What was it like?
Solders- armies were already quite small because of recuperation of world war 1. The armies called up men to fight in the war ranging from age 18 to 41, in Briton around 1939 they had recruited one million men and by the end of war around 3.5 million had served.
In america after the japans had found out that we were suppling equipmet to the allies from 1940-1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and thus we declared war on Germany. American men were conscripted in 1941 , aged between 21 to-45 latter age boundaries were changed to men as young as 18-64. In world war 2 over 50 million men were registered into world war 2. soldiers endured harsh temperatures,they were surrounded by deceases,and lived on a lake of supplies Number of people world wide who served in ww2 =1.9 billion Number of countries involved in ww2= 61 |
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Women-In 1938, with the outbreak of World War Two looking more and more likely, the Home Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare decided to establish a women's voluntary organisation to assist in the event of possible future air attacks. On 16 May, the Women's Voluntary Service for Air Raid Precautions (WVS) was founded. Hoare asked the energetic and determined Lady Reading, who had been a nurse during World War One, to run the WVS. When the ware had broke out in 1939 they already had 165,000 members. these women would help deliver supplies that were much needed for the solders.
Before the Second World War, women were expected to be housewives, or perhaps to do certain women's jobs, such as nursing or being a domestic servant or shop assistant. The war changed the world of work for women for ever. When men went to fight, women were called upon to fill their jobs, and this included many jobs that were previously thought of unsuitable for women. Women did things like-
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The women earned £1,85 for a working week with a minimum of 50 hours. In 1944 the wages were increased to £2.85.
Children-The British government in 1933 re-empted this threat to children and began the evacuation process when Hitler took power. The worry was around the British cities and towns which they felt would be targets by bombing raids by aircraft’s. It is estimated that over 3.5 million people (mostly children) were evacuated throughout the war.Where you were evacuated dependant mostly on your social standing. Those from Upper Middle class families were able to make their own arrangements whereas the poor were left in rail stations not knowing where their children were going and who they would be living with. It was a harsh, frightening life experience for these children as they were unaware as to whether they would see their families again or who they would be living with.
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