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World War 1 and the changing role of women
World War 1 and the changing role of women
Major roles played by women during wwi
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The British Army and World War I In October 1915 the Derby Scheme was introduced; all men had to register and they were put into categories of age, marital status and occupation, under this scheme the young, unmarried and unskilled men were enlisted. In 1916 conscription was properly introduced in Britain to increase the size of the army. (b) During the course of the First World War, Britain was geared towards the aim of winning the war. Women of all social classes were involved in the war effort. This was the first time that many women in the upper-class and middle-class had experienced paid work; contemporaries would have considered this unsuitable in peacetime. There was still a clear distinction between classes, for example in munitions factories the women who put the explosives in the shells would be from the working-class, while the middle-class women would be a supervisor. Therefore women from the lower class got fewer opportunities than women in a higher class. With the introduction of conscription in 1916, many jobs formally male dominated were open to women because the men had left to fight in the war; women took over jobs such as working in agriculture in the woman’s land army or in munitions factories, which were essential for running the country and fighting in the war. The women who worked in agriculture found that wearing skirts was unpractical, so they had to wear trousers. This was the first time it
Nevertheless, upon return to civilian life, many found they were treated with the same or harsher prejudice and discrimination as before. Fighting in another country in a war that does not affect them and completely against their culture and moral beliefs. It seems that the effects and the Aboriginal contribution of WW1 had a negative effect when they came back home and this was still evident at the start of WW2. When the war began in 1914, many Indigenous Australians tried to enlist but were rejected on the fact of their colour and race, but some simply snuck through. By October 1917, when recruits were rare and one conscription referendum had already failed, restrictions were eased back. A new Military Order stated: "Half-castes may be enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force provided that the examining Medical Officers are satisfied that one of the parents is of European origin." (Peter Londey, 2013). The repression of Indigenous Australians increased between the wars and protection acts gave government officials greater authority over Indigenous Australians. Australian Aboriginals had a positive contribution in World War One but this in turn had a negative effect on their culture and the way they were
The men rushed to enlist. In the first two weeks 7000 Victorian men volunteered for the first Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and 10,000 in Sydney.” It was a man’s duty to go to war. Most people who lived in Australia felt an obligation to England. England was at war, so Australians wanted to go and help them.
The Role of the Royal Marines During World War One The Royal Marines were formed in 1664. They were formed as part of the Navy to keep order on board the men-of-war, to provide the Navy with a raiding force but mainly to deal with the Dutch, who were the combatant in 1664. The Marines have always been a flexible force, fighting on land and on sea, a skill which has made them one of the most advanced forces of modern warfare, a weapon in their own right. This essay looks at the role that the Royal Marines played during and surrounding World War One. Prior to the outbreak of World War One, the last action that the Marines had seen was during the Boer war of 1898 - 1901 however the use of the Corps came under huge criticism as assault infantry for they were "expensive products . . .
Some women enlisted in the army to fight on the battlefield. Their reasons varied as some fought for money and
Sister Claire Evelyn Trestrail was the eldest of five being born on the 10th of December, 1877 in Clare, South Australia. Trestrail served in the First World War as a nurse following in her mother’s footsteps who was a trained nurse, Acting Matron of King Edward Hospital in Perth and also had involvement within the Red Cross and the Saint John’s Ambulance Services. Trestrail’s younger siblings also had involvement within the First World War with her two younger brothers; John Henry and Amarald Glen, serving in the royal Flying Corps and respectively, 1 Machine Battalion. Amarald was also presented with a Military Medal for Gallantry at Villaret. Sister Ella also served as a nurse, got married, but tragically returned as an amputee. It was only her youngest sister Amy who did not serve during the war.
During the war, women played a vital role in the workforce because all of the men had to go fight overseas and left their jobs. This forced women to work in factories and volunteer for war time measures.
Because many men were involved in the war, women finally had their chance to take on many of the positions of a man. Some women served directly in the military and some served in volunteer agencies at home and in France. For a brief period, from 1917 to 1918, one million women worked in industry. Others not involved in the military and industry engaged in jobs such as streetcar conductors and bricklayers. But as the war started to end, women lost their jobs to the returning veterans.
were mobilized and for the high military casualties compared to civilian deaths. However, it was also a total war, where the entire nation's population was involved. Everyone contributed to the war efforts from civilians working in factories making uniforms, guns, tanks and ammunition, to families with men at the front. Probably the most prevalent group that contributed a major role in World War I, were women. They took on many responsibilities not only at the home, replacing men in offices and factories but also serving in the arm forces. More that 25,000 women served in Europe in WW I, they helped nurse the wounded, and provide food and other supplies to the military. They served as telephone operators, entertain troops and adhered to the expectations that were pressured on them from society. Their actions in World War I eventually led to the passing of the 19th amendment.
In December 1941, the government conscripted single women aged 20-30 as auxiliaries to the Armed Forces, Civil Defense, or war industries… Government figures show that women’s employment increased during the Second World War from about 5.1 million in 1939 (26%) to just over 7.25 million in 1943 (36% of all women of working age). Forty six percent of all women aged between 14 and 59, and 90% of all able-bodied single women between the ages of 18 and 40 were engaged in some form of work or National Service by September 1943. (Anitha)
The Attitudes of British Soldiers to their Commanders During the First World War On their own they are not very useful to a historian studying the attitudes of soldiers to their commanders in World War I. However, if used together and with some of my own knowledge, they could be useful in creating a picture of what the attitudes of soldiers towards their commanders were like. Time would have been a major influencing factor on the attitudes of the soldiers to their commanders. As the war went on and the soldiers began to realise that they weren’t getting anywhere they would begin to doubt their commanders. This coupled with the volume of casualties would have made them increasingly distrusting of their leaders.
European countries channeled all of their resources into total war which resulted in enormous social change. The result of working together for a common goal seemed to be unifying European societies. Death knocked down all barriers between people. All belligerents had enacted some form of a selective service which levelled classes in many ways. Wartime scarcities made luxury an impossibility and unfavorable. Reflecting this, clothing became uniform and utilitarian. Europeans would never again dress in fancy, elaborate costumes. Uniforms led the way in clothing change. The bright blue-and-red prewar French infantry uniforms had been changed after the first few months of the war, since they made whoever wore them into excellent targets for machine guns. Women's skirts rose above the ankle permanently and women became more of a part of society than ever. They undertook a variety of jobs previously held by men. They were now a part of clerical, secretarial work, and te! aching. They were also more widely employed in industrial jobs. By 1918, 37.6 percent of the work force in the Krupp armaments firm in Germany was female. In England the proportion of women works rose strikingly in public transport (for example, from 18,000 to 117,000 bus conductors), banking (9,500 to 63,700), and commerce (505,000 to 934,000). Many restrictions on women disappeared during the war. It became acceptable for young, employed, single middle-class women to have their own apartments, to go out without chaperones, and to smoke in public. It was only a matter of time before women received the right to vote in many belligerent countries. Strong forces were shaping the power and legal status of labor unions, too. The right of workers to organize was relatively new, about half a century. Employers fought to keep union organizers out of their plants and armed force was often used against striking workers. The universal rallying of workers towards their flag at the beginning of the war led to wider acceptance of unions.
Women’s role in society changed quite a bit during WWI and throughout the 1920s. During the 1910s women were very short or liberty and equality, life was like an endless rulebook. Women were expected to behave modestly and wear long dresses. Long hair was obligatory, however it always had to be up. It was unacceptable for them to smoke and they were expected to always be accompanied by an older woman or a married woman when outing. Women were usually employed with jobs that were usually associated with their genders, such as servants, seamstresses, secretaries and nursing. However during the war, women started becoming employed in different types of jobs such as factory work, replacing the men who had gone to fight in the war in Europe. In the late 1910s The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) had been fighting for decades to get the vote for women. As women had contributed so much to the war effort, it was difficult to refuse their demands for political equality. As a result, the Nineteenth Amendment to the constitution became law in 19...
World War 1 World War 1 was called “The Great War”, “The war to end all wars”, and “The first modern war”. It has many causes and a few repercussions and I will describe them in detail. The most widely known reason for the start of World War 1 was the assassination of the Arch Duke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in the Serbian capital of Sarajevo. The ArchDuke was there to talk to the Serbian leaders about peace on the Balkan Peninsula. After a Serbian was arrested for the assassination, Austria-Hungary pulled out of the peace talks and declared war on Serbia.
During America’s involvement in World War Two, which spanned from 1941 until 1945, many men went off to fight overseas. This left a gap in the defense plants that built wartime materials, such as tanks and other machines for battle. As a result, women began to enter the workforce at astonishing rates, filling the roles left behind by the men. As stated by Cynthia Harrison, “By March of [1944], almost one-third of all women over the age of fourteen were in the labor force, and the numbers of women in industry had increased almost 500 percent. For the first time in history, women were in the exact same place as their male counterparts had been, even working the same jobs. The women were not dependent upon men, as the men were overseas and far from influence upon their wives.
Women were not only separated by class, but also by their gender. No woman was equal to a man and didn’t matter how rich or poor they were. They were not equal to men. Women couldn’t vote own business or property and were not allowed to have custody of their children unless they had permission from their husband first. Women’s roles changed instantly because of the war. They had to pick up all the jobs that the men had no choice but to leave behind. They were expected to work and take care of their homes and children as well. Working outside the home was a challenge for these women even though the women probably appreciated being able to provide for their families. “They faced shortages of basic goods, lack of childcare and medical care, little training, and resistance from men who felt they should stay home.” (p 434)