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Did WW1 have a permanent impact on social welfare in Britain?

Did the First World War have a permanent impact on social welfare and policy in Britain and if so in what ways did it do this? We're talking political changes to social provision, not the direct social impacts of the war (i.e not deaths, etc.)
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Original post by Rrobba
Did the First World War have a permanent impact on social welfare and policy in Britain and if so in what ways did it do this? We're talking political changes to social provision, not the direct social impacts of the war (i.e not deaths, etc.)


It's been a while since I studied WW1 in a historical way but I did WW1 literature last year as part of AS English Literature, I'll offer the help I can though!

I'd think about how the War brought the classes together for the first time in many ways. Young upper class and working class men lived fought and died alongside each other in WW1, they realised that class didn't make any difference regarding stopping a bullet. Officers were originally only posh (often young men right out of private schools), however when they got killed off they were joined by working class private soldiers who had been promoted to Officer rank and this helped merge classes together.

I vaguely remember a Voting Act after the war which was brought about by not only women protesting for suffrage but also the fact that many men could no longer vote because they had not had a permanent residence in Britain after being away at war. Things needed to change in that regard.

I'd also talk about army pensions being given to widows when men were killed in action. I'd also talk about how the government felt an obligation to the men who came home and their families after the war, this helped bring an end to some of the lessaiz faire attitudes still held at the time.

Hope this helps :smile:


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(edited 9 years ago)

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