City urged to do its duty and help ‘buy a submarine’

The scale, length and cost of the First World War were such that the Government was forced to place unprecedented demands on the civilian population.

Requests to preserve food stocks – such as an “eat less bread” campaign – were joined by calls to contribute money to support the British war effort.

War Weapons Week was one such appeal to patriotism, calling upon villages, towns and cities, businesses and individuals to bankroll the manufacture of artillery guns, tanks or planes.

The front page of The Courier of April 9 1918 called on Dundonians to do their bit by boosting the nation’s navy.

In the article, the Government told the city’s people: “It is the duty and privilege of every Dundee citizen to share in Dundee’s submarine fleet.”

It reported war bonds and savings certificates would be on sale from outlets across the city, including the Dundee Gas Office and all banks.

A second article also challenged the city, saying: “You can help to buy submarines to ensure the safety of our men’s lives as they cross to and from the battlefronts, to ensure the safe arrival of food and to finish the war quickly.”

Similar challenges were laid down to villages, towns and cities across the UK in newspaper articles and adverts and through poster and advertising campaigns.

Following the war, vehicles were gifted to communities to thank them for raising the money.

Dundee and Perth got Mark IV tanks.

The Dundee war machine arrived in the city in August 1918, within days of the end of the conflict, and was towed to Dudhope Park where it remained until it was scrapped in 1930.

Most of those gifted – including that in Perth – met the same fate.