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When men went to the trenches their wives often went to the pub.. There were concerns over excessive drinking in the autumn of 1914. Council inspectors seemed most concerned about the impact of boozing by women. In London areas such as Southwark Waterloo and Paddington police were often called after complaints about intoxicated women "making scenes". The trend prompted moral outrage among many observers, with calls for the Government to take action to keep women out of bars, for publicans to stop serving them, and even for changes to the design of pubs, to discourage female drinkers .Closing times were changed from 12.30 am to 10pm. In December 1914 women were banned from drinking in the morning and beer consumption fell by 20%.

In 1916 the matter was debated by magistrates in Bootle, on Merseyside, and the Liverpool Echo – under the headline “Light on the ways of women drinkers” – reported that “the great increase in the number of women visiting public houses during the past year has demanded drastic treatment”.

Women played an important role in persuading men to join the army. In August 1914, Admiral Charles Fitzgerald founded the Order of the White Feather. This organisation encouraged women to give out white feathers to young men who had not joined the army.
The government became concerned when women began presenting state employees with white feathers. It was suggested to Reginald McKenna, the Home Secretary, that these women should be arrested for "conduct likely to disrupt the police". McKenna refused but he did arrange for state employees to be issued with badges testifying that they were serving 'King and Country'.

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