Cutting Back and Pitching In

Today we look at another group of wartime propaganda posters, this time centring around the ways people were encouraged to cut back or contribute in the war effort. These posters take a decidedly more happy approach to social control, unlike the previously examined Careless Talk campaign, which focused on the dangers of gossip. By using a patriotic and friendly approach, all these messages of cutting back and pitching in becomes one of honour and, possibly, fun. People will want to contribute under this campaign because each contribution is part of fighting the war as a whole.

An example of fun, whimsical messages on cutting back would be this poster encouraging people walk shorter distances back.

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 The National Archive states “Petrol rationing, low car ownership, heavy use of the railways to move troops as well as the blackout all conspired to fill public transport to bursting during the Second World War. Rail passenger journeys topped 1.3 billion in 1945.” Obviously, the British Government had a legitimate concern with railway overcrowding. By encouraging walking but not shaming people off the trains the Ministry of War Transport was able to portray themselves as a moderate and amicable office. 


The next poster uses an earthy art style to connect with the deep rooted British idea of rational recreation.

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In this piece, people are encouraged to “lend a hand with the potato harvest” and use their holiday time to work in the agricultural sector of Britain. This lending of labour could prove invaluable as likely many of the usual manual labourers were enlisted and fighting as troops in the war. The National Archive notes that people identified a manual labour holiday as “dignified” and “cheap” to the point where this campaign “[continued] a long-term trend, where the industrial workforce would help with the annual harvest. Hop picking in Kent was still an annual event for many East-end Londoners until well after the Second World War.”

Next up, a troop of determined housewives are boldly depicted like soldiers, putting out “paper, metal, bones” to be used in the production of “planes, guns, tanks, ships & ammunition”.

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Up Housewives and at ‘em! These ladies have heard the call and will contribute to the war effort by saving and making available the scraps of their homes. Not all women flocked to the factories or fields in the face of the war but there was still a definite sense that everyone must do their part. Propaganda posters utilizing a strong art style such as this one, gives the sense that strong housewives are akin to soldiers in the war effort. The women are also shown as being varied in age, meaning that even the young and old in Britain contribute. In this way, the whole country feels like their contribution is of great value and key to an Allied victory. 


Building on this war contribution imagery comes this next poster.

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This particular British woman is depicted as beautiful, well put together and, more importantly, a hard worker who looks pleased by her sewing efforts. The emphasis on the importance of contributions outside the physical building of tanks and various other war machines goes hand in hand with the previous poster. In this case she is a woman working more directly with the war effort but just like those housewives, she is doing what she must to contribute. In this case, she provides a seemingly endless stream of uniforms for the British troops. 


Overall, these images were a way into the homes of the average British citizen, with a heavy focus on the women. Each poster makes the reader aware of their contributions in the grand scheme of war, allowing even the smallest thing like saving paper or kitchen scraps to become a victory for the British forces. 

Sources:

Evans, Eileen. Lend a Hand With the Potato Harvest. Post-1943.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/theartofwar/prop/production_salvage/INF3_0101.htm

Le Witt & Him. Walk Short Distances. 1944
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/theartofwar/prop/production_salvage/INF3_0089.htm

Yates-Wilson. Up Housewives and At 'Em. 1940.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/theartofwar/prop/production_salvage/INF3_0219.htm

Young Women Makes Uniforms. 1939-1945.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/theartofwar/prop/production_salvage/INF3_1757.htm