1915 World War I Propaganda Broadside Map of Southern Britain and Northern France

This is a 1915 Parliamentary Recruiting Committee World War I propaganda recruiting broadside illustrating the English Channel, Britain, and France. If features a stirring, almost motherly plea for help.

A Closer Look

Very little distracts the viewer from the broadside's plea: 'Boys Come over here you're wanted'. A sepia-toned portrait of a soldier in uniform dominates the left. He shields his eyes with his hand and looks toward the right as if searching for who was calling for help. The direction of his gaze is, if taken in combination with the map, east, suggests the battle front. He carries a rifle with affixed bayonet, along with a backpack and canteen. He appears ready to help at a moment's notice, perhaps to ship out. The English Channel, southern Britain, and northern France occupy the rest of the sheet. The Eiffel Tower and St. Paul's Cathedral mark Paris and London, while Brighton, Dover, Southampton, Calais, Dieppe, Amiens, and Havre are labeled.

Publication History and Census

This broadside was created by an unknown artist, published by the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee in London as Poster No. 82, and printed by David Allen and Sons Ltd. We note cataloged examples at Temple University, the Museum of New Zealand, the Hoover Institution, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the National Gallery of Australia. A different broadside using the same slogan and a similar soldier featured Australia and the Gallipoli Peninsula and recruited Australian and New Zealanders for the Gallipoli Campaign.