During a war everyone has to work to win. It is not as simple as just sending troops to battle.

Most women do not go into battle, neither do children, the elderly or those who have disabilities. That is a large number of people, who all have to be fed and generally looked after.

In wartime women do many jobs that they would normally leave to men, but there are still jobs that need men, such as being doctors. In the past, it was also important to mine enough coal for the ship's boilers and so on. These vital jobs were called reserved occupations.

All in all there were many people working as hard as they could at home. So, in recognition of this, they were called the Home Front.

Do not confuse the Home Front with the Home Guard. The Home Guard was made up of people who were still at home, but who volunteered to be prepared to fight if an invasion ever came. It was the Home Guard that acted as a reserve army of last resort.