Glossary
Acclamation: A motion passed without a formal vote.
Allies: A close association of nations to advance common interest or causes. The
name given to the countries that allied themselves with Britain in World War II.
Armoury: Headquarters for reserve military personnel (militia) and building for the storage of firearms.
Axis: The name given to the alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan in World War II.
Black Market: The illegal business of buying or selling goods or currency in violation of restrictions such as price controls or rationing.
British Commonwealth: An association comprising the United Kingdom, its dependencies and many former British colonies that are sovereign states with a common allegiance to the British crown. The Statute of Westminister formally established it in 1931.
Carnage: Massive slaughter, as in war.
Censor: In the military sense someone authorized to examine and remove information considered secret or a risk to security.
Censorship: The act, process, or practice of censoring.
Civilian: A person following the pursuits of civil life, not an active member of the military and police.
Coffers: Financial resource funds, a treasury.
Conserve: To use carefully or sparingly, avoiding waste.
Conscription: Compulsory enrollment, especially for the armed forces, draft.
Domination: Control or power over another.
Dynamite: Powerful explosives.
Economic Depression: A period of drastic decline in a national or international economy, characterized by decreasing business activity, falling prices, and unemployment.
Government: The act of governing (to make and administer public rules) especially the control and administration of public policy in a political unit.
Home Front: The civilian activities of a country at war.
Housoldiers: The term applied to housewives by a company during World War II. Housewives were asked to be Housoldiers and fight the war from their kitchens by conserving, rationing, saving and not wasting.
Income Taxes: A tax levied by government on personnel or business income.
Interest: A charge for a loan, usually a percentage based on the amount borrowed.
Investor: Someone who commits money to gain a return.
IODE: Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire. The IODE is a women's patriotic organization that believes strongly in the causes of the British Empire.
Kitchener Toe: Is a particular way to decrease stitches when coming to the toe of a sock. It gave the sock an odd look when off the foot but was very comfortable under the foot for soldiers and people with tender feet.
Lending Institution: An establishment that lends or provides money temporarily on condition that the amount borrowed plus an interest fee is paid back.
Munitions: War material, especially weapons and ammunition.
Patriotism: Love of and devotion to one's country.
Principal: A sum of money owed as a debt upon which interest is calculated.
Profiteering: To make excessive profits on goods in short supplies.
Relief: Giving aid to the needy.
Royal Red Cross: : Medal of high honour given to a fully trained nurse of the official nursing service for exceptional service or act of bravery.
Salvage: The act of saving from destruction or waste.
Sovereignty: Complete independence and self-government.
Synthetic Rubber: Not from nature, man-made with the involvement of chemistry.
Total War: All industries, materials, and people put to work for the war effort.
Term: A limited period of time.
Union Jack: The flag of the United Kingdom
Victory Gardens: Idea developed during the war to encourage people to plant gardens and assist in the feeding of themselves.
Vulcanizing: To improve the strength, resiliency (in this case rubber) by combining with sulfur or other additives in the presence of heat and pressure.
Yellow: Slang for cowardly
Zombie: The name given to Canadian men during World War II who were conscripted into the armed forces but refused to serve overseas. In the last year of the war, 16,000 were forced to serve overseas.
