Unit 3 - The Home Front And Social Change Flashcards
When did the British government introduced the defence of the realm act (DORA)?
August 1914
In what way did DORA give government more power?
Censorship
Imprison people without trial
Take over economic resources
Numerous restrictions
How was censorship imposed in Britain?
Letters from the front were censored
It was illegal to discuss military matters in public
How did censorship affect newspapers?
They could only publish stories of British heroism and German brutality
How was free speech affected by DORA?
No public comment could be made if they damaged morale, upset workers, lowered recruitment
Why was John Maclean arrested in 1915?
He was talking about prejudice recruiting
When was there Munitions crisis?
1915
What personal restrictions did DORA introduce?
Rationing and control of alcohol consumption
Why did many men join the army when the war broke out in 1914?
They were patriotic and wanted to ‘do their bit’
What is meant by the term Pals battalions?
Organising soldiers from the same town organisation into a group. This led to towns competing to make sure that they did not look unpatriotic
What was the disadvantage of the pals battalions?
It led to all the men from certain villages being wiped out
What was the Derby scheme?
It made men promise that they would join the army if asked
What did the military service acts mean for Britain?
Jan 1916: all single man aged 18 to 41 could be called up
May 1916: all married men aged 18 to 41 could also be called up
What was the name given to men who refused to join the army?
Conscientious objectors
What organisations did the conscientious objectors form?
British neutrality league
Non-conscription fellowship: 1916
What kind of roles conscientious objectors often given by tribunals?
Non-combat duties such as ambulance drivers
Who were absolutists?
Men who refused to have anything to do with the war, they were sent to prison and some even sentence to death
What is the slang term for conscientious objectors?
Conshies
Why was rationing introduced?
German U-boats (submarines) carried out naval blockade to stop ports from bringing supplies to Britain
When did the Germans announce all merchant shipping entering or leaving British waters would be sunk?
February 1915
How many U-boatsdid Germany have by 1917?
200
When did food start to become scarce in Britain?
Late 1916
When was white bread banned?
1916
What happened in 1917 in terms of rationing?
The government asked people to limit their consumption of meat
The royal family announced that it was cutting its food consumption by quarter
What was rationed from 1 January 1918?
Sugar
What was rationed from May 1918?
Jam, tea and butter
When did the suffragettes organise a demonstration in London demanding the right to serve?
July 1915
Who were the canaries?
Women who worked munitions factories because the chemicals in explosives turned their skin yellow
How many women worked in engineering jobs by the end of the war?
800,000
What did the women’s land Army do?
How to grow more food
When could women work in the Armed Forces?
From 1917
How many women joined the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WACC), the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF), or the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS)?
100,000
How many women served as nurses close to the front?
23,000
How did women encourage recruitment?
The mothers union encouraged mothers to persuade their sons to join up
Women gave white feathers to men who hadn’t joined the forces, it was a symbol of cowardice
