The Defence of the
Realm Act
Aims:
• Identify the purpose of the
Defence of the Realm Act.
• Examine some of the restrictions
placed on peoples’ lives during
the war.
The Home Front
During the First World War, Britain was
‘fighting’ a war on two fronts:
• On the Western Front, soldiers were
directly involved in fighting the war
from the trenches.
• On the Home Front, ordinary British
people (civilians) also had an important
role to play.
The Home Front
During the course of the war peoples’ lives
changed dramatically as the whole country
worked together to win the war:
DORA
Propaganda
Food
Shortages
The Home
Front
Censorship
Conscription
Women At
War
The Defence of the Realm
Act 1914
• This was a law passed in August
1914 and gave the government
new powers to introduce
whatever restrictions were
necessary to protect the country.
• DORA immediately changed
people lives in a number of ways
The Effects of DORA
DORA allowed the government to
introduce various restrictions:
• direct labour (tell people to work
in certain vital industries)
• order a blackout at night
• censor the press
Think…
Why would the government believe that the following
restrictions were necessary?
Discuss your thoughts with the person(s) beside you
• No-one was allowed to give bread to horses or
chickens
• No-one was allowed to use invisible ink when
writing abroad
• No-one was allowed to light bonfires or fireworks
• The government introduced British Summer Time
to give more daylight for extra work
• Opening hours in pubs were cut, beer was watered
down and customers in pubs were not allowed to
buy a round of drinks
• No one could own homing pigeons without
permission.
The Effects of DORA
If you had been a British civilian
during the First World War which
restriction would you have disliked
the most?
Remember to give a reason for your
answer!!
Managing Weapons Production
• The British government had to ensure
that there were enough munitions
being produced in the UK to keep the
war effort going.
• It the early stages of the war there
were huge shortages of shells which
was effecting the armies ability to
fight.
• In response to this shortage THE
MINISTRY OF MUNITIONS was created
to oversee wartime production.
Managing Weapons Production
David Lloyd George was the
new Minister of Munitions. He
had the power to:
• Take over factories
• Set up new factories
• Take over land to build new
factories.
• Control supplies of coal
• Control the railways
The Munitions Industry