World War I was the first conflict to see the use of deadly gases as a weapon. Gas burned skin and irritated noses, throats, and lungs. It could cause death or paralysis within minutes. As soon as troops learned that gas was in their area, they had to put on masks. Even having the fumes in their clothing could cause blisters, sores, and other health problems. Bathing and changing clothes immediately helped but was not always possible. Many thousands of gas victims suffered the painful effects of damaged lungs throughout their lives. The use of these gases was banned after the end of World War I. 

As most men had gone off to war, all their jobs had been left and needed doing. So the women had to step up and do all the ‘manly’ jobs which left a lot of pressure on the older children to look after their mothers,  younger siblings and household chores. Many of the men who came back from war suffered from serious injuries, trauma, Mustard gas and or shell shock. The men were to tormented to talk about war or anything else and it usually took along time for them to recover from their experiences in war. Some children were very confused when their Fathers came home, because they didn’t know how to talk to them.

 The food there was disgusting and stale. There is no denying that the rations issued to the Anzacs provided very poor nutrition due to the unvarying diet of processed foods: canned meat, hard biscuits and watery jam. The diet was varied sometimes by sugar, condensed milk, rice and cocoa, but there was a distinct lack of fresh fruit or vegetables for the Anzacs.

The poor nutritional content of the British rations contributed to the physical decline of the Anzac and British troops at Gallipoli. The unappetising and unvaried diet affected the soldiers’ morale and psychological well-being. It also increased their susceptibility to disease, which spread rapidly during the summer months of the campaign.Soldiers in front-line positions were issued only small amounts of water per day and the water quality was poor. Thirst and dehydration were common amongst the men. Often their only drink was extremely strong black tea

 

World War I was the first conflict to see the use of deadly gases as a weapon. Gas burned skin and irritated noses, throats, and lungs. It could cause death or paralysis within minutes. As soon as troops learned that gas was in their area, they had to put on masks. Even having the fumes in their clothing could cause blisters, sores, and other health problems. Bathing and changing clothes immediately helped but was not always possible. Many thousands of gas victims suffered the painful effects of damaged lungs throughout their lives. The use of these gases was banned after the end of World War I.