Great Shell Shortage Of May 1915 example essay topic

Lucy McConnell Why did the number of women employed in Britain begin to rise from mid-1915? From when the war broke out in August 1914 to mid 1915 there was little change in the number of women employed in Great Britain. This was because the war was expected to be over by Christmas and the governments policy was 'business as usual', which encouraged the people of Britain to carry on with their daily life as normal. Also women were held back by social attitudes in Britain as parliament and society was very much male-dominated.

An example of this is when the Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith went on a tour around England to boost the morale of the people and women were not allowed into the meetings-'men-only' was printed on the tickets. However by mid 1915 it was obvious that the war was not going to be as short as expected and it seemed as though there was no end in sight. One event that brought more women into employment was the Great Shell Shortage of May 1915. This was when the supplies of ammunitions for troops on the Western Front fell so low that they were unable to fire their guns.

David Lloyd George was made the Minister for munitions and he started to try to increase the production of ammunitions and weapons in Britain. In order to do so lots more workers were needed and the easiest way was to employ women. The shell shortage brought an end to 'business as usual' and Asquith set up a coalition government, which was a clear sign that the country had to be reorganised if the war was to be won. Also, at this time the heavy casualties on the Western Front were starting to create a shortage of male workers for the first time and there was an increasing need for women to be employed to take the place of men.

In 1915 for the first time ever women were employed in the police, there were female train drivers and some women joined the land army. Also there was an increase in the number of female clerks and teachers. In July 1915 a 'Right to Work' march was organised by the suffragettes in which 30,000 women took part and with the support of Lloyd George. A register of women was taken which listed the names of 100 000 volunteers. However only 5 000 of these women were actually given war jobs which shows that the government was slow to recognise the potential contribution of women to the war effort and that male attitudes were still holding back the women. By late 1915 2.5 million men had volunteered for the armed forces but this was still not enough for the war to be won on the western front.

The Derby campaign was a last effort to persuade volunteers to come forward. However the campaign was a failure, as it did not encourage enough men to volunteer. Conscription was introduced in January 1916 which radically altered the employment of women in Britain. An army this big needed a vast supply of munitions and more and more women were needed to work in the factories to supply them. Because of the decrease in the number of male workers in Britain, new jobs were created for women in new industries. Jobs were expanding in the aircraft and motor industries and more women were employed in the professions in law and banking.

Also the numbers of female doctors and nurses increased as a result of conscription. In 1916 women were starting to join the armed forces. This all goes to show that women were replacing men in previously all male jobs such as construction, forestry, plumbing and carpentry due to the shortage of male workers due to heavy casualties and conscription. Also the shortage of ammunitions created jobs for women in the factories.