View source for Defence of the Realm Act 1914

{{Short description|Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2008}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
|short_title          = Defence of the Realm Act 1914{{efn|name=Section2|Section 2.}}
|type                 = Act
|parliament           = Parliament of the United Kingdom
|long_title           = An Act to confer on His Majesty in Council power to make Regulations during the present War for the Defence of the Realm.
|year                 = 1914
|citation             = [[4 & 5 Geo. 5]]. c. 29
|territorial_extent   = [[United Kingdom]]
|royal_assent         = 8 August 1914
|commencement         = 8 August 1914{{efn|name=aopca|The [[Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793]].}}
|repeal_date          = 27 November 1914
|amendments           = {{ubli|[[Defence of the Realm (No. 2) Act 1914]]|[[Defence of the Realm Act 1915]]}}
|related_legislation  = {{ubli|[[Defence of the Realm Act 1803]]|[[Defence of the Realm Act 1803]]|[[Defence of the Realm Act 1806]]}}
|repealing_legislation= [[Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act 1914]]
|status               = Repealed
|original_text        = http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1914/29/contents/enacted
}}

The '''Defence of the Realm Act 1914''' ([[4 & 5 Geo. 5]]. c. 29) ('''DORA''') was [[Act of Parliament (United Kingdom)|an act]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] passed on 8 August 1914, four days after the country entered the [[First World War]]. It was added to as the war progressed. It gave the [[Government of the United Kingdom|government]] wide-ranging powers during the war, such as the power to [[Eminent domain|requisition]] buildings or land needed for the [[war effort]], and to make regulations creating criminal offences.

DORA ushered in a variety of authoritarian [[social control]] mechanisms,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Rodney Mace |title=British Trade Union Posters: An Illustrated History |date=1999 |publisher=[[Sutton Publishing]] |isbn=0750921587 |page=57}}</ref> such as [[censorship]]: <blockquote>"No person shall by word of mouth or in writing spread reports likely to cause disaffection or alarm among any of His Majesty's forces or among the civilian population"<ref>Defence of the Realm (No. 2) Regulations, 1914, s. 4, at {{London Gazette |issue= 28887|date= 1 September 1914|pages=6968–6969 |supp=y}}</ref></blockquote> Anti-war activists, including [[John Maclean (Scottish socialist)|John MacLean]], [[Willie Gallacher (politician)|Willie Gallacher]], [[John William Muir]], and [[Bertrand Russell]], were sent to prison. The film, ''[[The Dop Doctor (film)|The Dop Doctor]]'', was prohibited under the act by the South African government with the justification that its portrayal of Boers during the [[Siege of Mafeking]] would antagonise [[Afrikaners]].<ref name="Parsons">{{Cite journal|last=Parsons|first=Neil|date=2013-09-01|title=Nation-Building Movies Made in South Africa (1916–18): I.W. Schlesinger, Harold Shaw, and the Lingering Ambiguities of South African Union|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/03057070.2013.827003|access-date=2020-10-20|journal=Journal of Southern African Studies|volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=641–659|doi=10.1080/03057070.2013.827003|s2cid=143079921 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="trove">{{Cite web|date=1916-06-17|title="The Dop Doctor."|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2101863|access-date=2020-10-20|website=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957)|pages=19}}</ref>

The activities no longer permitted included flying kites, starting bonfires, buying binoculars, feeding wild animals bread, discussing naval and military matters and buying alcohol on public transport. Alcoholic drinks were watered down and [[pub]] opening times were restricted to 12 noon–3pm and 6:30pm–9:30pm. (The requirement for an afternoon gap in permitted hours lasted in England until the [[Licensing Act 1988]].)

In 1920 DORA was extended to deal with the violence in Ireland (see [[Irish War of Independence]]) with the [[Restoration of Order in Ireland Act 1920]] ([[10 & 11 Geo. 5]]. c. 31). Section 3(6) of that act allowed military authorities to jail any Irish person without charge or trial and was repealed in 1953.<ref>McGuffin, John (1973), ''Internment!'', Anvil Books Ltd, Tralee, Ireland, pg 33.</ref>

== Purpose==
[[File:Postal censorship message 1916 IWM Documents.8252.jpg|thumb|{{center|Example of censorship under the act of comments about [[Zeppelin#During World War I|Zeppelin raids]] in mail}}]]
Like most wartime acts, the Defence of the Realm Act was designed to help prevent potential invasion and to keep homeland morale at a high.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World War 1: Defence of the Realm Act {{!}} The Gazette |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/217 |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=www.thegazette.co.uk}}</ref> It imposed censorship of journalism and of letters coming home from the front line. The press was subject to controls on reporting troop movements, numbers or any other operational information that would potentially be exploited by the [[Central Powers]]. People who breached the regulations with intent to assist the enemy or not would have been sentenced to death. 10 people were executed under the regulations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1940/may/22/treachery-bill|date=22 May 1940|title=TREACHERY BILL.  |website=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]}}</ref>

== Amendments ==
Section 1(1) of the act read as follows:<ref name="Times">{{cite book |title=The Times Documentary History of the War |year=1917 |url=https://archive.org/details/timesdocumentary01londuoft |access-date=13 December 2010 }}</ref><ref name="National Archives">[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/first_world_war/p_defence.htm Defence of the Realm Act], ''[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]''</ref>

{{boxquote|
(1) [[King-in-Council|His Majesty in Council]] has power during the continuance of the present war to issue regulations as to the powers and duties of the [[Admiralty (United Kingdom)|Admiralty]] and [[Army Council (1904)|Army Council]], and of the members of His Majesty's forces, and other persons acting in His behalf, for securing the public safety and the defence of the realm; and may, by such regulations, authorise the trial by courts martial and punishment of persons contravening any of the provisions of such regulations designed—
: (a) To prevent persons communicating with the enemy or obtaining information for that purpose or any purpose calculated to jeopardise the success of the operations of any of His Majesty's forces or to assist the enemy; or
: (b) To secure the safety of any means of communication, or of railways, docks or harbours; in like manner as if such persons were subject to military law and had on active service committed an offence under section 5 of the [[Army Act 1881|Army Act]].
}}

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Defence of the Realm (No. 2) Act 1914{{efn|name=Section2.}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to amend the Defence of the Realm Act, 1914.
| year                  = 1914
| citation              = [[4 & 5 Geo. 5]]. c. 63
| territorial_extent    = [[United Kingdom]]
| royal_assent          = 28 August 1914
| commencement          = 28 August 1914{{efn|name=aopca}}
| repeal_date           = 27 November 1914
| amends                = [[Defence of the Realm Act 1914]]
| repealing_legislation = [[Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act 1914]]
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = Repealed
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/4-5/63/contents/enacted
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act 1914{{efn|Section 2(1).}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to consolidate and amend the Defence of the Realm Acts.
| year                  = 1914
| citation              = [[5 & 6 Geo. 5]]. c. 8
| territorial_extent    = [[United Kingdom]]
| royal_assent          = 27 November 1914
| commencement          = 27 November 1914{{efn|name=aopca}}
| repeal_date           = 22 December 1927
| replaces              = {{ubli|Defence of the Realm Act 1914|Defence of the Realm (No.{{nbsp}}2) Act 1914}}
| amendments            = {{ubli|[[Defence of the Realm (Amendment) Act 1915]]|[[Defence of the Realm (Amendment), No. 2, Act 1915]]|[[Defence of the Realm (Amendment) (No. 3) Act 1915]]|[[Restoration of Order in Ireland Act 1920]]}}
| repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law Revision Act 1927]]
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = Repealed
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/5-6/8/contentsenacted
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Defence of the Realm (Amendment) Act 1915{{efn|Section 3.}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to amend the Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act, 1914.
| year                  = 1915
| citation              = [[5 & 6 Geo. 5]]. c. 34
| territorial_extent    = [[United Kingdom]]
| royal_assent          = 16 March 1915
| commencement          = 
| repeal_date           = 22 December 1927
| amends                = [[Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act 1914]]
| repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law Revision Act 1927]]
| related_legislation   = {{ubli|[[Defence of the Realm (Amendment), No. 2, Act 1915]]|[[Defence of the Realm (Amendment) (No. 3) Act 1915]]}}
| status                = Repealed
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/5-6/34/contents/enacted
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Defence of the Realm (Amendment), No. 2, Act 1915{{efn|name=Section2}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to amend the Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act, 1914.
| year                  = 1915
| citation              = [[5 & 6 Geo. 5]]. c. 37
| territorial_extent    = [[United Kingdom]]
| royal_assent          = 16 March 1915
| commencement          = 16 March 1915{{efn|name=aopca}}
| repeal_date           = 22 December 1927
| amends                = [[Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act 1914]]
| repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law Revision Act 1927]]
| related_legislation   = {{ubli|[[Defence of the Realm (Amendment) Act 1915]]|[[Defence of the Realm (Amendment) (No. 3) Act 1915]]}}
| status                = Repealed
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/5-6/37/contents/enacted
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Defence of the Realm (Amendment) (No. 3) Act 1915{{efn|name=Section2}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to extend the Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act, 1914.
| year                  = 1915
| citation              = [[5 & 6 Geo. 5]]. c. 42
| territorial_extent    = [[United Kingdom]]
| royal_assent          = 19 May 1915
| commencement          = 19 May 1915{{efn|name=aopca}}
| repeal_date           = 22 December 1927
| amends                = [[Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act 1914]]
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law Revision Act 1927]]
| related_legislation   = {{ubli|[[Defence of the Realm (Amendment) Act 1915]]|[[Defence of the Realm (Amendment), No. 2, Act 1915]]}}
| status                = Repealed
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/5-6/42/contents/enacted
| collapsed             = yes
}}
The original act was amended and extended six times over the course of the war,<ref name="Tucker">[https://books.google.com/books?id=2YqjfHLyyj8C&pg=PA341 Defence of the Realm Act (DORA)] in ''The Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History'', Dr Spencer C Tucker, vol. 2, pp 341–2. {{ISBN|1-85109-420-2}}</ref> first on 28 August 1914 by the '''{{visible anchor|Defence of the Realm (No. 2) Act 1914}}''' ([[4 & 5 Geo. 5]]. c. 63),<ref name="Times"/><ref name="National Archives"/> then on 27 November 1914 by the '''{{visible anchor|Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act 1914}}''' ([[5 & 6 Geo. 5]]. c. 8), which repealed and replaced the previous acts.<ref name="National Archives"/><ref name="Tucker"/> It was amended three times in 1915, by the '''{{visible anchor|Defence of the Realm (Amendment) Act 1915}}''' ([[5 & 6 Geo. 5]]. c. 34), the '''{{visible anchor|Defence of the Realm (Amendment), No. 2, Act 1915}}''' ([[5 & 6 Geo. 5]]. c. 37) and the '''{{visible anchor|Defence of the Realm (Amendment) (No. 3) Act 1915}}''' ([[5 & 6 Geo. 5]]. c. 42).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lakshmanan |first1=A. R. |title=Wharton's Concise Law Dictionary |date=2009 |publisher=Universal Law Publishing Co. |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-81-7534-783-0 |page=287 |edition=15th}}</ref>

The Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act 1914 ([[5 & 6 Geo. 5]]. c. 8) contained the following:<ref name="National Archives"/>
{{boxquote|
(1) [[Queen-in-Council|His Majesty in Council]] has power during the continuance of the present war to issue regulations for securing the public safety and the defence of the realm, and as to the powers and duties for that purpose of the [[Admiralty (United Kingdom)|Admiralty]] and [[Army Council (1904)|Army Council]] and of the members of His Majesty's forces and other persons acting in his behalf; and may by such regulations authorise the trial by courts-martial, or in the case of minor offences by courts of [[summary jurisdiction]], and punishment of persons committing offences against the regulations and in particular against any of the provisions of such regulations designed:
: (a) to prevent persons communicating with the enemy or obtaining information for that purpose or any purpose calculated to jeopardise the success of the operations of any of His Majesty's forces or the forces of his allies or to assist the enemy; or
: (b) to secure the safety of His Majesty's forces and ships and the safety of any means of communication and of railways, ports, and harbours; or
: (c) to prevent the spread of false reports or reports likely to cause disaffection to His Majesty or to interfere with the success of His Majesty's forces by land or sea or to prejudice His Majesty's relations with foreign powers; or
: (d) to secure the navigation of vessels in accordance with directions given by or under the authority of the Admiralty; or
: (e) otherwise to prevent assistance being given to the enemy or the successful prosecution of the war being endangered.

(3) It shall be lawful for the Admiralty or Army Council:
: (a) to require that there shall be placed at their disposal the whole or any part of the output of any factory or workshop in which arms, ammunition, or warlike stores and equipment, or any articles required for the production thereof, are manufactured;
: (b) to take possession of, and use for the purpose of, His Majesty's naval or military service any such factory or workshop or any plant thereof;
}}

== Similar legislation ==
{| class = "wikitable"
|-
|+ Emergency wartime/postwar legislation by era and jurisdiction
|- 
!Era
!Jurisdiction
!Legislation
|- valign = "top"
| rowspan="4"|World War I
| {{flag|Australia}}
|[[War Precautions Act]] 
|- valign = "top"
| {{flag|Canada|1907}}
|[[War Measures Act]] 1914
|- valign = "top"
| {{flag|India|1880}}
|[[Defence of India Act 1915]]
|- valign = "top"
|- valign = "top"
| {{flag|USA|1912}}
|[[Espionage Act of 1917]]; [[Sedition Act of 1918]]
|- valign = "top"
|Post-WWI
| {{flag|UK}}
|[[Emergency Powers Act 1920]]; [[Restoration of Order in Ireland Act 1920]]
|- valign = "top"
| rowspan="3"|World War II
| {{flag|Canada|1921}}
|[[National Resources Mobilization Act]]
|- valign = "top"
| {{flag|Ireland}}
|[[Emergency Powers Act 1939]]
|- valign = "top"
| {{flag|UK}}
|[[Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939]]; [[Treachery Act 1940]]
|}

== See also ==
* [[Munitions of War Act 1915]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*[https://archives.parliament.uk/collections/getrecord/GB61_HL_PO_PU_1_1914_4and5G5c29 Digital reproduction of the Original Act from the Parliamentary Archives catalogue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412000816/https://archives.parliament.uk/collections/getrecord/GB61_HL_PO_PU_1_1914_4and5G5c29 |date=12 April 2022 }}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* Hynes, Gregory: [https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/defence_of_the_realm_act_dora Defence of the Realm Act (DORA)], in: [https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/home/ 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War].
* [https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6622977M/Defence_of_the_realm_manual. Open Library – August 1918 edition of Defence of the Realm Manual]

{{UK legislation}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1914]]
[[Category:Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament]]
[[Category:1914 in military history]]
[[Category:Emergency laws in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:United Kingdom in World War I]]
[[Category:United Kingdom military law]]
[[Category:World War I legislation]]