The English Homefront
The English homefront during World War II was far more affected by the war than the American homefront of the same time. The war was much closer to the British people and therefore the effects were felt much sooner and harsher than in the United States. Morale, rationing, women’s responsibilities, bombing raids, and the homeguard were all things that made the war different from peacetime on the home front.
Morale was much harder to keep up in England being that it was so close to the frontlines. In 1939, at the beginning of the war many British people believed that they would not be victorious. The erection of “pillboxes” in parks and the hurried creation of a homeguard, or civilian militia, to help protect the almost non-existent defenses that Britain possessed at the time did little to help combat this dropping morale. However, with the emergency appointment of Winston Churchill, who many believed to be the worst man for the job at the time, things started changing for the better. Churchill made a point to turn near defeats like Dunkirk into well-publicized victories and shining examples of how Britain and her armed forces would never surrender. Morale on the homefront was affected by the bombings probably more than anything else.
The Luftwaffe or German air force was so close to Britain that bombing cities such as London was incredibly easy. Many citizens all across England were told to turn off their lights at sunset or put black cloth over the windows and tape the edges. This was to “black out” the cities. Without the lights of cities and roads 
to guide them as landmarks, the German air force would have a much harder time placing bombs precisely. According to my grandfather, “It (covering on the windows) was something everyone did because it made us feel like we were helping, but we knew it wasn’t doing much …because the bombings continued...” Bombing was done by airplanes flying in from across the channel and also by the infamous V1 and V2 rockets. The V1 was a bomb with wings and a scramjet that was aimed from the coast of France towards England and launched. V2s were actual rockets. They stood about 30 feet tall and were rocketed up into the sky 50-60 miles and dropped down on their targets at speeds up to 4 times the speed of sound. There was no way to stop a V2 once it was in flight. The only action that the British people could take was to hide in the numerous bomb shelters existing in England at the time which gave them a small sense of security. (Cockshott) Many people had private bomb shelters but many others sought refuge in the underground or subway system in London. “Occasionally I did make the trip to Newport Pagnell but making the way across London was always dicey. The underground was packed with people sheltering from the raids, some stayed down there even during the daytime.” (Cockshott) These smelled horrible and were crowded but gave the public a place to go. The V1’s and V2’s were not particularly effective weapons for bombing specific targets, however, they terrified the public with the sound they made as they 
approached. When the bombs did find a target it was devastating to the families affected by it. While Ernest Cockshott abroad with the military his house became the victim of Germen bombing, “During a daytime raid a plane dropped a stick of bombs and we had a direct hit, everything spewing out onto the roadway. It was sad to see everything we owned, especially Joy’s(Ern’s oldest daughter) lovely toys all mixed in with the rubble and the twisted tram lines, but at least they were away and safe whereas some poor soul who had run for the safety of our house had been killed.” (Cockshott)
The bombing that the British homefront had to endure is one of the major differences between the British and American homefronts.
Rationing on the English homefront was similar to that happening back in the States. Food, clothes, and materials used to produce the tools of war that were so desperately needed were rationed or donated to help the war effort. Families were given food coupons used to buy food. Eva Coad, a woman living in Britain at the time, wrote on a BBC webpage, “My mother was a wonderful manager as far as food was concerned: I don't ever remember going hungry. Mind you, I'm sure she often went without to make sure we were OK. She was very clever because, as there were six ration books in our house, she registered with two grocers and two butchers - three books with each one - and that way, when she wanted meat, she was almost sure to get a little bit extra because the butcher couldn't always weigh out the exact amount we were allowed. The same applied to things like butter and bacon.” (Coad). These ration coupons came in booklets and were distributed according to the number of people in a family. Clothes coupons were also distributed, as cloth was also needed to clothe the troops. The English people were also asked to donate any unneeded metal belongings that could be used to make planes, guns, ammo, jeeps, trucks, and etc. Metal was the most sought after commodity as it was used in the making of almost every war related item. While Ern was stationed in Belgium he bought several toys for his children back home that would have been impossible to get in England due to rationing. Among toys the bicycle was the hardest to get because of the amount of metal it had in it. Despite this most of the men and women alive today that lived through this will tell you that the rationing affected them very little. Many parents made sure that their children had enough food before they themselves ate.
Women were given new responsibilities on the English homefront as well.
With almost every man of serving age overseas, many women found themselves working in factories producing the planes, ammo, and tanks. Many others drove ambulances or sewed the clothes that the armed forces would wear. Almost one million British women took on full-time or part-time war work. Organizations like the Women's Voluntary Service, set up by the government in 1938, helped coordinate the effort.
The men too old to enlist in the army or too young joined the homeguard or “dad’s army”, a group that came into being shortly after Nazi Germany overran Holland and Belgium. The homeguard also consisted of those unfit for military enlistment due to medical conditions. Many volunteers were veterans of the First World War some even of the Boer War but keep the later a secret because there was an upper age limit of 65. With the invasion of England believed to be immanent, the homeguard took up the responsibility of constructing defensive parameters such as fences, ditches, and roadblocks. All in all, the homeguard proved a very useful tool in the defense of Britain even if they were far more relaxed when it came to military standards. The fact that the British homeguard might actually see combat in the event of an invasion is another fact that separates the British home front from the American.
America and England both sacrificed greatly during the Second World War, both in resources and manpower. However, the proximity of the war to Britain made the British homefront a far more terrifying place to be than the American homefront. The American and British homefronts had much in common such as rationing, women acquiring new responsibilities, and drops in morale. However, these issues were magnified on the British home front because of knowledge that Hitler had the Nazi war machine pointed directly at London.
Works Cited
Auckland Regional Council. 2004. 5 May 2006.
http://www.arc.govt.nz/arc/environment/cultural-heritage/historic-places-in-regional-parks/shakespear-wwii-defences.cfm
Aktion Reinhard Timeline 1945. 5 January 2006. 6 May 2006.
http://www.deathcamps.org/reinhard/timeline/pic/194510.jpg
“Britian in the early years of world war two.” 8 Janurary 2001. British Broadcasting
Company. 23 April 2006. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/wwtwo/earlyyears_01.shtml
Cockshott, Iain A. Personal Interview. 23 April 2006.
Cockshott, Ernest. “Biography” 2003. 20 April 2006.
Coad, Eva. “The Red Cross and GI’s: Wartime Memories of Leamington Spa.” 15
Janurary 2004. British Broadcasting Company. 23 April 2006. www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/48/a2205848.shtml
De Villes, Jennifer. “Recollections 1939-1945(6).” 31 January 2006. British Broadcasting
Company. 23 April 2006. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/01/a9900001.shtml
Auckland Regional Council. 2004. 5 May 2006.
http://www.arc.govt.nz/arc/environment/cultural-heritage/historic-places-in-regional-parks/shakespear-wwii-defences.cfm
Aktion Reinhard Timeline 1945. 5 January 2006. 6 May 2006.
http://www.deathcamps.org/reinhard/timeline/pic/194510.jpg
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By: Iain Cockshott