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The First World War: The Home Front

Keeping the home fires burning: how millions of Britons endured the 'war to end all wars'.

For those who lived through it, the First World War was a harrowing experience. Millions of Britons faced death, injury and trauma on the battlefronts, and life wasn’t necessarily that much easier for those they left behind in Blighty.

Shortages of food and fuel made daily life a ceaseless grind, never mind the ever-present dread of enemy bombs or of telegrams carrying grim news. But life went on, and there was work to be done; factories were refitted to make munitions and materiel, while with so many men serving at the fronts, women stepped up in their millions to work the machines or farm the fields.

92 items in this collection
British women didn't sit idly at home while their men fought in WWI – they got stuck in to useful work

Women Work While Men Fight Topical Budget 179-1

  • 1915-01-27
Two sisters love the same man - one marries him, but the effects of WWI complicate their relationship

Keep the Home Fires Burning

  • 1916
A memorial to Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square inspires new heroes as war rages again in Europe.

England Expects Topical Budget 165-2

  • Trafalgar Square
  • 1914-10-24
'Our Day' charity fundraising badges are pinned to the coats of two black soldiers during WWI.

For the Wounded Topical Budget 217-2

  • 1915-10-23
Rare shots of the London Scottish Battalion, also known as 'Cockney Jocks' or 'Piccadilly Allsorts', fresh from a gallant victory at Ypres.

The London Scottish Topical Budget 167-1

  • 1914-11-04
Public anxiety about war from the air is all too real for the people of Ramsgate in this newsreel footage of the aftermath of a Zeppelin raid.

Ramsgate Zeppelin Raid. Showing Damage Done to the Bull and George Hotel. Pathé's Animated Gazette No. 323b

  • Ramsgate
  • 1915-05
The daughter of famed actor-manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree gets hitched to a military Captain during WWI.

War Time Weddings Topical Budget 220-2

  • Westminster
  • 1915-11-13

"Stop the War" Demonstration in Trafalgar Square Gaumont Graphic No. 352

  • Westminster
  • 1914-08-06

Battle Front in Britain

  • 1918

'Rohilla' Wrecked off Whitby

  • Whitby
  • 1914-11

London: Air Raid, 1917

  • City of London
  • 1917-06
Newsreel footage captures the aftermath of riots in Liverpool following the sinking of Cunard liner 'the Lusy' during WWI.

Anti-German Riots in Liverpool following the Loss of 'Lusitania'

  • 1915-05
A hospital ship is tragically wrecked off the North Yorkshire coast during World War I.

The Wrecked "Rohilla" Topical Budget 167-1

  • Whitby
  • 1914-11-04
An introduction to the wonders of the automobile for curious WWI enlisties.

A Patriotic Offer Topical Budget 167-1

  • London
  • 1914-11-04
A wartime call-to-arms performed by the Band of the Grenadier Guards.

The Sound of the Drum Topical Budget 168-1

  • 1914-11-11
Grinning Canadian troops arrive in England.

Sons of the Empire Topical Budget 165-2

  • 1914-10-24
Vigilant young Sea Scouts support the war effort by keeping a watchful eye on Britain's coastline.

Scout's Valuable Aid

  • 1914-08
The nation's menfolk try anything to avoid being 'called up' in this raucous WWI comedy.

Conscription

  • 1915
High-spirited and eager Essex lads go through their paces in a rush to serve for King and Country.

Recruiting for the 5th Essex

  • Chelmsford
  • 1915
How to light your fag the old-fashioned way: tinder boxes are made for soldiers at the Front, replacing matches in the rain-soaked trenches.

Tommy's Tinder Box: Chipping Flints Which are Used As a Substitute for Matches in the rain-soaked Trenches

  • 1915-03
Our chaps can do it again! Meet the brave men who tackled Zeppelin airships for a living during WWI.

In the Track of the Zepps Warwick Bioscope Chronicle 257-2

  • 1915-06
A Lilliputian army battles with a giant wartime observation balloon before it's towed out to sea.

Kite Balloons

  • 1915
Poignant scenes capture a moment's relaxation for a Canadian cavalry unit on Salisbury Plain.

To Aid the Motherland

  • Salisbury Plain
  • 1915
Boisterous Territorial soldiers put on a show in Islington.

Merrie Territorials Topical Budget 205-2

  • 1915-07-31
Colonel Lord Harris provides appropriate decorum and formality for a volunteer inspection in Beckenham during WWI.

Citizen Army Inspected Topical Budget 219-1

  • Beckenham
  • 1915-11-03
Children witness soldiers stockpiling weapons for war in this edition of the Topical Budget newsreel.

More Ammunition Topical Budget 179-1

  • 1915-01-27
Veterans of the 1867 Garibaldi campaign lead a WWI recruiting march in Walham Green near Fulham Broadway.

Garibaldians Help Recruiting Warriors of 1867 at the Head of a Recruiting March

  • 1915-05
Picturesque scenes as war-time sweethearts tie the knot at the beautiful Crabbet Park country estate.

A Battlefield Romance Topical Budget 199-1

  • Crabbet Park
  • 1915-06-16
Stirring scenes in Trafalgar Square as Labour MP Will Thorne rallies recruits for the war effort.

Labour's Recruiting Appeal Topical Budget 220-1

  • Trafalgar Square
  • 1915-11-10
In Dublin the newsreel cameras capture a hero's welcome for a decorated Irish Guardsman.

Ireland Welcomes O'Leary V.C. Topical Budget 202-2

  • 1915-07-10
Travelling with the Red Cross ambulance flotillas through Montereau in central northern France.

Red Cross Barges

  • 1915
All quiet on Germany's Western Front, but the ferocity of Allied artillery bombardment is plain to see in these eerie scenes of carnage.

The German Trenches after Three Days' Bombardment

  • 1915
Casualties from the Battle of Neuve Chapelle enjoy their recuperation in Kent.

Heroes of Neuve Chapelle Tenderly Cared for at the Queen's Canadian Military Hospital near Shorncliffe

  • Shorncliffe Camp
  • 1915-03
An MP's stirring speech moves the crowd to rapturous applause and the occasional tear at a recruitment rally for Kitchener's New Army.

More Men Wanted Topical Budget 197-1

  • 1915-06-02
The scorched remains of a downed “baby-killer” draws half of London to Snail's Hall Farm near Billericay

'Let Them all Come!'

  • Great Burstead
  • 1916-09
Major-General Francis Lloyd, responsible for the defence of London during WWI, scrutinises a line of volunteers.

The Frontiersmen Inspected by Sir Francis Lloyd at Horse Guards Parade Just before Departure

  • Westminster
  • 1915
Horatio Herbert Kitchener, the face of WWI, takes a break from pointing his finger to inspect recruits at London's Guildhall

Lord Kitchener at the Guildhall Warwick Bioscope Chronicle No. 261-2

  • City of London
  • 1915-07

A Hero of the Trenches

  • 1915
The first married men to be conscripted to fight in WWI undergo training for the trenches.

Married Mens' Call Topical Budget 241-2

  • 1916-04-08
Developing the lifebelt of the air - or "how the stranglehold demon was exorcised"

Tests from Aeroplanes

  • Chingford
  • 1916
Coming out, going up and landing – a British-built Sea Scout Zero class blimp is put through its paces with the US Navy

U.S.A. Airship Somewhere in England

  • 1916
London's at a sombre standstill as both ends of the Empire mark wartime casualties.

Anzac Day Topical Budget 244-1

  • Westminster Abbey
  • 1916-04-26
This moving scene of wounded WWI fighters in a London park reminds us of the real costs of combat.

Blinded Soldiers Playing Push Ball Topical Budget 244-1

  • Catford
  • 1916-04-26
High milk prices during WWI drive mother and child onto the street in protest

Hands Off Baby's Milk Topical Budget 270-1

  • 1916-10-25
Rheumatic soldiers are treated with the latest in hydrotherapy at the Devonshire Hospital in Buxton, Derbyshire.

Devonshire Hospital Buxton Topical Budget 268-2

  • Buxton
  • 1916-10-14
Preston turns out in force for the homecoming of Private William Young, the valiant recipient of a Victoria Cross

The Home-coming of Private Young, Preston's V.C.

  • 1916

Women's Work in Wartime

  • 1918

Some war-time Types. The W.L.A. Girl

  • 1918

Mrs. Cooper's Film No 1

  • London
  • 1906
Sprucely dressed women set themselves to lugging tarpaulin and unloading sacks in this WWI newsreel

Women Unloading Railway Trucks Topical Budget 289-1

  • 1917-03-07
"Eat less bread" is the key message in this ambitious propaganda film on the importance of 'food economy' to the war effort

Everybody's Business

  • 1917
Official film of George V's visit to his Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow, Orkney

His Majesty's Visit to His Grand Fleet

  • 1917-07
Keep calm and carry on - these East End schoolkids dance to lift the spirits of Kiwi troops

Entertaining Soldiers After the Raid Topical Budget 307-1

  • 1917-07-11

Notts Women's Great War Rally Topical Budget 146-2

  • 1918-04-13

World's Largest Photograph Topical Budget 340-1

  • 1918-02-27

Record Breaking Riveters Topical Budget 353-1

  • 1918-05-30

Pirate Boats at Westminster Topical Budget 380-1

  • 1918-12-05

The Tank Bank's Tour through Scotland

  • Glasgow
  • 1918

Our Glorious Mystery Ships Topical Budget 380-1

  • 1918
Barnstaple's experimental concrete-hulled ship gets a visit from a jolly Italian admiral.

The Building and Launch of the "Crepath" at Barnstaple

  • Barnstaple
  • 1918

Broken in the Wars

  • 1918

A New Version

  • 1918

Tank 'Julian' in Merthyr

  • Merthyr Tydfil
  • 1918-01-01

The Leopard's Spots

  • 1918

The Warrior's May Queen Topical Budget 350-1

  • 1918-05-08
Three cheers for Maurice Samuels, as a Chiswick tram driver receives a medal for bravery at the Western Front at Ypres.

Chiswick's Gallant Gunner Topical Budget 266-1

  • Chiswick
  • 1916-09-27
A war shrine is unveiled in Hillingdon by one of Britain's leading wartime politicians

Fallen Heroes Topical Budget 339-1

  • Hillingdon
  • 1918-02-20
Windows are smashed, doors broken and blows exchanged, as a violent mob attacks a pacifist meeting held inside a Hackney church.

Pacifists Routed at Brotherhood Church Topical Budget 310-1

  • Dalston
  • 1917-08-01
A large crowd of munitions workers take a break from the factory to watch Arsenal beat Spurs 2-0 during the First World War.

Munition Workers at Play Topical Budget 211-1

  • Tottenham
  • 1915-09-08

Women Farm Workers

  • 1918
Soldiers stage a mock brawl and watch performances during festivities for 600 wounded soldiers held on an island in the Thames near Hampton Court.

Eccentric Club Entertain Wounded Soldiers Topical Budget 253-1

  • Molesey Lock
  • 1916-06-28
Soldiers show off a fine crop of sprouts, grown at the Army Service Corps depot at Osterley Park in Hounslow.

Army Economy Topical Budget 273-1

  • Osterley
  • 1916-11-15
Firepower and fancy dress as a captured German field gun is the focus of a parade through Croydon to mark Red Cross Week.

In the Interests of Mercy Topical Budget 231-1

  • Croydon
  • 1916-01-26
Excitable children in their Sunday finery gawp at cameras during the parade for London's May Queen.

London's May Queen Topical Budget 246-1

  • Hayes Common
  • 1916-05-10
Brass bands, bicycles and marching special constables outside the Albert Hall for a Sunday presentation before Bishop John Taylor-Smith outside the Albert Hall.

Topical Budget 245-1

  • Kensington and Chelsea
  • 1916-05-03
Women workers receive a visit from Queen Mary, as she inspects their work at the munitions factory in Woolwich.

With the Queen at Woolwich War Office Official Topical Budget 322-1

  • Woolwich
  • 1917-10-24
Young sailors from the Boys Naval Brigade give a demonstration on the lawn of the Star & Garter Home in Richmond.

Richmond Boys Naval Brigade Topical Budget 264-1

  • Richmond
  • 1916-09-13

Hoylake and West Kirby's Tribute to Local V.C

  • 1918
Crowds applaud 900 Special Constables as they drill before a packed pavilion in Barking.

Inspection of Special Constables Topical Budget 256-1

  • Barking
  • 1916-07-19

E.R. Calthrop's Patent Safety Guardian Angel Parachute: Tests and Dem

  • 1918

Home Coming of the Bedfords

  • 1918

Lewis Gun Drill

  • 1918

Lewis Gun Care and Cleaning: Part A, Laying out Kit

  • 1918

Aircraft Film of Lady Sybil Grant

  • 1918

Sea-Plane Launching Apparatus

  • 1917

Parachute Descent from an Airship

  • 1918
While mothers make guns, children have fun: take a peek inside the Woolwich Nursery for the Children of Munition Workers

Mighty Atoms

  • 1917
Pathe's series on WWI turns its eye homeward in this edition about the interning of enemy aliens

No Mischief Here Can Satan Find for Idle Hands to Do

  • 1917
O Canada! Away from their native land, these troops are prepared for the Western Front at a Canadian Training School

Troops Training for the First World War

  • 1917
A wonderful newsreel showing scenes at the 1916 by-election in Wimbledon, featuring charismatic challenger Kennedy Jones.

Wimbledon Election Topical Budget 244-1

  • Wimbledon
  • 1916-04-26
High winds are not good for airships, especially when moored: this study demonstrates what happens when the winds blow

Airship on a Mooring Mast

  • 1917

Airship Leaves Hangar and Starts a Flight

  • 1918