The Defence of the Realm Act

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The Defence of the Realm Act

• 8th August, 1914

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Why?

• The Act was passed to ensure that Britons were
  safe from spying and news or rumours that lowered
  morale. The Act allowed the government to take
  any measures necessary to preserve the safety and
  good order of the country, even if this meant
  restricting peoples rights and freedoms( eg.
  free speech.)

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Trivial Restrictions

• It was forbidden to
• - give bread to dogs, horses, poultry or other
  animals
• - buy an alcoholic drink for anyone else,
  except as a dinner host.
• buy binoculars without official permission
• melt down gold/silver
• fly a kite
• talk about military or naval matters in public
• send a letter abroad wholly or partly written in
  invisible ink
• shoot a homing pigeon.

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Censorship

• The reporting that newspapers could do was
  restricted. Casualty figures were played down and
  casualty names blacked out in papers. Misleading
  accounts of battles were printed, implying or
  openly stating that successes were greater than
  they were and exaggerating German failures and
  casualties. Accounts of German atrocities were
  widely broadcast, though few were genuine.
  Gruesome photographs were rarely published, and
  then only of enemy corpses. Propaganda was
  widespread in the press.

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Anti-German cartoon
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Military Restrictions

• Military law was applied to railways and docks,
  so that military discipline and punishments were
  attached to working there (eg vandalism could
  mean a long prison sentence and arson,
  execution.) Land/property could be confiscated
  for military purposes.
• Special constables were appointed to maintain law
  and order, should Britain be invaded.
• All motor vehicles not required by the military
  were to be immobilised, should GB be invaded.
• Later in the war, blackout restrictions meant
  that all windows had to be blacked out.
• New courts were set up to deal with any who broke
  the new rules and punishments were harsh.

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Industrial Workers

• D.O.R.A. banned men in vital industries from
  leaving their jobs or joining the army.
• Workers in unimportant jobs could be redirected
  into jobs where they could make a bigger
  contribution to the war effort, even if they
  didnt want to go.
• Factories not already involved could be forcibly
  taken over and converted for war material
  production.
• Later on, the Munitions Act made it illegal for
  workers vital to the war effort (eg shipbuilders)
  to go on strike.

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Munitionettes
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Munitions factory