Women In World War One

World War One was the start of a new change for the world. But what really went on behind that? All of the small actions that made a huge difference. There were over 35 million civilian and soldier casualties in World War One. Over 15 million died and 20 million were wounded. People are not educated enough on World War One, people should know about how soldiers lived, what they experienced when the came home, and the impact that the women really made on the war.
We we into World War One completely blind. Women played a big role while the men were fighting in war. They risked their lives everyday just so they could get their loved ones to come back and support their family.People assumed that when the soldiers got back from war, they would …show more content…
Women started to take over the man jobs, such as conductors, postal workers, police officers, firefighters, railway guards, ticket collectors, bus and tram conductors, etc. Women risked their lives working with poisonous substances without proper protection. TNT caused their skin to turn yellow and around 400 women died from overexposure to it. “If the women in the factories stopped working for twenty minutes, the Allies would lose the war” (Birkett). The women made a huge impact on the war and helped tremendously, if they never got an opportunity to work during World War One, it would have ended up drastically different. "A large number of women were in the drawing offices producing plans on how to build aeroplanes. These plans then went out to the furniture factories to build fuselages. But women weren 't what we 'd call engineers now. They were more like technicians. They were skilled artisans" (Birkett). Women started to do more than just make weapons and send out relief supplies. Finally, people are starting to see that women do have skills and they need to be given more opportunities. Sadly, when the men came back from war all the women were laid off, but the Women’s Engineering Society was established to help women earn degrees and remain in technical roles. Hertha Ayrton was the first to invent a poisonous gas-repelling fan, over …show more content…
Often, children did not know how to communicate with a loved one that returned, because they changed so much. Millions of people had to cope with the physical trauma or loss of loved ones when veterans arrived. After being home for a while, it didn’t get better for all of the veterans, some still suffer from flashbacks and nightmares every night. “The large number of troops meant that most soldiers would not get home until 1919” (State Library of Victoria). During that time the soldiers should have been getting help, whether that be getting used to live with an injury, getting through the nightmares and flashbacks, and how to communicate with loved ones when you return. These soldiers changed, whether that be for the best or worst, but making them have to wait even longer to see their loved ones after four years is heartbreaking. “Men could be in shock or suffering from the gases that they were exposed to. Often this meant that soldiers were unable to the employment and lifestyle they had had before leaving for the War, adding depression and financial difficulties to the family situation. The women were forced to financially support their family as well as looking after the kids and at the same time care for their husband or son. This situation made life very difficult” (Experiences on the Western Front).