Defence of the Realm Act 1914

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. 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. == Amendments ==

Section 1(1) of the act read as follows: The original act was amended and extended six times over the course of the war, first on 28 August 1914 by the '''''' (4 & 5 Geo. 5. c. 63), The Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act 1914 (5 & 6 Geo. 5. c. 8) contained the following: == Similar legislation ==