role of civilian population in the war effort

100 years question

what was the idea of total war

Whole population in the war effort- touched every part of life

What was the population increase for Britain between the years 1800-1900?

10 million to 40 million

What was common for the economy during wartime?

economic downturn as trade was disrupted so exports dropped

What was the impact on the economy during WW1?

felt less as the Gov made people work in essential industries

What increase in social dynamics lead to many feeling closer to the Boer war?

increase literacy rate as during the Boer war there would be daily updates

Why were many people willing to have sacrifice during WW1?

Increase in growing patriotism and feeling of civic duty

What traditional idea was getting eroded during WW1 in terms of leadership?

the idea of ruling elite was failing= Haig and David Lloyd George were middleclass

What was the point of the B of E being founded?

help the Gov manage its debt- issued Gov bonds which was paid with a ‘promissory note’ (guilt)

What were Consuls?

gov issued consolidated annuities where they had had no fixed period where they had to be repaid- became v tradeable items on stock market

How much money did Pitt’s indirect tax reforms raise the gov revenue?

£12.7 million in 1783 to £18.6 million in 1792

How much did Pitt reduce the national debt to?

from £243 million to £170 million

What was imposed in 1789?

Income tax

How much did income tax cost?

2 old pence in the pound on incomes above £60 a year (many people was nowhere near reaching this)

2 shillings in the pound on incomes over £200

How much money did the Income Tax act raise?

extra £6 million

Seen as ones patriotic duty to contribute

Which 2 wars needed heavy Gov borrowing?

Crimea and the 2nd Boer wars

Cardwell reforms after Crimea cost a lot to implement

Haldane after 2nd Boer war also expensive

How much did the national debt increase from in the years 1914-1918

£625 million to £7,800 million

What percentage of tax was used to service the interest on the debt by 1918?

25%

What did the B of E do and what was the impact?

They printed more money than they had gold to back it up- created high levels of inflation

What were the special ‘war bonds’?

they were offered to the general public with 3.5% interest return

priced at £5 so ordinary people could afford to afford it

amount of war bonds purchased shows belief in the gov and overall support

What were camp followers?

Those with no official role in the army but choose to follow the army on their campaign Ex

Examples of camp follower.

Cutlers, prostitutes and philanthropists

How may wives were allowed per a company during the Peninsular war?

6 wives-

Often Women went anyway and local women who became attached to the soldiers= they were required to fend for themselves while official women given rations/tent

Why did many women follow their husbands to war?

Could end up in the Workhouse

Many couldn’t trust their husband to send their allowance home to them

What were the ancillary services?

support services within the army- military medical care started in the Crimean War- no professionalism until early 20th century

What quality of workers were attracted to the army?

Worse surgeons in the country- many soldiers preferred to be treated by camp followers i.e. Mary Seacole

What services did many camp followers provide?

Female camp followers often were asked to make something palatable out of the soldiers rations

Camp followers also repaired soldiers uniforms and equipment

What was the growing problem in terms of health of the soldiers in the 1850s?

1:5 servicemen in Britain had a venereal disease

What act was passed in 1864?

Contagious Disease Act:

Women could be examined and if found to be infected could be detained for up to 3 months

Extended to beyond ports and army towns in the 1866

Very controversial= women would be imprisoned by infected men could carry on as normal

Repealed in 1886

What did the threat of Fr invasion create in Br?

militia units throughout UK- performed useful duties=

-Cavalry militias either Fencibles/yeomanry= only yeomanry continued after 1803

- Infantry militias were raised by counties- given garrison duties away from home area

How many men served in the Br reserves by 1803?

380,000 men

What did many local units provide after getting disbanded?

Policing roles i.e. Peterloo Massacre Manchester 1819- 11 people killed before yeomanry dispersed it

What did the Militia Act in 1852 do?

formed a more structured part of the nations defence

80,000 men enlisted voluntarily or by ballot

What is DORA?

Defence of the Realms Act-

Passed August 1914

Gave Gov unprecedented powers to influence almost every aspect of everyday life

No illegal to fly a kite, light a bonfire or buy binoculars

Introduced British Summer Time

What was the Munitions of War Act of 1915?

direct government control of the munitions industry- TU had to abide

Made strikers illegal and workers couldn’t leave employment

Workers protected and could be given pay rises

Coal and transport under Gov control

Where were recruiting sergeants not allowed to recruit from by 1915?

reserved occupations i.e. miners and shipbuilders= too many young men left work for war effort

How many women were the working in munitions?

82,859 in 1914

947,000 in 1918

over 200,000 women became civil servants?

Why was food in Br a serious problem?

1914= 60% food imported

Unrestricted sub warfare was restricting supply- 1916= serious shortages at shopsW

What 2 measures introduced to fix growing food problem?

Rationing

Shipbuilding programme to import more food

Livestock farmers encouraged to turn to food crops i.e. wheat, barley and potatoes

Every farm under Board of Agriculture

What was the WLA and how many were there by the end of the war?

Women Land Army- provided women labourers- 16,000 by end of warWh

What was introduced in Jan 1918?

Compulsory rationing on staples=

• meat

• butter

• margarine

• sugar

caused calories to fall by 3%- very small compared to rest of continent

What happened to Alcohol?

Intoxicating Liquor Act of 1914=

• limited opening time of pubs

• advised landlords to water down beer

• stop round of beers being bought

• In Naval ports alcohol was highly restricted

Caused beer consumption 1/2

What was one of the main parts of DORA?

restriction of information- became an offence to talk military matters in public

Newspapers carefully controlled

What did the Civil servants often do?

making sure press didn’t reveal anything sensitive

In 1916 25,000 photos and 300,000 private telegrams examined by Gov censors

How many forms of propaganda were there?

Over 50 million posters printed during WW1

The Battle of the Somme (film) was made independent film makers and sold to Gov= Shown in over 2000 cinemas

Bombings of Scarborough and Zeppelin raids exaggerated- claims of babies bayonetted and women being crucified by Barbaric Gr soldiers

What was the scale of war like before 1914?

single armies moving in relation to one another with a limited impactW

What was war like during WW1?

numerous armies forming cohesive front- enormous impact on civilians- needed to contribute more than ever