Scots on the Home Front

Lesson starter:In your jotters, give three details about the Battle of Loos, 1915.

Today we will…

• Identify the ways in which peoples’ lives were changed during World War One.

• Identify some of the ways in which people’s lives were restricted on the Home front.

• Understand why these restrictions were put in place.

• Assess how effective these restrictions were and how they affected everyday lives on the Home Front.

Success Criteria…

• I will be able to describe some of the changes on the Home Front.

• I will be able to describe some of the restrictions put in place.

• I will be able to identify the reasons why these restrictions were used.

• I will be able to justify the importance of various restrictions.

Scots on the

Home Front

The First World War was the first “total war” – the whole nation was mobilised to fight. People in Scotland were affected in six main ways – use the information on the following slides to produce a mind map to show how people on the Home Front were affected during World War One.

‘Mobilised’ – to get ready for war.

1. RecruitmentHuge poster

campaign to get people to join up. In 1916, conscription had to be introduced

to get enough soldiers.

Women were recruited into the armed forces to work as cooks, drivers, nurses

and telephonists.

2. D.O.R.A (Defence of the Realm Act)

This was passed in August 1914. It allowed the government to take over certain industries, such as coal mines,

railways and shipping. David Lloyd George set

up state-run ammunition (‘munitions’) factories.The biggest munitions factory in the world was in Gretna in the Borders, where they made ‘devil’s

porridge’.

‘Devil’s porridge’ – cordite ammunition that looked like porridge.

3. Reduced workforceThere were fewer

workers because so many men left to join the

army. Women often filled the roles needed, such as

bus drivers, train drivers and by joining the

‘Women’s Land Army’ to increase food

production and support the war effort.

4. RationingIn 1918, a fixed

allowance for sugar, meat, butter, jam and

tea was introduced. British Summer Time was also introduced so there

were more daylight hours.

5. PropagandaNewspapers and soldiers’ letters were censored.

Posters were used to encourage morale among

civilians.

6. Civilian CasualtiesThere were no instances of civilian casualties in

Scotland, but there was a fear of attack, after

towns on the east coast of England were bombed

by zeppelins in 1915.

Scots on the Home FrontLesson starter: If this is the answer…

Below are 4 answers to questions you could ask about last lesson, think of the questions:

Q1. ……………………………………………………………………..........

A: Butter, sugar, tea, jam and meatQ2.

……………………………………………………………………………..

A: Letters and newspapersQ3.

……………………………………………………………………………..

A: By joining the Women’s Land ArmyQ4.

………………………………………………………………………………

A: August 1914

D.O.R.ADefence of the

Realm ActAugust 1914

Task Two – D.O.R.A True or False?

For each of the following restrictions, decide whether you think they were a genuine restriction put in place as a result of D.O.R.A.

Forbidden to give bread to

horses

People must ride a bike at

all times

Windows had to be blacked

out

Forbidden to fly kites

Women had to wear trousers

Forbidden to made toys

Forbidden to buy alcoholic

drinks for someone

else

Women had to work in ‘munitions factories

Forbidden to write a letter in invisible

ink

Forbidden to kill bees

Men in coal mining had

to leave their work

Beer was to be ‘watered

down’ in pubs

Forbidden to take

photographs of soldiers

Railways were put

under military law

Women had to put white

feathers on men not in

uniform

Newspapers were

censored

Forbidden to buy

binoculars without

permission

People had to sing ‘God Save

the King’ before dinner

Illegal for workers in

war industries to

strike

Forbidden to learn German

Forbidden to buy whisky in

a train station

Forbidden to ring church

bells

Task three - Memory Task

You have one minute to write down as many of the TRUE laws as you can from memory.

How many did you remember?1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

Task four - Justification

Pick the three laws which you think would have affected people on the Home Front the most, and explain why, giving reasons for your opinions.

Optional task five - Charades

• Class split into two teams and one person from each team takes it in turns to act out one of the laws, while the rest of the team guess.

Today we will…

• Identify the ways in which peoples’ lives were changed during World War One.

• Identify some of the ways in which people’s lives were restricted on the Home front.

• Understand why these restrictions were put in place.

• Assess how effective these restrictions were and how they affected everyday lives on the Home Front.

Success Criteria…

• I will be able to describe some of the changes on the Home Front.

• I will be able to describe some of the restrictions put in place.

• I will be able to identify the reasons why these restrictions were used.

• I will be able to justify the importance of various restrictions.