THE FIRST WORLD WAR

1914-18

World War One began in August 1914.

It happened because of several complicated reasons including,

Assassination- an important world leader was killed !

Arms race – Britain and Germany tried to out do each other by building up their naval power - most ships is the winner !

Empire – some countries liked to rule other, less powerful ones and take things from them like gold and other valuable resources – the countries being told what to do did not like it !

Alliances- some countries were friends with each other and promised to help out if one got involved in a war.

Lots of people rushed to

join the army and fight.

People believed it would be

over by Christmas 1914.

The war lasted 4 years and became one of the most terrible and horrifying wars ever fought .

Modern technology and industry meant modern weapons and war on a mass scale.

Aeroplanes, machine guns, gas, bombs, tanks and barbed wire were just some of the hazards.

All of this meant death, destruction and injury on a mass scale.

By the end of the war almost ONE MILLION men from the British Empire alone were killed.

A further 2.1 MILLION men were seriously injured or wounded during the war.

What story do the pictures tell ?

What happened to the survivors and the wounded?

• You are going to help an injured soldier!

• You are going to decide what the best possible medical care for the patient will be.

• You will also have to consider what will happen to the soldiers future and how he will cope with life after the war.

Rehabilitation

• Strategy was to offer rehabilitation and retraining.

• Therapies included massage, electrotherapy, hydrotherapy, occupational therapy and physical exercise.

• As the war progressed so did the technology in areas such as prosthetic limbs. E.g. Wooden legs weighing 9 pounds were replaced with lighter metal limbs.

• There was a back log of men waiting for limbs.

Retraining

• The ability of injured men to earn a living was a big concern

• Men were retrained in basketry, rope making, making toys.

• Others were trained in diamond cutting, poultry keeping, book repair, carpentry, piano tuning and massage.

• Many schemes failed because they couldn't offer financial independence or because the occupations taught were impractical.

Who was responsible?

• Government provided pensions based on rank and how the injury was gained.

• Many schemes offering rehab were voluntary but state aid did partly support the schemes.

• The government certainately did not organise or financially support all schemes for disabled men.

• They didn’t completely abandon injured either.