the home front 1914-18

Question 1

how many UK troops were killed & wounded 1914-18

Answer 1

killed = 702,000
wounded = 1,670,000

Question 2

why did the war bring a number of advantages to some of the working class population

Answer 2

war created huge demand for extra industrial workers
–> trade unions gained greatly as it increased their bargaining power

Question 3

when was the treasury agreement

Answer 3

march 1915

Question 4

describe the treasury agreement (march 1915)

Answer 4

• LG (chancellor of exchequer) used negotiating skills to lay out with TUC what proved to be on of most important social contracts of war
• settlement that enlisted trade unions as essential component of war effort
• in return for accepting non-strike agreements & ‘dilution’, the unions were guaranteed improved wages/conditions

Question 5

significance of treasury agreement (march 1915)

Answer 5

• recognition of trade unions as essential partners in war effort
• now participants in running of state (no longer be regarded as outsiders)
• LG referred to agreement as ‘the great charter for labour’

Question 6

when was conscription introduced

Answer 6

1916

Question 7

unexpected consequence of conscription

Answer 7

boost in status of many industrial workers (~650,000 ‘slackers’ would be netted by conscription)

Question 8

why did the imposition of compulsory military service see an initial drop in men enlisting

Answer 8

• need to exempt workers in reserved occupations
• men in jobs considered vital to war effort were not called up (eg. mining, munitions)
• in early months, the average weekly enlistment fell to 10,000 (half of figure it had been under voluntary system)

Question 9

how many exempt workers were added after compulsory conscription imposed

Answer 9

748,587 exemptions added to million & a half already starred workers

Question 10

define starred workers

Answer 10

from 1914, volunteers who were already doing vital war work had star put against their name & exempted from military service

Question 11

what was the shortfall in systems made up by

Answer 11

• raising upper age limit from 41 to 50
• included married men

Question 12

what did exemption from the call-up show (compulsory conscription)

Answer 12

• how dependent britain was on its workers for survival
• nations heroes were not confined to battle field (& nor were heroines)

Question 13

what did the last suffragette demonstration demand (july 1915)

Answer 13

‘we demand the right to serve’

Question 14

how many women were involved in direct war work
auxiliary (non-combat) units?
military nurses (eg. first aid nursing yeomanry)?

Answer 14

• 100,000
• 100,000

Question 15

how many women were involved in other work during the war

Answer 15

• 200,000 = government departments
• 500,000 = clerical work in private sector
• 250,000 = land workers
• 50,000 = public transport (tram, bus conductors & drivers)
• 800,000 = engineering workshops

Question 16

how many workers left their jobs 1914-18 to join armed services

Answer 16

4.9 million

Question 17

how was the gap in the workforce filled

Answer 17

• natural increase in population of young people of working age = 650,000
• delayed retirement of existing workers = 290,000
• foreign workers = 100,000
• wounded men who didn’t return to active service = 700,000
• overtime/longer hours = 1,000,000
• women workers taken on = 1,700,000

Question 18

why were women necessary to the war effort

Answer 18

the output of munitions (war effort depended) could not have have been maintained without them

Question 19

why were unions reluctant to press for equal pay for women

Answer 19

most women were unskilled = union officials worried if their claims were pushed it would weaken claims of men for higher wages

Question 20

why can it be argued that the women did not see a permanent social advance for women

Answer 20

• after war, majorit of women gave up jobs to returning male workers
• by 1920 the proportion of women in the industrial workforce was little higher than before war (26% in july 1914 vs. 27% in july 1920)

Question 21

which industry did women remain in after war

Answer 21

female shorthand typists (largely took over from ink-stained male clerks)

Question 22

advances made by women during war that remained

Answer 22

• clothing/hairstyles became more practical (eg. dresses became lighter & more adapted to needs of regular physical movement work demanded)
• need for women to travel between home/work daily or live away from home = sense of independence

Question 23

how much did trade union membership grow between 1914-18

Answer 23

1914 = 4 million
1918 = 6 million

Question 24

what did the stronger position of unions cause

Answer 24

higher wages & improved working conditions

Question 25

why was there not peace on the industrial front (even though higher wages/better conditions)

Answer 25

- strike action increased during last 2 years of war - feeling among workers that burden of winning the war was falling disproportionately on them - the class that was making biggest sacrifice - doubted the government (despite many public tributes) fully understood this

Question 26

number of working days lost in 1914 vs. 1919 (industrial strikes)

Answer 26

1914 = 9,878,000 1919 = 34,969,000

Question 27

number of strikers in 1914 vs. 1919 (industrial strikes)

Answer 27

1914 = 447,000 1919 = 2,591,000

Question 28

how did the war alter government spending & borrowing

Answer 28

- by end of war, spending by government was 62% of GNP (in napoleonic wars in 1813, government spending was only 7% of GNP) - raised capital needed by borrowing from banks at home/north america (~2/3 came from such loans & remained 1/3 raised from increased taxation) - income tax was quadrupled 1914-18 - government borrowing increased national debt from £650 million to £8000 million - britain owed so much that 1/4 of revenue raised by government had to be spent on paying interest changes (£325 million) on national debt

Question 29

why were the war years a period of growth of british industry

Answer 29

production expanded to meet huge demands for goods & materials

Question 30

why were british staple industries in long-term decline (despite war)

Answer 30

- for many decades, british industry had been seriously weakened by foreign competition (eg. USA, germany) - handicapped by inability to adapt to new trends (eg. failure to introduce up-to-date machinery, reluctance to modernise traditional work practices) - industry failed to reinvest/attract new investment - lacked capital to buy new machines or develop modern production techniques

Question 31

why was there a damaging trend in countries which had been major purchasers of british goods before 1914

Answer 31

- wartime blockade had caused many of them to produce for themselves (couldn't import supplies) - developed their own manufacturing industries = stopped buying from britain - forced to become self-suffficient, so these countries protected gains by tariffs/trade embargoes after 1918

Question 32

why did britain's old staple industries find it difficult to sufficiently adjust to meet change in economic world order what was the consequence?

Answer 32

- old-fashioned production methods left british manufacturers with high overheads = reluctant to drop prices (cut profits) - consequence was lack of competitiveness & fall in demand for british-made goods - WW1 hastened decline of staple industries which had already began

Question 33

what made it impossible for britain to follow a free-trade programme

Answer 33

- commercial disruption due to war - economic blockades which nearly all warring countries resorted to destroyed international trading patterns

Question 34

what did the government do to try maintain vital imports

Answer 34

- increasingly interfered in operation of ports & docks to impose restrictions on flow of goods

Question 35

how had the government undermined free trade as a practical proposition

Answer 35

involvement in wartime running of economy

Question 36

effects of war on religion (culture)

Answer 36

- suffering/loss intensified religious feeling - military chaplains (accompanied troops) reported men often took solace from religious services - families fearing for loved ones (at home) turned to religion for comfort - attendance at church services increased - notable turning to spiritualism

Question 37

effects of war on relations between sexes (culture)

Answer 37

- emancipation brought to many women was expressed in easier relations with men - rigid rules of etiquette broke down - some moralists complained of abandonment of restraint, and pointed to increase in illegitimate births as evidence

Question 38

effects of war on class shifts (culture)

Answer 38

- greater contact between people from military/industrial conscription resulted in meeting those from other classes (would not have met otherwise)

Question 39

effects of war on music (culture)

Answer 39

- flowering of poetry - great resurgence in british music (eg. george butterworth, sir edgar elgar)