OCR Specification focus:
‘Attitudes to war; the impact of war on the Home Front’
Mobilising the Home Front during the First World War was a decisive moment, shaping political, social, and economic life in Britain under the pressures of total war.
The Concept of Total War
The First World War represented the first major instance of total war in modern British history, requiring not only military mobilisation but also the commitment of civilian society.
Total War: A conflict in which a nation mobilises all available resources — military, economic, and civilian — to achieve victory, often blurring the lines between the battlefield and the home front.
This mobilisation extended to industry, labour, propaganda, and social regulation, making the war a shared national experience that demanded sacrifice from all sections of society.
Attitudes to War
Initial Enthusiasm
In 1914, many Britons greeted the war with patriotic fervour and a sense of duty.
Recruitment posters and speeches stirred notions of honour, masculinity, and national pride.
Middle-class and working-class men alike responded to the appeal, encouraged by expectations of a short war.
Shifting Attitudes
By 1915, enthusiasm waned as the realities of trench warfare and casualty lists reached the Home Front.
Public support remained resilient, but war-weariness emerged.
The government increasingly relied on censorship and propaganda to maintain morale.
The Somme offensive (1916) intensified doubts as losses mounted, but determination to continue endured, sustained by a belief in defending civilisation.
Recruitment and Conscription
The Voluntary System
Initially, Britain relied on voluntary enlistment.
Lord Kitchener’s recruitment drive became iconic, producing “Pals battalions” where men from the same community enlisted together.
A 1914 recruitment image by Alfred Leete depicting Lord Kitchener pointing directly at the viewer. Its confrontational design helped galvanise voluntary enlistment before conscription. The image exemplifies the propaganda tone that sustained popular support in 1914–15. Source
By 1915, volunteer numbers dwindled, threatening the war effort.
The Introduction of Conscription
In 1916, the Military Service Acts made enlistment compulsory for single men, later extended to married men.
Exemptions were granted for certain occupations, ill-health, and conscientious objection (those who refused on moral or religious grounds).
Conscientious Objector: An individual who refuses military service on grounds of conscience, often religious or ethical opposition to war.
Conscientious objectors were sometimes imprisoned, ridiculed, or assigned non-combatant roles, highlighting tensions between state demands and individual rights.
Industrial Mobilisation
Munitions and War Production
The shell shortage of 1915 revealed inadequacies in production, sparking the creation of the Ministry of Munitions under David Lloyd George.
Industries were redirected to arms and ammunition.
Private firms were placed under stricter state control.
Women entered traditionally male-dominated industries to replace conscripted men.
Women at the Chilwell shell-filling factory guide heavy 6-inch howitzer shells during peak wartime output in 1917. The image captures both the scale of production and the gender shift on the Home Front. It visualises the labour reallocation that underpinned Britain’s war economy. Source
Dilution and Labour Relations
Dilution meant replacing skilled male workers with semi-skilled or female workers.
Trade unions initially resisted but later cooperated under government assurances.
Strikes occasionally broke out, especially in 1917, over wages and conditions.
Government Control and Daily Life
Food and Rationing
Submarine warfare created shortages by 1917, forcing tighter regulation of imports.
Voluntary rationing campaigns encouraged restraint, but official rationing of sugar, meat, and butter was introduced in 1918.
Regulation of Alcohol
The government restricted pub hours and watered down drinks under the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) to maintain productivity.
Defence of the Realm Act (DORA): A 1914 law granting the British government wide powers to control civilian life, censor information, and secure resources for the war effort.
Such measures demonstrated the extent to which the state intervened in daily life.
Women on the Home Front
Women played a crucial role in sustaining Britain’s war economy.
They worked in munition factories, transport, agriculture, and clerical roles.
The Women’s Land Army recruited labour for farms to address food shortages.
Although often paid less than men, their visible contribution reshaped gender roles.
Women also supported the war through voluntary organisations such as the Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs), providing nursing and relief services.
Propaganda and Censorship
Propaganda Campaigns
Posters, films, and newspapers promoted enlistment, thrift, and morale.
Themes of sacrifice, duty, and demonisation of the enemy were central.
Censorship
News from the front was carefully filtered to avoid damaging morale.
Reports of victory were exaggerated, while details of slaughter were suppressed.
These strategies shaped public perceptions and maintained the legitimacy of the war effort.
Social Divisions and Unrest
Not all Britons experienced the war equally.
Working-class families faced hardship due to rising prices, even as wages improved for some.
The upper classes contributed officers and resources but often escaped the same privations.
Irish discontent deepened, especially after the Easter Rising of 1916, complicating the sense of national unity.
Industrial strikes in 1917–1918 revealed discontent with working conditions, showing that mobilisation was not without strain.
The Mobilisation
Mobilisation of the Home Front transformed British society between 1914 and 1918. Attitudes to war shifted from enthusiasm to endurance, while state intervention expanded dramatically. The mobilisation of labour, industry, and resources—coupled with propaganda, conscription, and rationing—revealed the unprecedented demands of modern warfare on civilian life.
FAQ
DORA gave the government wide-ranging powers, including the ability to suppress dissent. Newspapers were censored to remove sensitive military information, while letters from soldiers were heavily screened.
Anti-war campaigners and those criticising government policies risked arrest. Public meetings were sometimes restricted, and seditious speech could lead to prosecution.
Pals battalions encouraged groups of friends, colleagues, or neighbours to enlist together. This created a strong sense of unity and loyalty.
However, the heavy losses suffered by single battalions devastated entire communities. Towns where many men had enlisted together often experienced profound grief and demographic change.
Bread was a staple of the British diet, and grain imports were threatened by German submarine warfare. Ensuring adequate supplies became a priority.
By reducing bread consumption, the government sought to conserve imported wheat and prevent shortages. Other foods, such as meat and sugar, only became formally rationed later in the conflict.
Women gained skills in engineering, transport, and clerical work that had been largely closed to them before 1914.
Although many were forced out of these jobs when men returned after the war, the visibility of their contribution challenged pre-war gender norms. It laid groundwork for future debates on equal employment rights.
The government relied on:
Propaganda films and posters highlighting duty and sacrifice.
Positive reports from the front, often downplaying losses.
Public ceremonies to honour fallen soldiers, reinforcing the idea of noble sacrifice.
These methods aimed to reassure the population that the war was justified, even as casualty lists grew longer.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks)
Give two ways in which the British government attempted to control civilian life on the Home Front during the First World War.
Mark Scheme:
1 mark for each valid point (up to 2 marks).
Possible answers include:Introduction of rationing (sugar, meat, butter from 1918).
Restrictions on pub hours and alcohol strength under the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA).
Censorship of newspapers and letters.
Use of propaganda to encourage support and obedience.
Question 2 (6 marks)
Explain how attitudes to the war on the Home Front changed between 1914 and 1918.
Mark Scheme:
Award 1–2 marks for basic description (e.g. general enthusiasm at the start, weariness later).
Award 3–4 marks for developed explanation with some detail (e.g. mention of Kitchener’s recruitment campaign, volunteer enlistment, impact of casualty lists, continuing determination to fight).
Award 5–6 marks for thorough explanation showing both the shift in attitudes and reasons for change, with clear examples (e.g. initial patriotic fervour, formation of “Pals battalions”, decline in morale after heavy losses such as the Somme, use of propaganda and censorship to maintain support, enduring sense of duty by 1918).
