Lesson video

Hello, and welcome to this lesson on "The war at home." In this unit, we'll be looking at World War I and whether it had a total impact for people across the British Empire.

In the course of this unit, we'll be looking at lots of different things, including the international tensions that existed in Europe by the 1900s, the events that led to the outbreak of the war, what it was like to fight on the Western Front and who fought on the Western Front, but also the impact of the war across the British Empire and at home in Britain.

In this lesson, we'll just be focusing on the impact of the war at home in Britain.

Now, for this lesson, you're going to need a piece of paper and a pen.

If you don't have that, that's absolutely fine.

Just pause the video, get everything you need and then come back and press play when you're ready to go.

Great, now you've got everything you need for this lesson, we can have a look at our first lesson slide.

On the lesson slide, you'll be able to see our lesson outcome.

By the end of this lesson, you can explain the ways in which life changed for different people across Britain during the war.

In order for us to achieve this lesson outcome, we're going to need some keywords.

For this lesson, we have five keywords.

Partitioned, rationing, censorship, Home Rule and munitions.

Before we get started with the lesson, it would be really helpful if we have a look at some definitions for these words before we see them in context.

So when a country is partitioned, that means it is divided into at least two smaller states or countries.

Governments can introduce rationing to allow people to have a fixed amount of something, usually food or goods.

So you might have bread rations, you might have meat rations, you might have the number of eggs that you can buy rationed.

That means there's a limited number of eggs that you can buy.

Censorship is when a government or organisation prevents the sharing of ideas or information that are considered unsuitable.

So something that might not work for the values and ideas of a particular government or organisation.

Munitions are military weapons or equipment needed for military weapons.

So for example, the bullets in a gun, that would count as munitions.

And finally, Home Rule is when a country is given some independence, usually in the form of their own government.

But that might take slightly different shapes and forms depending on the example we're using.

Now we've got our definitions, we can get started on today's lesson.

So as you already know, in this lesson, we'll be looking at the war at home.

We know that World War I had a great impact on the people fighting on the front lines across the world.

It also had a huge impact on those who remained in Britain.

Life in Britain, therefore, became known as the Home Front.

As people in Britain really felt they were a part of the war.

Therefore, when we refer to life at home in Britain during the war, we will now refer to it as the Home Front.

And a really important part of life on the Home Front was the change in government control.

And that's going to be the first part of our lesson.

So once the war broke out, the government began to make changes almost immediately.

And one of those changes, in fact, probably the biggest change, was the introduction of a new law that became known as DORA.

What that stood for was the Defence of the Realm Act.

It was introduced in 1914.

And the government said that this law was passed to secure public safety.

And it gave the government the power to control almost every aspect of people's lives.

This still meant that the government could control food and land, that meant that they could introduce rationing.

Remember what we said earlier, that rationing is when the government introduces limits to how much you can buy of a particular good.

Usually that might be food, for example, bread or meat.

Now the reason that they introduced rationing during the war was to limit the amount of food that people could buy so that the country would not begin to run out of food.

Now you might wonder why on earth a war would then lead to people running out of food? And that was because British shipments were often being sunk by enemy ships.

Because if they could impact people at home, that might lead to far fewer people supporting the war, and therefore Britain might surrender quicker.

In addition to rationing food, the act also allowed the government to introduce censorship and to take control of railway, shipping and mining industries.

And the reason it was so important that the government could take control of railway, shipping and mining industries was so that they could prioritise all the work they were doing to help the war effort across all of these different industries.

This means that DORA was able to be used to make workers more efficient, because the government reduced the amount of time that pubs could open.

They did things like dilute beer to ensure that people were awake and sober for their work in factories.

And the government also moved clocks forward by one hour in summer to make sure that factory and farm workers had more working hours in the daytime.

This is still in place today and is known as British Summertime.

So at those points in the year, when we move our clocks forward and backwards, that was introduced during the war to ensure that workers could stay in the factories for as long as possible to produce as many goods as possible that might in turn help the war effort.

The government also used DORA to control the media through censorship.

Remember that's when a government limits the sharing of ideas or information that they consider unsuitable.

So they banned anything that would decrease support for the war, even letters from soldiers, films, posters or war reports.

In the first year of the war, over 2 million posters were produced, which were not allowed to include the harsh realities of war or the losses the British army faced.

If we have a look at the slide here, we can see a poster that would have been allowed after censorship was introduced because it encouraged support for rationing.

We can see that the poster says, "We risk our lives to bring you food.

It's up to you not to waste it." So this poster would have worked perfectly because it in fact increased support for the war and rationing.

Because as we remember, rationing was introduced so that Britain would not run out of food to ensure that the British war effort was supported by as many people as possible.

Now let's take a minute and check our understanding of what we've learnt so far.

Which of the following is the most accurate definition of censorship? Is it A, limiting the amount of media printed because of a lack of resources? Is it B, Encouraging the spread of ideas or information considered suitable? Or is it C, preventing the spread of ideas or information considered unsuitable? Take a moment, have a think, pause the video and then come back and press play when you've made a decision.

Absolutely, excellent work.

The answer is C.

Censorship is about preventing the spread of ideas or information considered unsuitable.

Now let's have a go at putting what we've learnt so far into practise.

I would like you to take around 5 minutes to complete the following table to show whether each change is an example of censorship, remember that's preventing the spread of ideas or information considered unsuitable.

Rationing, that's limiting the amount of goods that can be bought, or control of industries.

Remember, the government was looking to control different industries in order to make workers as efficient as possible in order to support the war effort.

Pause the video, give yourself around 5 minutes to complete this table and then come back when you're done.

Excellent work, so far, well done on your first practise task, let's have a look at what your completed table should look like.

So letters from soldiers were edited to remove all the mentions of death, this is an example of censorship.

Limits were placed on the amount of bread people could buy each week, that is an example of rationing because we're seeing limits placed on the amount of goods that people can buy.

Clocks being moved forward in summer to increase working hours and the like, that is an example of control of industries, one that we know has lasted right up until today.

And finally, pubs had to close earlier and beer was diluted, this is another example of the control of industries by the government during the war in order to make sure workers were efficient as possible and therefore, as many people were supporting the British war effort as possible.

Great work in this first section of the lesson, let's move on to the next part.

So the next part of this lesson, we're going to be looking at Irish calls for independence.

Remember our lesson outcome involves explaining the impact of the war on people across Britain and in 1914 Ireland was very much part of the United Kingdom.

Ireland had been part of the United Kingdom since 1801, however, prior to this, they'd been subject to British rule and across Ireland this had been received in many different ways.

Some people had embraced British rule, but many people had been fighting against British rule for centuries.

This had reached breaking point by the early 1900s and as a result in 1912, Ireland was promised Home Rule by the British government.

What that means was that the British government had agreed to give Ireland some degree of independence, in this case, it would have been in the form of their own government.

They would have had their own Irish government to help them make laws that would in turn give them greater independence and for many people they thought that this would be a step towards full Irish independence.

However for many people, especially people in Southern Ireland, this was not good enough and they demanded complete Irish independence, not in small steps like Home Rule, but they wanted complete independence and they wanted it then.

Matters were only made worse in 1914 when war broke out and as a result of war breaking out, the British government said that their priorities had to be placed elsewhere and Home Rule was postponed.

So for those people in Ireland, usually Northern Ireland, they were frustrated because they had finally got what they had asked for, but that was being pushed back, it was being delayed.

And for those in Southern parts of Ireland they were even angrier because they had demanded more than Home Rule and they hadn't even been granted this partial independence that they already thought was not good enough.

Now, despite these feelings, there were 30,000 Irish soldiers serving in the British Army in 1914.

And by 1918, 200,000 Irish soldiers had joined the war to fight for Britain and around 35,000 of those Irish men would give their lives, many of them in the Battle of the Somme.

Now, many people back in Ireland assumed that because of these huge contributions they would be rewarded in turn with independence.

However, when the war ended, Home Rule was not granted.

So as we can see here, if we're looking at the impact of the war on Ireland, they gave huge contributions towards the British war effort and that was not met with independence as many expected.

In fact, it would take more elections, more protests and even more resistance before Ireland was finally partitioned in 1921.

Remember, partition is when a country is divided into two or more smaller states.

In this case, Ireland was partitioned into the Irish Free State, which today is known as the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is still part of the United Kingdom.

In 1921, the Irish Free State was given something called Dominion status.

This was similar to other nations like Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

What that meant was they were now free to rule themselves without formally becoming an independent nation.

However, for many people in the new Irish Free State, this was a huge cause for celebration.

It wasn't quite the full independence that they were fighting for, but this was a huge step in the right direction for them.

The Irish Free State would go on to become the independent Republic of Ireland, although that wouldn't be until 1947.

And Northern Ireland was given its own parliament, but remained part of the UK and has remained so until today.

Let's take a minute and check our understanding of this part of the lesson.

Which of the following statements best describes the impact of World War I on Ireland? Is it A, the war made little difference? B, the war led to slow but significant change? Or C, the war led to immediate change? Pause the video.

Have a think about the timeline we just looked at, when events happened and why.

And once you've got an idea, come back and press play.

Excellent work.

We can definitely say that World War I led to slow, but significant change.

The reason that we can say that is because Home Rule was in fact postponed in 1918.

Had it been granted in 1918, we might be able to say it led to immediate change.

But as it was postponed, it was definitely a slow change.

Although, as Ireland was partitioned in 1921, into Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State that would become the Independent Republic of Ireland, we can definitely say that it ultimately led to significant change, but it was definitely a delayed process.

Now that we've checked our understanding so far, let's put what we've learnt into practise.

I would like you to write a short paragraph to explain how the war led to slow, but significant change in Ireland.

In completing this task, I would like you to make sure that you use the following in your answer.

Home Rule, independent or independence, and partition or partitioned.

Remember, Home Rule is when a country is granted a degree of independence, usually in the form of their own government, and partition, when one country is split into two or more smaller states.

So by using all three, you've definitely got at least two of our keywords in your response, which would be amazing.

I would like you to pause the video, give yourself 5 to 10 minutes to write this paragraph, and then come back and press play when you're done.

Great work, let's have a look at what your answer could look like.

The war led to slow change in Ireland, as Home Rule was agreed by the British Parliament in 1912, but was postponed when war broke out.

This meant that the change that many hoped for would be even slower than they expected.

When the war ended, Home Rule was not granted immediately, further slowing the change.

However, protests over the Irish question showed that many would not rest until they achieved independence.

As a result, Ireland was partitioned in 1921 into Northern Ireland, who were granted Home Rule, and the Irish Free States, later the Independent Republic of Ireland, a significant change that has lasted until today.

This is absolutely great work.

If you've managed to get all of these words in, really well done for using at least two of our keywords in your response.

In the third and final part of our lesson, we're going to be looking at the impact on women across the Home Front.

So by March 1915, you may already know that 2.

5 million men had volunteered to join the British Army, and this number would only increase when conscription was introduced in 1916.

And by the summer of 1915, there was a huge gap in the workforce on the Home Front, with nearly one in four men fighting abroad.

This would have a huge impact on women, as women had not been called to go and join the war effort and many of them remained at home in Britain.

However, this is not to say that they hadn't already been working, because as many as 3.

3 million women were already in the workforce working in a variety of jobs when war broke out in 1914.

They'd mainly been working to produce cloth and clothing, but this changed in 1914 when there was a shortage of munitions.

And remember, munitions are military weapons, or equipment needed for these military weapons.

So things like bullets, guns, or other ammunition.

And women were needed to help end this crisis by providing more munitions.

So almost one million women were brought to working munitions factories in 1915, as we can see in this picture.

We can see a photograph of women working munitions factories to provide equipment that would be sent out to the front line for British soldiers to use to fight in World War I.

By 1917, there were 4.

7 million women working across Britain, including Ireland.

However, these women did not only work in munitions factories, many of them worked as secretaries for the armed forces, as police officers, and anywhere else that they were needed to support the war effort.

Before we move on to the next section to find out what happened to women after the war ended in 1918 and all those soldiers returned from war, let's take a moment to stop and check our understanding so far.

For the first question, I would like you to tell me whether this statement is true or false.

Millions of men going to war meant that more women joined the workforce.

Take a moment, have a think, come back and press play when you've got a decision.

Excellent work, this statement is true, but we need to think about why? I would now like you to justify your answer.

Is it true because A, as millions of men were at war, there was a huge gap in the workforce on the home front? Or is it true because B, as millions of men were at war, thousands of women went to join them as soldiers? Pause the video, have a think, come back and press play when you think you know why.

Excellent work, the answer is A.

Millions of men going to war meant that more women joined the workforce.

This was because there was a huge gap in the workforce on the home front.

Now if you picked B, while there were some women who went to join the war effort in various roles, it would be incorrect to say thousands of them went to join as soldiers, as there are only records of a very, very small number of women fighting in World War I, although they did take up other support roles during the war.

Now let's have a look at a second question.

Which of the following was not a job taken up by women during the war? Was it A, army officers? B, munition factory workers? C, secretaries, or D, transport workers? Pause the video, have a think and come back when you've got an answer.

Great work, the answer is A, army officers.

Like I said, while there were some women who went out to join the war effort, we only have records of a very limited number of women who took part in any fighting during the war and we do not have any records of female army officers in World War I.

Great work so far, now let's have a look at the impact of the war on women once the war ended in 1918.

Now despite the need for more workers across almost every industry in Britain, women faced so much prejudice as the men who remained on the home front resented the increasing number of women joining the workforce.

Despite this prejudice that they faced, in 1918, we saw the first significant change for women on the home front as the representation of the People's Act gave women the right to vote.

However, it should be noted that in 1918, the vote was only given to women over 30 who met the property qualification to vote.

This meant that it was often only middle and upper class women, so wealthy women who had property or had land who had the right to vote.

This would change in 1928 when all women over 21 got the right to vote, regardless of how much money or land that they had.

This meant that within 10 years of the war ending, women could vote on the same terms as men.

Now let's check our understanding before we get into the final practise task of today's lesson.

I would like you to tell me if this statement is true or false.

The 1918 Act brought huge change for all women.

Pause the video, have a think, come back and press play when you've got an answer.

Great work, the answer is false, but we need to think about why? So you're now going to need to justify your answer.

Is this statement false, because A, the 1918 Act only applied to wealthier women over 30 or the 1918 Act did not apply to women of any age? Pause the video, have a think, come back when you think you know why.

Great work, the answer is false because the 1918 Act only applied to wealthy women over 30.

It wasn't until 1928 that women could vote on the same terms as men.

That meant all women over 21 could vote.

Now let's put our learning into practise.

I would like you to explain which of these two students makes the more convincing judgement on the impact of the war on women in Britain.

Aisha argues that although the 1918 Act only applied to wealthier, older women, the war had long-term positive impacts for women.

However, Izzy, argues that women saw little change as a result of the war and things went mostly back to normal in 1918.

Pause the video and give yourself up to 10 minutes to write a short paragraph explaining who you think makes the most convincing judgement.

Try and have a go at including some key words if possible and then come back and press play when you're done.

You've done some absolutely fantastic work this lesson.

Let's have a look here at what your answer could have looked like.

I think that Aisha makes the more convincing judgement as she argues that it took some time, but eventually, there were huge changes for all women.

This is especially true if you look at when all women were able to get the vote.

As a result of their contributions in the war, especially in munitions factories, some women were granted the right to vote in 1918, straight after the war ended.

However, this only applied to wealthier women over 30.

It would take another 10 years of protesting before all women over 21 could vote.

This shows that, although it took some time, the war was an important stepping stone in winning women the vote, a huge success for women in the 1900s.

If you were able to use one key word here like our model answer, really well done.

You've done absolutely fantastic work this lesson, let's have a quick look at a summary of what we've learned in this lesson.

So today, we have learned that during the war, the government controlled all aspects of life.

This led to censorship, rationing and changes to key industries.

We've also learned that although the British government voted to give Ireland Home Rule in 1912, this was postponed by the war and it wasn't until Ireland was partitioned in 1921 that Northern Ireland was granted Home Rule and the Irish Free State achieved dominion status.

We also learned that 2.

5 million men had volunteered to join the war effort before conscription was introduced in 1916.

And as a result, women made significant contributions to the war effort, working in munition factories and other industries that were low on workers as millions of men went to war.

This led to some women gaining the vote in 1918.

Remember, that was women over 30 who had a certain amount of property.

Excellent work this lesson, really well done.