THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1914 18 World War

THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1914 -18

World War One began in August 1914. It happened because of several complicated reasons including, Assassination- an important world leader was killed ! Arms race – Britain and Germany tried to out do each other by building up their naval power - most ships is the winner !

Empire – some countries liked to rule other, less powerful ones and take things from them like gold and other valuable resources – the countries being told what to do did not like it ! Alliances- some countries were friends with each other and promised to help out if one got involved in a war.

Lots of people rushed to join the army and fight. People believed it would be over by Christmas 1914. The war lasted 4 years and became one of the most terrible and horrifying wars ever fought.

Modern technology and industry meant modern weapons and war on a mass scale. Aeroplanes, machine guns, gas, bombs, tanks and barbed wire were just some of the hazards. All of this meant death, destruction and injury on a mass scale.

By the end of the war almost ONE MILLION men from the British Empire alone were killed. A further 2. 1 MILLION men were seriously injured or wounded during the war.

What story do the pictures tell ?

What happened to the survivors and the wounded? • You are going to help an injured soldier! • You are going to decide what the best possible medical care for the patient will be. • You will also have to consider what will happen to the soldiers future and how he will cope with life after the war.

Rehabilitation • Strategy was to offer rehabilitation and retraining. • Therapies included massage, electrotherapy, hydrotherapy, occupational therapy and physical exercise. • As the war progressed so did the technology in areas such as prosthetic limbs. E. g. Wooden legs weighing 9 pounds were replaced with lighter metal limbs. • There was a back log of men waiting for limbs.

Retraining • The ability of injured men to earn a living was a big concern • Men were retrained in basketry, rope making, making toys. • Others were trained in diamond cutting, poultry keeping, book repair, carpentry, piano tuning and massage. • Many schemes failed because they couldn't offer financial independence or because the occupations taught were impractical.

Who was responsible? • Government provided pensions based on rank and how the injury was gained. • Many schemes offering rehab were voluntary but state aid did partly support the schemes. • The government certainately did not organise or financially support all schemes for disabled men. • They didn’t completely abandon injured either.