Keep Calm and Carry On

The Ministry of Information was formed by the British Government to be in charge of publicity and propaganda during World War Two. In 1939, after the outbreak of War, the Ministry of Information was appointed by the Government to design a number of posters to boost public morale. The posters required a bold backround, to be similar in style and feature the crown of King George VI along with a simple yet effective font. The first two posters read ''Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution, will Bring Us Victory'' and ''Freedom is in Peril. Defend it with all your Might'' and were produced by His Majest's Stationary Office (HMSO). The final poster of the set simply read ''Keep Calm and Carry On''. The plan for this one was to hold it in reserve and issue it only if Germany invaded Britain. As this never happend, it was only ever seen on a few office walls and never public. It is thougt that almost all of the Keep Calm and Carry On posters were destroyed at the end of the War in 1945. However nearly 60 years later, Stuart Manley, a bookseller from Barter Books rediscovered one amongst a box of dusty old books. More recently a hoard of over 100 original posters were found in an old printers workshop and were put up for auction. Sadly no record remains of the unknown Ciril Servent who designed the quintessentially British Keep Calm and Carry On poster.