Poster 5 - This is a primary source ; a poster ordered by the British government during the first world war. It was addressed to the English.

Transcription

1 Poster 1 ordered by the British government during the first world war. It was addressed to English men to incite them to enlist in the British army. - A military leader, Lord Kitchener, is drawn and painted with dark colours on an empty and light background. His pointed finger and the slogan «your country needs you» emphasize the you, involve the one who is looking at the poster. - Britain had a small professional army and no policy of conscription and she had an increasing need of men during this long and murderous conflict. Lord Kitchener,appointed as Secretary of War, was given the task of recruiting a large army to fight Germany. With the help of these war posters over 3,000,000 men volunteered in the first two years of the war.

2 Poster 2 ordered by the British government during the first world war. It was addressed to the English men to incite them to enlist in the British army. - On a kakhi background there is a picture with a military carriage sent into the attack. Shells explode around it showing the danger and the great courage of the soldiers. The goal in this poster is to give a guilty feeling to every fit Briton : they have to enlist to help those brave soldiers who are at the front. All the worthy persons have to do this very quickly. - Britain had a small professional army and no policy of conscription and she had an increasing need of men during this long and murderous conflict. With the help of those war posters over 3,000,000 men volunteered in the first two years of the war.

3 Poster 3 ordered by the British government during the first world war. It was addressed to English men to incite them to enlist in the British army. - A big and strong German soldier (he has a spiked helmet) with a bloody sabre is treading on bodies lying in the sea. All is black excepted the blood on the arm, jacket and face of the monster. Nothing seems to be able to stop his bloody strength... Except the navy says the slogan. - It appears clearly that the navy must be reinforced by the enlistment to fight against the terrifying German army. Britain had a small professional army and no policy of conscription and she had an increasing need of men during this long and murderous conflict. With the help of those war posters over 3,000,000 men volunteered in the first two years of the war.

4 Poster 4 ordered by the British government during the first world war. It was addressed to English men to incite them to enlist in the British army. - A thoughtful man and his children are sitting in the living-room. The boy is playing war with toy soldiers and a cannon. The girl has stopped reading and is asking her father what did YOU do in the Great War?. The war is over and it's obvious that he didn't enlist and go to the front so this makes him feel guilty. - Recruitment propaganda was addressed to family men too. The intention of the poster is to induce a guilty feeling : all the men had to protect their country and their children. Britain had a small professional army and no policy of conscription and she had an increasing need of men during this long and murderous conflict. With the help of those war posters over 3,000,000 men volunteered in the first two years of the war.

5 Poster 5 ordered by the British government during the first world war. It was addressed to the English. - Two pictures of two bits of countries, England and Belgium with comments below are presented. On the left an English village with light colours, happiness, quietness and security. On the right the Belgian town with dark colours, burned-down and ruined houses, homeless, refugees, poverty, fear. One is the opposite of the other with big contrasts. In the upper part of the poster the German and the home are connected with irony ; the slogan in the lower part invites to help those who have saved Britain to fight against the «Hun» (overfamiliar word for German). - The poster, boosting indignation against the German army, makes the population accept that Britain must help a friendly nation invaded with brutality and cruelty by barbarians. Every English is concerned and has to get involved, soldiers and civilians alike.

6 Poster 6 ordered by the British government during the first world war. It was addressed to English families, particularly wives. - A woman and her children are looking at the English soldiers leaving for the front. She is serious and anxious but accepts and agrees with the enlistment of her husband or son, says the slogan. - Recruitment propaganda was also addressed to families. The intention of the poster is to make them encourage their sons, brothers or husbands to enlist in the British army to protect their country and their family home. Britain had a small professional army and no policy of conscription and she had an increasing need of men during this long and murderous conflict. With the help of those war posters over 3,000,000 men volunteered in the first two years of the war.

7 Poster 7 ordered by the British government during the first world war. It was addressed to the British Empire to stimulate enlistment. - An old lion is proudly rising and roaring on a rock in the center of the poster. Young lions are standing around and below the rock. All of them are determined as they look toward the enemy. - The slogan is focused on the importance for overseas states ( the young lions) to answer the call to defend the British Empire (the old lion). Every inhabitant of the dominions and colonies is concerned and has to enlist to help the one which has always been a protector and now needs them. Britain had a small professional army and no policy of conscription and she had an increasing need of men during this long and murderous conflict. With the help of those war posters Britain mobilized 2,800,000 men from colonies and dominions during the war.

8 Poster 8 ordered by the British government during the first world war. It was addressed to English women. - In the center of the yellow poster in red frame, a woman in uniform is standing and smiling. In the background others are near barracks. She waves to say enrol today to the other British women. Some more information explains how to proceed. - With heavy losses on the Western Front in 1916, it was decided to use women to replace men doing certain administrative jobs in Britain and France. These men could then be sent to fight at the front. In January 1917, the government announced the establishment of a new voluntary service, the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC, renamed queen Mary's in 1918) The plan was for these women to serve as clerks, telephonists, waitresses, cooks, nurses and as instructors in the use of gas masks.

9 Women motor-cyclist during the First World War.