The First World War drastically reshaped British society, altering gender roles, enfranchising millions, challenging cultural norms, and transforming class relations for decades.
The Changing Role of Women During the First World War
Entry into the Workforce
The outbreak of war in 1914 created an unprecedented demand for labour, as millions of men enlisted for military service. To fill the resulting labour shortage, women entered the workforce in record numbers.
By 1918, nearly one million women were employed in munitions factories alone, taking on roles that were previously considered exclusively male.
Women also worked in transport (such as bus and tram conductors), agriculture (as members of the Women’s Land Army), and administrative positions in government departments.
The wartime necessity challenged traditional attitudes about female capabilities, as women proved competent in heavy industry and skilled manual work.
Impact on Social Attitudes
While many women were eager to contribute to the war effort, their employment was often seen as temporary and conditional on the war’s duration.
Trade unions sometimes resisted female workers, fearing wage undercutting and post-war job competition.
Despite this resistance, the visibility of women in traditionally male roles began to alter public perceptions.
The war effort fostered a greater sense of female solidarity and awareness of rights, laying the groundwork for post-war social and political activism.
Post-War Reversion and Legacy
With the return of demobilised soldiers, many women were expected to relinquish their jobs. However, the experience had a lasting effect:
Women’s wartime contributions were frequently cited as justification for expanding political rights.
While many working-class women returned to domestic service or lower-paid employment, the precedent for women working in diverse sectors had been set.
The war accelerated social change, promoting debates about equal pay and women’s economic independence in the years to follow.
The 1918 Representation of the People Act
Expansion of the Franchise
The Representation of the People Act 1918 was a landmark in British democratic history, significantly broadening suffrage.
For the first time, all men over 21 gained the right to vote, regardless of property ownership.
Crucially, it enfranchised women over 30 years old who met minimum property qualifications or were married to men who did.
This enfranchised about 8.4 million women, roughly 40% of the female adult population, acknowledging their contribution to the war effort.
Motivations Behind the Act
The wartime sacrifices of soldiers and the support provided by women created a moral imperative for reform.
Political leaders, including Prime Minister Lloyd George, recognised the need to update an outdated electoral system to avoid post-war unrest.
Fear of radicalism, especially with the example of the Russian Revolution, motivated politicians to integrate returning soldiers and women into the democratic process.
Implications for Politics and Society
The Act shifted the political landscape by vastly increasing the electorate, paving the way for more inclusive politics.
It encouraged political parties to consider women’s issues, although women’s representation in Parliament remained minimal at first.
The Act did not grant equal voting rights to women; true equality came later with the Equal Franchise Act of 1928.
Public Attitudes Towards War
Patriotism and Propaganda
At the war’s outbreak, public sentiment was characterised by strong patriotism and widespread support for Britain’s involvement.
Propaganda played a central role in sustaining morale and encouraging enlistment through posters, films, and public speeches.
Campaigns such as Lord Kitchener’s ‘Your Country Needs You’ galvanised volunteers.
However, as the war dragged on, enthusiasm waned due to the mounting casualties and harsh realities of trench warfare.
Conscientious Objectors
Not everyone supported the war. A minority refused to fight on moral, political, or religious grounds.
These conscientious objectors (often called ‘conchies’) faced significant hostility from the public and were sometimes subjected to imprisonment, forced labour, or harsh treatment in military camps.
Some objectors joined non-combatant roles, such as the Friends’ Ambulance Unit, providing medical aid at the front.
Their treatment highlighted tensions between individual conscience and the state’s demands during total war.
Cultural Responses: War Poets and Trench Experiences
The war profoundly influenced British culture, producing a rich body of literature and art that conveyed the grim realities of combat.
War poets like Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, and Rupert Brooke captured the horror and disillusionment of trench warfare, challenging romantic notions of glory.
Owen’s poems, including Dulce et Decorum Est, starkly depicted gas attacks and the futility of sacrifice.
Soldiers’ letters and memoirs documented daily life in the trenches—mud, lice, and constant danger—shaping public understanding and post-war memory.
This cultural output fostered a more sceptical and questioning attitude towards authority and the motives for war.
Long-Term Effects on Social Attitudes and Class Structures
Changes in Class Relations
The war disrupted rigid pre-war class distinctions:
Shared hardship and sacrifice in the trenches created a sense of camaraderie that crossed class lines.
Working-class soldiers gained greater confidence and expectations for improved living standards and social mobility upon their return.
The war also weakened the social dominance of the landed aristocracy, some of whom suffered heavy casualties and financial strain.
Shifts in Gender Expectations
Although the immediate post-war years saw attempts to restore traditional gender roles, the experience had lasting consequences:
Women increasingly demanded educational and employment opportunities equal to men’s.
The war’s demonstration of women’s capabilities in public and economic life eroded arguments against women’s full civic participation.
Middle-class women, in particular, used wartime employment as leverage for social and political reforms.
Cultural Modernity and Disillusionment
The traumatic experience of war accelerated a shift towards modernist attitudes:
Many returned soldiers and civilians felt disillusioned with pre-war ideals, fostering cynicism towards traditional institutions.
Cultural trends in the 1920s reflected this break with the past—literature, art, and theatre embraced realism and explored themes of alienation.
Social behaviours also liberalised; for example, young people, including women, adopted new fashions and attitudes that signalled a break from Victorian norms.
The Rise of a More Democratic Society
While significant inequalities remained, the war laid foundations for a more democratic and socially mobile Britain:
The expansion of the franchise and the decline of deference weakened the power of the old elite.
Greater unionisation and political activism among workers influenced post-war labour relations.
Government policies after the war increasingly acknowledged the need for social welfare and support for veterans, setting precedents for future reforms.
Between 1914 and 1922, British society underwent profound transformations catalysed by the pressures of total war. Women’s roles evolved, the electorate expanded, cultural expressions shifted, and class structures loosened—changes that would resonate throughout the 20th century and redefine the social fabric of Britain.
FAQ
Voluntary organisations and charities played a crucial role in maintaining morale and providing essential support on the Home Front during the First World War. Groups like the British Red Cross and St John Ambulance organised thousands of volunteers who cared for the wounded both at home and near the front lines. The Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs), predominantly staffed by women, ran auxiliary hospitals and assisted in nursing duties, filling gaps left by overstretched professional medical services. Numerous local fundraising efforts collected money for comforts for troops, such as cigarettes, socks, and food parcels. Charities also supported soldiers’ families, providing financial assistance to widows and orphans affected by the loss of the main breadwinner. The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Families Association coordinated help for dependents, ensuring many did not fall into destitution. These voluntary efforts fostered a sense of national unity, demonstrating how civil society mobilised to meet the challenges of total war and helping maintain stability on the Home Front.
Rationing and government controls profoundly shaped the everyday lives of Britons during the First World War, as the government sought to manage shortages and ensure fair distribution of food and resources. Initially, rationing was voluntary, with propaganda campaigns encouraging households to economise and avoid waste. However, by 1918 compulsory rationing for essentials like meat, sugar, butter, and bread was introduced due to German U-boat attacks disrupting imports. Families had to register with local butchers and grocers, and ration books were issued to control individual allowances. Many people queued for hours to receive limited supplies. Price controls were introduced to curb profiteering and ensure affordability. Additionally, the government encouraged people to grow their own food through the ‘Dig for Victory’ style initiatives of the era, like allotment expansion. These measures fostered a sense of shared sacrifice and fairness, promoting social cohesion during a time of hardship and preventing social unrest caused by scarcity and inflation.
Children’s lives changed dramatically during the First World War, as their daily routines, education, and family structures were all affected by the demands of total war. With many fathers serving on the front lines, some children faced economic hardship and emotional strain due to absent or fallen parents. Older children, especially teenagers, were often required to contribute to household incomes by taking up part-time work in farms, factories, or delivering goods. Schools adapted their curricula to instil patriotism and encourage war support, teaching children to knit socks for soldiers or collect scrap metal. Some school buildings were requisitioned for use as hospitals or administrative offices, disrupting education. Air raids, particularly from 1917 onwards with German Zeppelin and Gotha bomber attacks, introduced fear and the need for drills and blackouts, experiences that were unprecedented for children at the time. Despite these hardships, many young people felt a strong sense of duty and pride in supporting the national cause.
The British government implemented strict press censorship during the First World War to manage the flow of information and sustain public morale. The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) gave authorities wide powers to suppress publications deemed harmful to national security or morale. Newspapers were expected to present a positive portrayal of the war effort, emphasising victories and bravery while downplaying defeats and casualties. Journalists faced heavy restrictions at the front, with official war correspondents carefully vetted and their reports subject to military approval. Despite these controls, the press played a critical role in shaping public perceptions by rallying support, encouraging enlistment, and fostering patriotic sentiment through stories of heroism and sacrifice. Some newspapers also produced emotional appeals for donations to wartime charities or recruitment campaigns. However, this selective reporting meant the public was often shielded from the grim realities of the trenches, contributing to a growing sense of disillusionment among returning soldiers who felt the press had misrepresented their experiences.
The First World War had a lasting impact on Britain’s approach to housing and living conditions, highlighting severe deficiencies that demanded post-war action. During the war, overcrowding in urban areas worsened due to an influx of war workers into munitions and industrial centres, straining already poor housing stock. Many working-class families endured substandard conditions, with inadequate sanitation and limited space. Recognising that poor living standards contributed to poor health and weakened national efficiency, the government pledged to improve housing as part of post-war reconstruction. This commitment was symbolised by the slogan ‘Homes Fit for Heroes’, coined by Prime Minister Lloyd George. The 1919 Housing Act (Addison Act) aimed to address this by subsidising local councils to build affordable, high-quality homes for working families. Although economic difficulties limited the programme’s full success, thousands of new council houses were built in garden suburbs and new estates, setting a precedent for future state involvement in housing policy and transforming the domestic lives of many British families.
Practice Questions
Explain the significance of the 1918 Representation of the People Act for British society.
The 1918 Representation of the People Act was highly significant as it expanded the electorate by enfranchising all men over 21 and women over 30 who met property qualifications. This recognised the sacrifices made by soldiers and women during the First World War. It transformed British democracy, tripling the electorate and encouraging political parties to address broader social concerns. While it did not grant equal suffrage for women, it laid the groundwork for future reforms and reflected changing attitudes towards gender and class, marking a decisive step towards a more inclusive political system.
How did the First World War impact social and cultural attitudes in Britain between 1914 and 1922?
The First World War profoundly reshaped British social and cultural attitudes by challenging traditional class divisions and gender roles. Women’s large-scale entry into the workforce questioned existing norms and spurred demands for greater equality. Shared experiences in the trenches broke down rigid class barriers, fostering a sense of unity among soldiers. Culturally, disillusionment with pre-war ideals emerged through war poetry and literature, which exposed the grim realities of conflict. Overall, the war prompted a more questioning, less deferential society, accelerating social change and setting the tone for the more modern and democratic interwar Britain.
