Women of Britain, Come Into the Factories

Great things come out of little postcards. I bought this poster as a postcard in the Imperial War Museum whilst 15-17, and then put it on the wall, along with a few others, but it’s the colour of this one that stood out, and that I remembered when it came to choosing my A-Level history project, which then became an undergraduate dissertation, and then a PhD.

Poster Title: Women of Britain, Come Into the Factories

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Date: Probably 1941

Artist Philip Zec

Printer Lowe and Brydone, London Size 29 3/4″ x 19 1/4″

Sources IWM PST 3645

Other Information: Some catalogues list this as being by Donald Zec, Philip’s brother. Donald Zec has recently completed a biography of Philip Zec’s work, and this poster is definitely by Philip Zec.

“Keep Calm and Carry On” in the #uksnow

Watching the havoc that has been wrought in the UK over a few inches of snow (although I’m not necessarily advocating spending huge amounts for the infrequent amount of time these things happen), I wondered if anyone had picked up “Keep Calm and Carry On” as a slogan, and the Mirror has:

“Keep Calm And Carry On” has been the slogan of the year for 2009. The old wartime slogan has been festooned on posters, mugs and greeting cards.

The Stereophonics even pinched it for an album title.

Pity that the nation’s news broadcasters seem to have lost that wartime nonchalance. “Panic!” they scream. “Panic on the icy streets of Basingstoke!” A sort of cross between Morrissey and Dad’s Army’s Corporal Jones.”

Read the full story, and see how I enjoyed taking 15 hours to get 4 miles in Dover before Christmas – we certainly Kept Calm and Carried On – and the local Policemen appreciated our calmness – and our chocolate biscuits and hot coffee even more! I believe Operation Stack is back in action today again around Ipswich!

Time Magazine

Great news, which hopefully will come to fruition, but I’ve been contacted by Time Magazine re: the ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ story, in that they are planning to do a report on it, and want to talk to me about it!

History World

Historyworld’s aim is to make world history more easily accessible through interactive narratives and timelines. Written by Bamber Gascoigne, it consists of about 300 narratives ( the alphabetical list runs from Aegean Civilization to Zoroastrianism) and some 10,000 events on searchable timelines, including the Second World War.