DORA

1. DORA • Defence of the Realm Act (1914) - Gave government wide ranging powers to run the war • DORA was also used to control civilian behaviour. This including regulating alcohol consumption and food supplies.

2. Munitions

3. What was the problem? • Planning clearly inadequate • Chronic shortage of shells and bullets • New soldiers trained with sticks! • Rumours that soldiers limited to three rounds of ammo a day • Publicised by the Daily Mail

4. What did the government do? Lloyd George made minister of munitions. In this role he: • Told essential workers to stay put rather than go where the pay was best • Brought women into the workforce • Opened up the government’s own munitions factories

5. Evidence of success • Crisis was alleviated, and army well supplied thereafter. • Equal pay established for women after Unions complained that paying them below the odds could lead to men being squeezed out of the market altogether.

6. Evidence of failure • 100,000 women registered for industrial work in 1915 – but only 5000 were given jobs! • Women were to be thrown out of their jobs once the boys came home. • Trade unions complained that the bosses weren’t subject to the same restrictions

7. Rationing

8. What was the problem? • In April 1917 German U-Boats were sinking 25% of British Merchant shipping • At one stage Britain had only 6 weeks supply of wheat left! • Prices almost doubled between 1914-1917 and easily outstripped wages – strikes and demonstrations

9. What did the government do? • Women’s Land Army set up to in Feb 1917 to recruit women as farm workers • Wages of industrial workers raised after the strikes • May 1917: voluntary rationing system introduced - Royal family publicised the scheme • November: Price of bread restricted to the “ninepenny loaf”, • Recipe books produced

10. Evidence of success • Rationing welcomed as a fair system • By the end of the war the diet of many poorer people had improved as a result of the system!

11. Evidence of failure • None of the measures relieved the food shortage • Early 1918 – compulsory rationing introduced of sugar, butter, meat and beer • Coupon books distributed • Stiff penalties for anyone who broke the rules

12. Propaganda and Censorship

13. What was the problem? • From the middle of 1915 recruits were drying up and it was clear the war was going to be long and hard.

14. What did the government do? • Lord Beaverbrook, the newspaper baron, joined the cabinet in 1916 • No pictures of dead British soldiers allowed • Letters censored • Government sometimes even kept Parliament in the dark about its intentions!

15. Evidence of success • Oxford University’s Red Book (in which professors justified Britain’s decision to fight) became a best seller • Children’s books and comics were also patriotic and sold well • Battle of the Somme film was great triumph – showed wounded soldiers but still kept morale high

16. Evidence of failure • Restriction on free expression rather drastic and betrayed the government’s fear that it was losing the battle for hearts and minds • As The Nation (which was later shut down) stated, “It is a domestic tragedy that the country which went out to defend liberty is losing its own liberties one by one” • Untold damage was done by children’s comics which instilled the idea that the Germans were aggressive ‘hun’