Did you know women, children and animals all played an important role in the war? Let’s have a look at some of the things they did.
Animals in the war
During the war, dogs and pigeons were used to carry messages. Dogs were particularly useful because they were fast and hard to shoot at. Messages were put in little tubes attached to their collars.
Horses were used to carry heavy guns and even goldfish played their part. After gas attacks, masks were washed and rinsed. If the rinsing water killed a goldfish it meant that the masks still had poison in them!
Children in the war
Boy Scouts and Girl Guides helped injured troops. They also helped grow food and delivered top-secret messages for the British Secret Service.
Women in the war
Before the war, women mainly did work at home. With all the men away at war, women were needed to keep their country running and took over the men’s jobs. They worked in offices, factories, shops, farms and even made weapons for the soldiers.
When the war was over, women had to leave their jobs and go back to working at home, but World War I had shown that women were capable of working just like men. After the war, women wanted more freedom and to be given the same rights as men, which included the right to vote.
