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The Second World War - At a Glance
The Home Front
On 3 September 1939 when Britain declared war on Germany normal life for everyone came to a halt. The nation had to turn its attention to raising and equipping an army, a navy and an airforce capable of protecting Britain and defeating Germany.
In retrospect there were really two separate stories. The troops fighting the war in Europe, North Africa and the Far East, and the war effort of the civilian population. This section is about the 'Front line' at home.
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Shaping the nose of a shell in a munitions factory.
The words of a popular song showed how much women's war effort was appreciated.
She's the girl
That makes the thing
That drills the hole
That holds the spring
That drives the rod
That runs the knob
That works the thingumebob.
It's a ticklish sort of job, making a thingumebob
Especially when you
don't know what it's for!
But it's the girl
That makes the thing
That drills the hole
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The Armed Forces
At the outbreak of war all fit men between the ages of 18 and 41 had to enlist in one of the forces unless their work was too important to the war effort. By 1941 Britain had a fighting force of 3.5 million men.
Women volunteers increased the ranks of the forces; they were known as the ATS (army) , the WRENS (navy) and the WAAF (airforce). Most of the women stayed in Britain.
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The Civilians
Men too old or unfit to join the armed forces were recruited into the Local Defence Volunteers. This was re-named the Home Guard.
This photograph was taken before their uniforms were issued.
Women of  all ages formed the civil defence and took over jobs in factories and farming.
Thousands of women joined the Women's Land Army. They helped the farmers whose male workers were fighting in the forces. They worked long hard hours to keep the country's farms producing the maximum amount of food.
Many mothers worked in munition factories making shells, driving lorries and fighting fires. With fathers in the forces and mothers working hard home life changed completely.
Plans for safeguarding civilians were put into action. Half a million men and women enrolled as Air Raid Precautions (ARP) wardens and thousands more men joined the Home Guard.
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Gas Masks
The government issued 38 million gas masks. Besides ordinary gas marks there were special ones for children that were bright red with a little 'beak' in front. For babies there were air-tight chambers into which filtered air was pumped by hand bellows.
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That holds the spring
That works the thingumebob
That makes the engine roar.
And it's the girl
That makes the thing
That holds the oil
That oils the ring
That works the thingumebob
That's going to win the war.
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Adult 's gas mask and box
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Children's gas mask
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Baby' Gas Mask
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Everyone had to carry their gas mask with them at all times when they were out of doors.
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Ideas
Task1
Discuss the blackout , particularly the night sky.
It was pierced with white searchlight beams, barrage balloons, aircraft and the red and orange glow from burning buildings.
They could create a wartime night 'skyscape' perhaps using silhouettes cut from black paper stuck onto a painted 'backdrop'.
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Children had to practice wearing their gas masks at school.
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Task 2
Explain the meaning of camouflage to the children. Ask them to draw any building and camouflage it and to draw the windows criss-crossed with brown 'tape' as they would have been during the
war.
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Buildings
Great piles of sand appeared on the streets which had to be shovelled into sacks to make 'sandbags' to stack against buildings to reduce the effects of bomb blast.
Some shop windows were boarded up and others were crisscrossed with strips of sticky paper to prevent the glass from shattering.
This coffee shop is heavily sandbagged against possible bomb damage. But it was 'Business as usual'.
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Blackout
At night a complete blackout was ordered to make it harder for enemy bombers to find out which part of Britain they were flying over. Windows of factories and homes had to be covered before inside lights were switched on so that no light whatsoever could be seen from the outside. Street lighting was not permitted.
Car and cycle headlights were masked so that only a dim light showed through
narrow slits.
In the dark streets people carried masked torches - but it was still dangerous and difficult to move about. Barrage balloons, designed to stop enemy aircraft flying low over towns and cities, made an unusual night 'skyscape' as they were picked out by search light beams.
During the first three months of the war deaths from air raids were nil, but those from air raid precautions were 3,000.
Night after night large cities were blacked out but the skies were lit with the crisscross beams of searchlights and ablaze with burning buildings during the blitz. The silhouette represents St. Pauls Cathedral, London.
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Shelters 
When German 'bombers' were spotted air-raid warnings sounded. These were like fire sirens being switched on and off.
At night people took shelter as soon as the sirens sounded. It was necessary for protection against bomb blast, crumpling buildings, flying glass and fires caused by broken gas and electric installations
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"Morrison Shelter", first produced in 1940.
The steel plate on top was used as a table. At night, children and their families slept underneath inside the wire "cage".
Over 1/2 million had been distributed by the end of 1941, free to those earning less than £350 a year.
For families with gardens there were Anderson shelters.
Many city dwellers preferred to stay at home - in ground floor rooms in Morrison shelters, in cupboards or under the stairs.
By September 1940 almost 200,000 people were sleeping in London underground
stations to shelter from air raids.
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