Conscription, the mass casualties from this first truly mechanised war and rationing of food and resources by submarine blockades, saw a major upheaval in home life during the First World War.
Radio was ‘cat’s whiskers’ or ‘crystal sets’ and more or less a hobby until the British Broadcasting Company became the British Broadcasting Corporation in the 1920s.
Telegrams – where a message was sent by telegraphy to the Post Office and delivered by hand – was the fastest method of communication and often delivered the dreadful news of men wounded, killed or missing in action. Telephones in private homes were only for the very wealthy or pubic services with calls connected manually by switchboard operators.