How was civilian life affected by WW1? Essay

The First World War greatly changed the lives of civilians living in Britain. When the war first broke out, t present was a tremendous feel of euphoria and patriotism.In the first four weeks after the declaration of war, over 500 000 men had enlisted in the army. This was parti every last(predicate)y due to the article of faith that it would be over by Christmas, and was the opportunity for a holiday government posters too played a part in the persuading of the great unwashed to enlist. A universal government poster was that of Lord Kitchener, pointing at YOU and with a caption that read Your king and country need YOU.In 1914 the government passed a law that gave them agent over civilians daily lives, this was known as DORA (The defence of the realm mold). It allowed the government to seize any buildings or land they needed which would grant to the war effort. This also included the take over of industries. As soon as this law was passed the government immediately seized coalm ines. This was an important industry in the contribution towards the war effort. An act under DORA was that of the watering down of beer in breweries, this was so that to keep workers focused once they returned from their lunch break. This was one of the stranger acts but yet it was obeyed and carried out.DORA also had the forcefulness over the media and newspapers. This was so that civilians saw what the government wanted them to see. This therefore kept the general enthusiasm about the war on a high, and the public did not know the true horrors of trench warfare, nor the massive number of casualties and deaths the British army had suffered.Contrary to popular beliefs the British government also produced propaganda. This was in the form of posters. one and only(a) poster depicts a German as a mad brute, another showed Germans murdering babies. Both of these posters encouraged Britons to hate the Germans. another(prenominal) form of Government propaganda was that of a film, releas ed in 1916, it was of the battle of the Somme. Many scenes in this film were staged and were not real. This gave the public who watched it the idea of brave and heroic soldiers fighting the war. This film was a succeeder for the Government, as people did not question the films realism and welcomed it gladly.In 1915, Lloyd George became in charge of the munitions crisis. This crisis was that there were not enough people working in the delineate industries. People tended to go for the job that had better pay. He attempted to solve this problem by forcing people to stay in the factories where the government needed them most. Another way he tried was by introducing women into the factories, where once this had stereotypically been seen as the staminates job. This annoyed trade unions as they believed women would work for less and therefore would dilute the males wages. To make unions co operate they had to promise that they would pay women the same wage as men, and that as soon as th e war was over women would not be kept on.The war really changed the role of women in society as, as men were going to war, jobs were being left unfulfilled. Lloyd George decided that women were as good and as skilled as men to carry out their jobs. Lloyd George and Emily Pankhurst both encouraged women to work in munitions factories. In 1915, 100 000 women registered for jobs but only 5000 were actually presumptuousness them. This was due to opposition from trade unions. Another government scheme was set up named Womens Land Army this was were women were recruited as farm workers, to grow crops and vegetables. This would contribute to the war effort. A slogan on a government poster read Dig For Victory. Any other jobs that had been once seen as the males job had been undertaken by woman and in some cases women could do the job just as good and sometimes better then the men. The utmost of these jobs helped dismiss the pre-war belief about women being incapable of doing mens jobs. Due to the huge part women played in the war, in 1917 a visor was passed allowing women over the age of 33 the right to vote.In 1916, the government passed another law known as the military service act this made all men between 18 and 40 eligible for active service. This was due to the decreasing amount of people volunteering to enlist in the war. Many people were smoldering at this act, as some did not want to join for political reasons and others because of their religion. These people were names conchies.By 1917, there was serious concern for the supply of victuals Britain had left. This was due to the sinking of British merchant ships by German U-Boats. As less and less food was being imported, the small amount of food that was hitherto in circulation within Britain became expensive and many of the prises rose. Voluntary ration was introduced in May 1917, but proved unsuccessful. So in 1918, compulsory rationing was introduced. This meant that people had to cut down on the amount of sugar, butter, meat and beer that they consumed. They managed to do this by giving everyone a book of coupons in which they bought food. Penalties were forced on those who broke the rationing rules.The First World War was the first war where Britons came under direct attack from the enemy. This was due to German bombers and Zeppelin warships. In 1915, German bombers bombarded Scarborough in which many innocent people had been killed. The government decided to use this to their advantage and encouraged people to avenge the attack on Scarborough by joining the army, yet again, here is British government propaganda.To conclude my essay I believe civilian life was greatly affected in World War 1. The war brought about the right for women to vote conscription, compulsory rationing and also it changed many peoples views about war.