The Home Front - Rationing Lesson starter: Why was food in short supply during the war? Make a list of reasons.

The Home Front - Rationing Lesson starter: Explain in your own words what Lloyd George meant with this quote – why do you think ‘drink’ would have such an impact on the war effort? “We are fighting Germany, Austria and drink, and as far as I am concerned, the greatest of these foes is drink.” (David Lloyd George)

Today we will… Identify why rationing was introduced in World War One. Explain the ways in which rationing affected people’s everyday activities. 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.

Rationing on the Home Front For the majority of World War One, rationing was not needed as the restrictions of D.O.R.A meant that there was enough food to go around. People were encouraged to ‘do their bit’ and not waste food.

Rationing on the Home Front Towards the end of the war, Britain started experiencing food shortages. In 1917, the Germans started unrestricted submarine warfare – previously they had only torpedoed military ships, but they started targeting all ships. This affected Britain particularly badly because a lot of food came from the USA.

In February 1917, the German ‘U-Boats’ sank 230 ships bringing food to Britain. In March 1917, Britain lost half a million tons of shipping. Germany’s U-Boat warfare was beginning to have a massive impact on British food supply.

The British government tried lots of strategies to defeat the U-Boats: Merchant Convoys – ships going across the Atlantic with food and supplies had protection from military ships. Dazzle camouflage ships – ships were painted to mislead the enemy as it was difficult to judge the ship’s distance or speed.

In 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 in an attempt to allow farmers greater hours to produce food.

Britain only produced 1/3 of their own food and found it harder to import food from abroad during the war German U Boats had been destroying cargo ships headed for Britain Some foods had been in very short supply i.e. sugar, bread Prices of food had been rising i.e. bread The government wanted to stop people ‘panic buying’ Soldiers food took priority; there was less for citizens in Britain The government wanted to make sure rich and poor people had enough to eat regardless of wealth The army taking horses to war had an effect on the amount of food produced on farms Previous attempts at ‘voluntary rationing’ in 1916 hadn’t worked, or propaganda posters Many experienced farm workers had gone off to war/ killed at war

Task One Past Paper Booklet P. 7 Q 2 Explain the reasons why rationing was introduced during the Great War (6) One reason rationing was introduced was _____ and this meant that food was in short supply because…

Source D is about the impact of the war on food supplies. Source D   As the German U-Boat campaigns took hold, food became increasingly difficult to find. Many of us started growing our own vegetables in Duthie Park. This helped for a bit as at least it filled our stomachs. But there was a limit to what we could grow in the city. Prices seemed to rise faster than any of us who could keep up with which led to real discontent among workers on the Clyde who saw the value of their wages reducing fast. Rationing was a saviour to many people in Scotland’s cities. 3. How Fully does Source D explain why rationing was introduced in 1918. (Use Source D and your own knowledge.)

Extension Task In your groups you need to produce a public information pack about rationing in World War One. Your pack should include: An information poster with a rationing slogan. An information leaflet with the following information: Items that are rationed with amounts allowed. Punishments for incorrectly using ration books.