries
  • over 4000 homes destroyed + factories and city cathedral
  • Luftwaffe returned to coventry 40 times - last raid was August 1940
23
Q

From April 1942 what were the targets of German raids ?

A

smaller towns of no importance - known as Baedeker raids because Germans were said to have chosen their targets from German Baedeker tourist guide
*big Baedeker raids in April were on Exeter, Bath, York and Norwich and Luftwaffe bombed Canterbury in June - RAF bombed Cologne in response

24
Q

Effect of Baedeker raids on Luftwaffe

A

In Jan 1943 the Luftwaffe lost a bomber and four trained crew for every 5 civilians killed - began to look for ways to bomb Britain from a distance

25
Q

What bomb did German scientists develop ?

A

Vergeltung (V1) - powered by a motor that supposedly cut out over the target - launched from the French coast

26
Q

When were the first V1’s launched ?

A

12th June 1944

  • over 9000 V1s launched but many failed to reach targets or explode
  • 6000 people killed
  • caused a lot of panic at first - 1.5 million left London
27
Q

When was the V2 first used ?

A

September 1944 - it was rocket powered making it faster and reach greater heights
-over 5000 were launched but only 1000 reached Britain killing 2700 people

28
Q

Censorship (ministry of info)

A

newspapers and magazines told what to publish and letters into and out of country censored to stop info getting out that would help the Germans or effect morale

  • in 1939 there were 1300 censors working on letters and telegrams in the censors office in Liverpool
  • armed services had their own censors
29
Q

Propaganda (ministry of info)

A
  • posters and leaflets to persuade people to do certain things
  • ‘how to …’ films showing people how to move around safely in the blackout, or how to save food etc
  • patriotic short films and news reels about war shown in cinemas and MOI vans which toured towns
  • talks on the radio
  • feature films to encourage patriotic feeling e.g ‘The lion has wings’
  • propaganda posters made people feel involved in war effort
30
Q

Import stats before war

A

Britain imported 70% of all food people bought - 55 million tons of food per year

31
Q

When did the ministry of food begin controlling of food ?

A

November 1936 fearing Germans would sink supply ships - by Jan 1940 German submarines had sunk 100 ships

32
Q

When did rationing begin ?

A

8th Jan 1940 - people had ration books of coupons and registered with a shop who records coupons used

33
Q

Three types of rationing

A
  • food by weight e.g butter
  • dried and tinned goods on point system (weekly point maximum)
  • government controls of food such as orange juice or milk where babies, pregnant women or sick were supplied first
34
Q

Other government measures to cope with food shortages

A
  • ministry of food encouraged people to grow their own food and keep chickens/rabbits
  • local parks turned into allotments
  • people joined ‘pig clubs’ : buying a pig, sharing its care then sharing its meat
  • ministry of food broadcasts gave recipes and tips for making food go further
35
Q

Peoples’ ways of coping with rationing

A
  • swapped food with their neighbours
  • became regular customers at certain shops - shopkeepers would them hold items aside
  • a black market grew up - government punishes black marketeers but it still flourished
36
Q

Women’s land army

A

reformed by the government in July 1939 - needed to clear and farm more land to produce huge amount of food for start of war especially as by March 1940, 30,000 men left farming for the army and 15,000 for other war work

37
Q

Women in engineering and factories

A

Many entered factories due to lac of men and demand of war work;

  • women were nervous of huge machinery
  • usually supervised by men
  • some did fid it too difficult and some men never changed their view that it was not womens’ work
38
Q

When did the government introduce conscription for all unmarried women aged 20-30 ?

A

8th December 1941 - but as war went one older single and married women were conscripted

39
Q

Women volunteering for work

A

women chose to join the armed services, civil defence or industry and joined in large numbers - soon doing vital work
-by 1943 over 100,000 women working on railways

40
Q

Women’s sections of the armed services

A
  • ATS (army)
  • WAAF (air force)
  • WRNS (navy)
41
Q

What was work like for women during the war ?

A

At first women did gender specific supporting roles e.g cleaning, cooking + office work but as war progressed they worked on anti-aircraft posts, as radio operators, motorbike messengers and spies (could be thought as less suspicious) - also trained as drivers

42
Q

Attitudes of women in war work

A
  • some women were pleased to be working and to have gained independence - when the war finished they still wanted to work - but some forced out of work
  • some women only worked during war because they had to and so when the war ended they happily gave up their jobs for returning soldiers
  • young women didn’t want to work after war because they wanted to have a ‘normal’ life with a big family which they could do, now that the men had returned

History - Britain (5 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions