Changes in the Role of the People

They didn't experience war in their country since the mid 17th century and the wars in the 18th and 19th century didn't have an impact on people, other than disruption to trade. By WW1, Britain had moved from remote wars to "total warfare". It bought the war closer to the people and required massive contributions and included things such as conscription, rationing etc

The role of the Bank of England was important in the 18th century as it managedthe debt of the country. They issued government bonds - the way that the government borrowed money during wars. This gave Britain a huge advantage as other countries had to raise the money themselves. The government also issued consols which were different to bonds as there was no fixed time period by which they had to be paid. They benefitted the government and the investor as interest was paid quarterly. Consols were only a small part of debt and were issued when the country desperately needed money

The industrial revolution meant that the British government could raise much more money during wartime than its enemies. Many middle-class industrialists began to rise alongside the traditional wealth and they invested in bonds. It was very popular. This impacted the wars as more money meant they were able to take on enemies with armies and fleets of battleships and could financially support allies (seen during the Seven Years war with the Prussian land forces)

The scale of the war was huge so it put pressure on the British economy. Indirect taxes had been put in place (increased gov revenue from £12.7 million to £18.6 million. Reduced national debt from £243 million to £170 million). By 1798, there were taxes on over 20 goods and services such as salt and beer. William Pitt the Younger decided to impose income tax in 1798 - it was targeted to an annual income of £60 a year and only affected the wealthy. It raised £6 million out of their expected £10 million and was suspended in 1802, but continued the next year after a break in fighting

Small wars that Britain wer in between 1815-1914 were generally paid for by taxation and increasing the national debt. As they were the leader of the industrial revolution, thy had an increase in manufacturing and trade - greater government income. Smaller wars were against smaller inferior forces who were badly equipped. Crimea and Boer wars required more borrowing through consols. Half the costs of the Crimean wars were met eith borrowing - they raised £217 million. A tax was put on sugar and income tax was increased but this was a third of the cost. The government wanted to reduce spending on the army following these wars 0 seen during Cardwell and Haldane reforms

Due to the scale of the war, the government had to make massive increase to the national debt and raise tacation. The debt increased from £625 million in 1914 to £7.8 billion in 1918. It was borrowed from British and international organisations with bonds and interest. The USA directly loaned £1 billion. The war bonds scheme was also offered to the general public. Initially the interest rate was 5% but it was reduced to 3.5%. It cost £5 and paid for a third of the war - showing the faith the public had in the war. Income tax rose from 3.5% to 30% by 1918 and people who paid tax rose from 1.5 million to 7.7 million

During the 18th and 19th century, large numbers of people followed the army on its campaigns. May have been related to the soldiers, looking for a chance to make money or pariotism. At the time this was the only real link between the armies and society

Soldiers were allowed to marry and wives were allowed to accompany their husbands but officially numbers were limited. During the Peninsular War this was done by ballot (6 wives per company). There were also a large number of unofficial camp followers - wives who hadn't been selected. It wasn't easy for them as they had to march long distances and suffer from the weather and feed themselves. Often, their only alternative was the workhouses as they faced extreme poverty if their husbands left home. Following the army provided some security and the opportunity to offer services than the soldiers may have paid for

The idea of a fully proffesional army with supports only began to emerge during the later half of the 19th century. The Crimean war and the experiences of the soldiers made it clear that there was a need for effective medical care. Up until this point most nursing was done by camp followers and only one surgeon per battalion was providied. Surgeons were generally the worst who couldn't find work elsewhere/ weren't qualified. Other services included food provision and uniform/ equipment repairs

Another motivating factor for people following the army was to make money. Some offered selling alcohol, prostitution, gunsmiths, cobblers and cutlers. They could make a decent amount of money

The threat of French invasion led to the formation of militia units throughout the UK. They were part-time and not allowed to serve abroad. Cavalry units such as the Yeomanry were to act against civil unrest so regular units could serve abroad. Infantry militia units were also formed by counties for home defence. Each county had a quota of men to raise and if they didnt meet it they would press men for service. Militia units were generally given garrison duty away from their home area to avoid conflict of loyalty. Voulenteer soldiers were part-time and were trained fro a few hours. The possibility of a full scale invasion was a real concern, but the navy ensured this was never a realistic possibility. After 1815 there was no more threat

After the end of the French wars, many of the local units were disbanded but some remained to provide a policing role. After the Yeomanry’s actions in the Peterloo Massacre, people began to question the need for reservists. AFter fearing tha further invasion in 1852, the reservists were going to become a more structured part of the army with the Militia Act in 1852. This provided a militia force of 80,000 men to be enlisted voluntarily or by ballot. Both Cardwell and Childers’ reforms frew the reservists closer to the army until Haldane made them an intgral part of defence in the early 20th century

The Defence of the Realm Act was passed in the first week of the war and gave the government influence to influence every aspect of society. Heavily contrasted with Victorian belief of laissez-faire. DORA saw how people acted and was responsible for the introduction of clocks changing

The government passed the Munitions of War Act 1915 which allowed them to take direct control of any munition facories with rules to control the workforce. All strike action was banned, fines were in place for absence and workers needed permission to move jobs. No worker could refuse to take ona new job or overtime. “dilution” of work was introduced for unskilled workers to enter the workplace. Wages were protected for workers. Profits from coal mines were fixed at 1913 levels - the rest went to the government. They remained private but the threat of nationalisation remained throughout the war. Transport industry was also restricted to 1913 levels and Railways and merchant shipping were controlled to ensure the country and army were supplied during the war

At the start of the war, industry suffered as thousands of skilled men joined the army. The gov realised that they needed to balance military efforts with industry and farming. In 1915 they placed emphasis on “reserved” occupations such as miners, shipbuilders, farmers etc. although by 1918, many of them were also called into the army

despite opposition from trade unions, the role of women grew. 82,859worked in munitions factories in 1914. By 1918, there were 947,000. In addition, 200,000 women worked in the civil service, 500,000 were clerics, 117,000 were in the transport industry. In 1917 the Women’s Land Army provided labourers but failed to meet its ambitious targets with only 16,000 registering

In 1914, 60% of food was imported so shipping was keeping the company supplied. The German U-boad campaign had an impact and by the end of 1914, there were shortages of some supplies in shops, long queues and rising costs. The gov launced massive ship building programmes to ensure food supplies continues and introduced rationing across the country. They were diven the power via DORA to encourage livestock farmers to turn to crop production and promised to keep the prices of them high. Every farm was moniteored and wages were fixed. Compulsory rationing was forced by January 1918. Key foods like meat, butter and sugar were rationed but bread was not. This had an impact but was limited compared to the experience of civillians in Europe (300,000 Germans died due to malnutrition in the war)

The Intoxicating Liquor (Temporary Restriction) Act was passed on 31 August 1914. It gave local authorities power to reduce pub opening times, force landlords to water down beer and stop people drinking in rounds. By 1918, beer consumption had halved and the reduction in spirits was even more. Convictions in drunkedness had gone from 3,388 per week to 449 per week in 1918

DORA restriced information. It was illegal to talk about millitary matters in public and the press was controlled. In 1916, 38,000 articles, 25,000 photographs and 300,000 private telegrams were examined by gov censors. Some newspapers who tried to give an alternative view were shut down (eg. The Tribunal). 50 million propaganda posters were printed and parades were organised. in 1916, the Battle of the Somme film was released and was watched by nearly 20 million people across 2000 cinemas. Anti-german posters were important as “war weariness” became an issue