Both wars had a significant impact on British society. World War One which began in 1914 and finished in 1918 saw many countries including: France, Russia, and Britain take part in the fight. This war saw “40 Million” military and civilian deaths alongside the use of trench fighting. The major battles of World War One include “The Battle of Somme, Battle of Cambrai and Battle of Passchendaele” Whereas, The Second World War began in 1939 and ended in 1945. It began when Germany invaded Poland and Britain and France therefore declared war onto Germany. World War Two resulted in “15,000,000 Battle Deaths” worldwide as the fighting happened across the globe; mainly in Europe and East Asia. The biggest change was the use of aircraft to win the advantage and those battles of World War Two saw the biggest devastation such as “Stalingrad” and “Berlin” .
In this essay I will argue the significance of both wars in relation to themes which are: Women, Class and poverty and Politics. In relation to which war had a more significant impact, I believe that World War Two had a substantial influence as it was one that was lasting rather than the temporary one seen after World War One. World War One saw an era of domesticity which had an impact on women and family as well as changing traditional values; however, not one of length. The impact of World War Two (which was lasting) affected all areas of society from economy to politics and this influence therefore unified Britain more than ever before.
Women’s role throughout both wars drastically changed the view of the woman’s place in society and consequently the way in which family functions changed. In World War One, women saw a new found freedom never seen before due to majority of the country being away to fight. One major aspect to how women saw freedom during this time was through work. Work for women was significant during the war as they were no longer involved in just domestic work they were now being employed in new areas such as: munitions, and transport. It’s said that “Women were 22% of the total in manufacturing, most concerned with war production” This was a major rise to pre-war and had an impact on how women continued to work after. However; this was not a lasting impact.
Most were worried that employers would keep women on after the war; but, many fired women in the workplace to make room for the return of men and even were paid less. This led to the demand of equal pay; a committee was set up to examine this but, did not implement equal pay. Women’s role was now different; the war gave women freedoms they wanted to keep and gain more of. The fight for equal pay was just one way in which war saw for a fight for rights; another being women’s right to vote.
The war halted all previous campaigns but after offered women the chance to organise themselves and call for their right to vote. This was granted in the form of The Representation of the People Act 1919, which “entitled all men over the age of 21 to the vote and granted suffrage to women over 30 – as long as they were either owners of property, or married to owners of property.” and also allowed women in the House of Commons therefore Britain saw its first female MP in 1919; Nancy Astor. This was a step forward however, what is prominent is the restrictions still evident from this act. It only allowed women over 30 with property to vote and so adds to the argument of the significance of World War One in relation to class being not as important as World War Two as it restricts the lower classes from voting therefore showcasing an unfair representation of British society.
World War Two saw a similar rise for women in jobs such as munitions in correspondence with the war effort jumping from “5.1 million to 7.25 million” but the impact of women working was dissimilar to that of World War One. The women again sought out for their rights; however, after already having the vote this was no longer an issue. What was brought up again was the right of equal pay as “their male counterparts received 26 shillings per week, but were only paid 18-20s.” . This ignited the want for equal pay and thus, strikes to achieve this; these campaigns led to the Equal Pay Act 1970. Without the need for women as labour throughout the war this Act would’ve not been made and impacted the way in which society today remains under this Act.
World War Two also saw a rise in birth rates; known as the baby boom. Women’s roles although changing again see this stagnation in society perceptions as they were pressured back into the domestic role of housewife. But like stated before women wanted a different role and so the effect of the war on this view of women was substantial as it continued to push women’s freedoms further. Birth rates however was not the same in World War One to World War Two due to the opposing forces of development in urban areas and the slight raise in birth rate which ultimately was null due to the confliction with the urban growth which causes deaths; so the rate did not see the rise like happened after World War Two.
Here, it is clear that World War Two’s impact was one of lasting significance as Adrian Bingham even states “after 1918 did not fundamentally transform the position of women.” showing that World War Two was effectively more ‘transformative’ than World War One in relation to the role of women in British society.
Britain faced many changes throughout the war in both the economy and class, hence impacting poverty. In World War One, the major impact it had on British society was the housing changes that were made. Rent was being controlled as well as policies regarding slum control and council housing were being implemented. What did remain a longer impact than anything else World War One had seen is the “labour-saving” durables which went from “730,000 to 9,000,000 in 1930.”
However, these expenses were too much for a post-war Britain as they “spent well over 25% of its GDP” which as a temporary effect impacted poverty but A.L. Bowley comments that poverty “was half of that in 1913” and “it needed a war to do it.” This was only due to the lack of children in a family and again deaths meaning the supply of money was more spread as many were able to obtain work easily. These impacts of death and less children affected class immensely. The working class who mostly took part in the war was lost to it and unable to grow in number again due to the inability to reproduce. This ultimately brought back traditional values to Britain due to the higher class being more prominent in society.
World War One therefore although impacting British society; impacted it negatively in the matter of class and poverty and especially economically. Whereas, World War Two brought Britain together which created a sense of community among all classes. There was a large shift in education as seen in the Education Act of 1944 and a rise in wages specifically due to the Equal Rights Act after World War Two. As in the Transformative Impact of World War Two by A.W. Purdue states the war “did not erode class differences, bit improved the position of the working-classes” this is evidently seen in the economic boom post World War Two and most notably evidenced through the Beveridge Report. The Beveridge Report recommended a “comprehensive” system that “cover[ed] all poverty” and “available to all, even if unable to pay” This report led to the significant change in living standards and ultimately the welfare state which created a lasting impact on Britain today through the benefits we see given.
Wars and politics share a close relationship, both World War One and Two saw a rise in the labour party due to the British society changing attitudes.
After World War One, there was seen to be a collapse of the liberal party and a rise of radicalism alongside Labour. It was the first time Britain had come together to vote all together, and they once again chose the party they knew and who had won the war for them. But, the Liberal party challenged by the Labour party gained the support of the public and this saw the ultimate collapse of them. This is significant as it had a continued effect on British society through the changing ideals Labour brought to society. Radicalism at this time was seen in the feminist movement which again changed British politics forever. Women’s fight for suffrage brought about the Representation of the People Act which combated the rising radicalism as Evans states “1920 marked the end of the era of feminism. In the countries where women possessed the vote, feminist movements continued to decline or were eventually suppressed.” The government in turn effectively ended radicalistic feminism by offering the chance for a path to gaining the vote.
World War Two affected British politics in a major way. The Beveridge report in 1942 after war pushed Britain to a call for reform; from this labour began to rise and won the election by a large win in 1945. Derek Brown comments that “the outcome of the 1945 election was more than a sensation. It was a political earthquake.” This rise to power saw to the creation of the NHS, and a new impact on Britain’s trade due to new foreign alliances; but still the government kept rationing the public and a tight control upon the public which they didn’t like. The significance of this type of political leadership meant for the conservative party to return to power. Their policies impacted society in that wanted to “curb labour migration” and to this day these views on immigration has been significantly impacted by this negatively.
This, therefore serves to the fact World War Two had a more significant impact as it was lasting. Although World War One politics impacted the vote and rise of the Labour party for the first time it cannot compete to the creation of migration views and the rise of the welfare state alongside the NHS.
In conclusion, I believe that World War Two had a more significant impact as it contributed to the future of British society as it was not a temporary change like after World War One. The political, social and economic landscape had all been substantially impacted by World War Two due to the unification it brought to them all.