Women and the War Effort in Britain, 1914-1918

Women and the War Effort in Britain, 1914-1918

1.

The two sources, D and G, show many differences. Source D is written

by a man many years later than the period we are talking about. This

is not first hand evidence. He may have gathered his information from

accounts written at the time but he could have changed it to suit the

angle from which he is writing. Also, he was a historian writing a

broad outline about historical events and so was not specialist on

women's rights which meant his work on this topic would be brief and

maybe even superficial. I feel that as Pope was writing about the war

a long time after it had happened that he would be able to tell a much

more truthful story, provided he had reliable sources, as the

government would not restrict the content of his book. Source G

however is taken directly from a magazine written in 1915 and so is

first hand evidence. It therefore may be seen as more reliable than

source D. Also the content of this magazine would have been closely

monitored and the author would only be allowed to talk about certain

subjects which were specified by the government as this information

would be published in a magazine which would be read by much of the

British population.

Source D explains how the attitudes of men towards women workers were

usually hostile and unwelcoming. We can understand why as in the

passage it tells us that this made men more "vulnerable to

conscription" and so many men who did not want to leave their families

and go and fight took this stance. Source G tells us how the position

of women in the workplace has changed and how these modern women were

now being accepted. It says that women are just like men and can do

the jobs once held by men in times of crisis. Here source G is trying

not to show the attitudes of some men towards women but saying that

they are comrades and so hoping to show the rest of the nation that