Era of the Great War - Scottish civilians and the war (summary)

1. Era of the
Great War
Scottish civilians
during the
Great War

2. Scottish civilians during the Great War
In today’s class I am learning to:
• Describe the experiences of Scottish
civilians during the Great War

3. The war did not just affect those that were involved
in fighting, Scottish civilians were also affected in a
variety of different ways.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

4. The war affected civilians
in various ways, such as:
• Bombings
• Impact of deaths
• Food and rationing
• Conscription
• Employment
• Laws and politics
Scottish civilians during the Great War

5. Some civilians in
Scotland were killed as a
result of the fighting.
German zeppelins
dropped bombs across
Britain, including in
Edinburgh in April 1916
when 23 bombs were
dropped, killing 13
people and injuring 24.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

6. Scottish civilians during the Great War
It was not just the war
that caused deaths.
Spanish flu swept the
world, killing around 50
million people.
At least 22,000 Scots
died from this, and
around one million Scots
fell ill with the flu.

7. Other Scots suffered as a
result of the deaths of
men fighting overseas.
It is believed that at least
100,000 Scottish
soldiers died in the war.
This left families to
mourn loved ones, and
face financial problems.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

8. Cities, towns and villages
had their own way of
commemorating their
war dead.
Some of them built war
memorials, which
named all of the war
dead. Other groups – like
schools – posted a roll of
honour with names.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

9. Food shortages became
a major problem during
the war. This is because
German U-boats were
sinking supply ships
coming to Britain.
The British government
also needed to have
enough food to send to
the military.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

10. The price of food also
rose substantially,
making it harder for
many people to afford
the food they needed.
The price of potatoes
doubled, cheese and
eggs prices increased by
around 45%, and milk
and sugar went up 25%.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

11. High prices and food
shortages led to
protests, including a
‘potato march’ in
Glasgow in 1917.
The government tried to
encourage people to
grow their own food,
including opening new
allotments.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

12. The government
introduced rationing in
December 1917.
Civilians were given
ration books to keep a
record of their food
allowances.
Sugar was first to be
rationed, followed by
many other food types.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

13. Some men also faced
problems due to
conscription. In 1916 a
new law forced men to
join the military.
Initially this was single
men aged 18-41, but
eventually covered all
men aged 18-51.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

14. Men who did not want
to fight had to apply to a
Military Tribunal. They
had to provide evidence
to support this.
If the Tribunal agreed,
the men could be given
other jobs. However
men whose request was
refused still went to war.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

15. Those men that still
refused to fight (even if
told to by the Tribunal)
were sent to work
camps and prisons.
In prison they faced
attack and abuse from
other prisoners. Work
camps involved hard
labour for the men.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

16. Conscientious objectors
also faced problems in
their communities.
Many of them were
verbally abused, or even
attacked. At other times
they were refused
service in shops and
pubs. Often friends and
family fell out.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

17. Not all men were sent to
war, even after
conscription was
introduced.
Some men worked in
reserved jobs (such as
mining and shipbuilding)
which were essential to
the war effort, so they
did not have to fight.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

18. However the large
numbers of men created
job opportunities for
women in Scotland.
This gave them the
chance to work in
traditionally male jobs,
including bus and tram
drivers, or in farming
and forestry work.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

19. Scottish civilians during the Great War
Around 22,000 women
worked in Scottish
farming between 1914
and 1919.
The Scottish Women’s
Land Army used
newspaper adverts to
recruit women, including
in publications such as
the Inverness Courier.

20. Most famously, women
were employed in
munitions factories,
making weapons for war.
This included making
shell casings at
Glengarnock steelworks
in Ayrshire; three-
quarters of the workers
were women
Scottish civilians during the Great War

21. Scottish civilians during the Great War
Some women even went
abroad to help the fight.
They worked as
battlefield nurses or
drove ambulances,
helping injured soldiers.
Others did non-fighting
jobs, such as working as
mechanics or cooks.

22. For many women this
gave them a chance to
earn a wage –
sometimes the first time
they had ever done so.
However at the end of
the war many of these
women lost their jobs to
make way for men
returning from battle.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

23. In order to help control
the country during the
war, the British
government introduced
various new laws.
This was known as the
Defence of the Realm
Act (DORA) and affected
all aspects of civilian life
in Scotland.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

24. DORA limited people’s
freedoms.
Newspapers were
censored, to stop bad
news spreading.
Private letters sent by
soldiers were also read
by military staff, and
could be censored.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

25. DORA rules also affected
people’s activities,
including banning
activities such as kite
flying or bell ringing.
Alcohol was also
affected, with pub
opening hours reduced,
beer watered down and
buying rounds banned.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

26. Wartime Scotland saw
many protests and
political actions.
Aside from complaints
about food shortages,
there were high profile
campaigns against rent
increases, notably in
Glasgow and the
Clydeside in 1915.
Scottish civilians during the Great War

27. Some people also
protested against the
war itself.
Glasgow Green was the
venue for marches
calling for peace and
against conscription. This
led to the arrests of men
such as Glasgow school
teacher John Maclean.
Scottish civilians during the Great War