...there will still be Australians fighting on Australian soil until the turning point be reached, and we will advance over blackened ruins, through blasted and fire-swept cities, across scorched plains, until we drive the enemy into the sea.
(Prime Minister John Curtin in a radio broadcast, 14 March 1942)
Despite, or maybe because of, their vivid memories of the horrors of the First World War, many Australians continued their day to day lives with little or no change during the early years of World War II. They battled with rising prices and unemployment but unless they had relatives serving overseas, they had not yet sensed any real danger.
By the middle of 1941 the war had started to hit home. The failure of the Greek campaign, the battle casualties and the indications that Japan might enter the war increased Australian feelings of vulnerability. Many factories had turned to war productions, from widgets to warships, and many civilians were engaged in voluntary work. In August Prime Minister Robert Menzies relinquished his position to Arthur Fadden, the leader of the Country Party, and in October the leader of the Labor Party, John Curtin, became the new Prime Minister. On 7/8 December 1941 Japan entered the war and Japanese forces began their advance.
In February 1942, many Australians thought that the Japanese would invade Australia. Anticipating enemy air attack, blackout restrictions were introduced and air raid warning instructions issued. Barbed wire was also strung across many east coast beaches.
To face this threat all Australians, men, women and children, were urged to put their backs into the war effort. Indeed, the adult population was mobilised for war. Women took new roles in essential industries working in what had previously been male-dominated areas. By the end of 1942, thousands of women had also joined the women's auxiliary services - the WAAAF (Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force), the AWAS (Australian Women's Army Service) and the WRANS (Women's Royal Australian Naval Service).
Other men and women joined voluntary organisations such as the Red Cross or they helped to erect and patrol coastal defences or spot aircraft and shipping. School children collected bottles, newspapers, old tyres or anything else that could be recycled for the war effort. There was an unprecedented demand for food and other products like cotton, not only for the troops overseas and the people at home, but also for the American troops who were starting to arrive in Australia in large numbers. In June 1942, rationing was introduced, and ration books were issued for food and clothing. Two months earlier, in April, the government had launched 'Austerity' war loans to raise money for the war effort. Everyone was encouraged to go 'all in' to support Australia and Australians at war.
Three months: three Prime Ministers
Robert Menzies received his commission as Prime Minister on 26 April 1939, less than four months before he committed Australia to join Britain in the war against Germany. During the next 12 months he was confronted by splits in his own coalition (the United Australia Party and the Country Party) as well as political battles with the opposition Labor party. Despite his exclusion from much of Menzies' wartime decision-making, the Labor leader, John Curtin, tried to support Menzies as much as possible.
Menzies committed Australia to war on 3 September 1939, three days before Parliament returned from its recess. John Curtin was not consulted. In Menzies' view, Australian commitment to Britain was automatic. Despite the ideological splits within his own party, Curtin seemed prepared to accept many of the government's proposals, but maintained his opposition to an all-party national government, believing that the role of the opposition was important even during wartime.
In January 1941 Menzies travelled overseas leaving behind a divided United Australia Party (UAP) and a fractious and faction-ridden Labor party in a country in a state of war. Despite the political risk, Menzies was keen to travel to London to increase Australian involvement in British wartime decisions. He left Arthur Fadden, leader of the Country Party in his coalition government, to be the caretaker Prime Minister during the four months he was overseas.
The political unrest in both the UAP and the Country Party continued in Menzies' absence and not long after his return from overseas things came to a head. The disastrous Greek campaign in April-May 1941 together with the perception that Australia was ill-equipped for war had caused general disillusionment with his leadership. Keen to follow Britain's example, Menzies promoted the formation of an all-party national wartime government even offering to serve in such a government under Labor opposition leader John Curtin. Curtin declined his offer. Menzies, suspecting that Labor would win an election, preferred that his coalition government choose a new leader and made it a condition of his resignation that his successor was to be chosen by both the UAP and the Country Party. Thus the only nominee, Arthur Fadden, became the new leader of the coalition government.
The next day, on 29 August 1941, Menzies resigned his commission as Prime Minister. The same day he wrote a letter to John Curtin in which he said:
Your political opposition has been honourable and your personal friendship a pearl of great price.
Curtin replied:
On my part, I thank you for the consideration and courtesy which never once failed in your dealings with me.
[Menzies to Curtin and Curtin to Menzies, 29 August 1941, in Menzies family papers, quoted in Dark and Hurrying Days: Menzies' 1941 diary, edited by A W Martin and Patsy Hardy, National Library of Australia, Canberra, 1993, p.143]
But the new Prime Minister, aware of the tenuousness of the coalition government, did not even move into the Prime Minster's Lodge in Canberra. Just six weeks later, Fadden's government was forced to stand down when two independent politicians withdrew their support for his coalition. On 7 October 1941 the Labor party took over the government of Australia and John Curtin was sworn in as the new Prime Minister.
Curtin continued to serve for most of the rest of World War II, dying on 5 July 1945, just 3 weeks before the end of the war with Japan.
Keep your head down
Air Raid Precaution officials in conjunction with the Metropolitan Fire Brigade issued a series of air raid precaution instructions with accompanying photographs so that all Australians would be prepared for Japanese air attacks. This series of instructions was forwarded to daily and weekly newspapers for publication.
The Second World War was a time of major upheaval for children in Britain. Over a million were evacuated from towns and cities and had to adjust to separation from family and friends. Many of those who stayed, endured bombing raids and were injured or made homeless. All had to deal with the threat of gas attack, air raid precautions (ARP), rationing, changes at school and in their daily life. Disruption and shortages continued after the war and the post-war period saw changes that would have a lasting impact on children's lives. Here are 11 ways children were affected by the Second World War.
In the 1930s the rise of Nazism was a growing threat to peace in Europe. Britain began to prepare for the possibility of another war. It was feared that air raids and gas attacks would be launched against civilians, and detailed plans for Air Raid Precautions (ARP) were drawn up. During the Munich Crisis in 1938, war seemed imminent and some precautions were quickly put into action. Air raid shelters were distributed to householders, a night-time blackout was planned and 38 million gas masks issued.
Arrangements were also put in place for the mass evacuation of children from cities. At this time Britain also became home to 4,000 'Ninos', children caught up in the fight against fascism in Spain. From December 1938, nearly 10,000 Jewish children from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia were sent by their parents to Britain on the 'Kindertransport', to escape Nazi persecution.
On 1 September 1939, two days before war was declared, the British government began evacuating children from towns and cities. It was the largest movement of people ever seen in Britain. Most traveled by train with their schools and went to live with foster parents. Evacuation was an adventure for some who had never seen the countryside, but others were homesick and unhappy. Foster parents were often shocked by the lack of hygiene and poor diets of inner city children. Equally, some town children found themselves staying in isolated, primitive farming communities with no electricity or running water.
During this early period, known as the 'Phoney War', the expected air raids didn't happen and many evacuees went home. But the invasion of France and the start of air attacks on Britain, led to a second wave of evacuation, including thousands of children who were sent overseas to North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
After the fall of France in the summer of 1940, there was a real fear that Britain would be invaded. The Channel Islands were occupied in early July and the islanders found themselves living under Nazi rule. Shortly afterwards, the Germans began a series of air attacks against Britain. Families in southern and eastern England were felt to be on the front line. More children were evacuated, often from areas where they had previously been sent for safety. Many of those who remained witnessed the dramatic aerial dogfights between British fighter aircraft and German bombers during the Battle of Britain.
Boys aged 17 and over joined the Home Guard to help defend towns and villages against the anticipated enemy invasion. Children of Austrian or German descent now risked internment. Over 14,000 Austrians and Germans living in the UK, including 500 children, were interned on the Isle of Man as 'enemy aliens'.
From September 1940 the German air force began night bombing of cities throughout Britain. At the start of the Blitz, London was attacked on 57 successive nights and later there were heavy raids on other major cities and ports. During the Blitz 7,736 children were killed and 7,622 seriously wounded. Many children were orphaned or lost brothers and sisters. As well as being victims of the raids, children were involved in relief efforts. Those over 16, including Girl Guides and Boy Scouts, helped with Air Raid Precautions (ARP) services, (later known as Civil Defence) during air raids, acting as messengers, fire watchers, or working with the voluntary services.
The work could be highly dangerous and many were killed while on duty. Bombing continued throughout the war, and in 1944 new weapons, the V1 flying bomb and the V2 rocket, caused more devastation and casualties.
Standards of wartime housing in Britain ranged from dilapidated tenement slums to stately homes. A high proportion of families still had outside lavatories and no bathroom. Children often shared beds with brothers and sisters or parents. During the war, over 200,000 houses were totally destroyed by enemy bombing. Many children had to re-locate several times, often into prefabricated, emergency homes like the one shown in this photograph. In all, 34 million changes of address took place during the war.
Everyone living on the home front in Britain during the war had to cope with shortages of food and clothing. Imported food could no longer reach Britain in such large quantities and food rationing was introduced in January 1940. Meat, sugar, butter, cheese, and eggs were all rationed, and people were encouraged to grow and eat their own vegetables and to try new recipes. Children joined in, growing vegetables at school and at home.
Child health and welfare was a priority, so babies, children and expectant mothers had special allocations of milk and were given vitamins in the form of orange juice and cod liver oil. From June 1941, clothing was also rationed. This was a particular problem for parents of growing children and in 1942 the scheme was adapted so that children were allocated extra clothing coupons. Clothing exchanges were also set up and run by the Women's Voluntary Service (WVS) where parents could exchange clothes and shoes that their children had outgrown for larger items. However, children's shoes remained in short supply throughout the war.
The war disrupted the education of many children. The mass evacuation of 1939 upset the school system for months and over 2,000 school buildings were requisitioned for war use. One in five schools was damaged by bombing, and air raids frequently stopped lessons for hours, leading to a decline in attendance. Although many schools were evacuated during the war, others chose to stay open and 'make the best of it', converting cellars and basements, as shown in this photograph, into makeshift classrooms. Teachers, books, paper and equipment were all in short supply.
When the war began in 1939, most children left school at 14. The 1944 Education Act changed this, introducing free secondary education for all children and a leaving age of 15, but it didn't take effect until after the war.
During the war, many children between the ages of 14 and 17 were in full-time employment. They worked in agriculture, in offices and the major industries such as engineering, aircraft production, shipbuilding and vehicle manufacture.
From 1941 all those aged between 16 and 18 were required to register for some form of national service, even if they had a full-time job. Boys received their call-up papers for the armed forces when they turned 18 and girls were also conscripted, either joining one of the women's auxiliary services or taking on other essential war work. Younger children were expected to do their bit by salvaging scrap metal, paper, glass and waste food for recycling. They also raised money for munitions, knitted 'comforts' for the troops, and were encouraged to 'Dig for Victory' in gardens and allotments.
Despite wartime conditions, children still had time for games and entertainment. Cinemas were popular with both teenagers and younger children. Bomb sites made tempting play areas and hunting grounds for shrapnel souvenirs, and toys and games with a wartime theme were very popular, usually homemade because of the wartime shortages. Comics and books, such as the Captain W E Johns's novels about 'Biggles' and 'Worrals of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force' (WAAF), also focused on heroic exploits and wartime adventures.
The arrival of large numbers of American soldiers (known as GIs) and airmen in 1942 was an exciting development and brought American culture to British children in person for the first time. American servicemen were generous with their off-ration chocolate and chewing gum, and organised children’s parties and dances at their bases.
The Second World War ended in 1945, after the surrender of Germany and then Japan. Victory in Europe (VE Day) was celebrated on 8 May, and victory over Japan on 15 August. On VE Day there were thousands of street parties, fancy dress parades and bonfires held across the country. Although food was still rationed, great efforts were made to provide treats for children. Similar events took place on a smaller scale after the Japanese surrender.
After the war ended, family life remained disrupted for many months, and sometimes longer. Evacuees who had stayed in the country now rejoined their families after years of separation. Fathers returning from the forces or from prisoner of war (POW) camps, seemed like strangers to children who had never known them. And for children who had lost parents or loved ones, or had been made homeless by the war, life would never be the same again.
The Labour landslide victory in the General Election of 1945 paved the way for new reforms to improve the health, welfare and education of children. Based on the proposals in the 1942 Beveridge Report, the National Health Service was introduced in 1948, giving free healthcare to all. The Family Allowance was established and secondary schools were available for all children over 11.
However, there was still great austerity. Shortages of food rationing and fuel continued and rationing didn't end until 1954. Although several 'New Towns' were planned around the country and bomb-damaged housing was gradually rebuilt, many families still lived in emergency 'prefab' homes. But despite the shortages and difficulties, the new welfare state and growing economic opportunities meant there was hope for a brighter and more prosperous future for children in post-war Britain.
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