The artefact in question is a First World War propaganda poster, titled, ‘Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?’ The poster was issued by the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee in 1915, illustrated by Savile Lumley and the brain child of Arthur Gunn, a printer of the Committee. It shows a father with his daughter on his lap and his son playing with toy soldiers on the floor and his daughter asks him the question of what he did during the Great War. This particular propaganda poster was published in 1915, (when the propaganda machine was at its height) before conscription was introduced in 1916. This shows that the purpose of the artefact was to convince people to join the war effort so they did not look like embarrassments to their families. The poster can be found at the Imperial War Museum and the V&A collection as well.
In order to fully understand the poster, the historical context is required first. It was published in 1915, a year after the Great War began. But by this point, the numbers of those signing up to go and fight were decreasing, so the poster was designed as a way to get more people to sign up. This was because the war effort was hindered by the fact that it was longer-lasting than originally thought. A common misconception about the war was that it was to be over by Christmas. As it was not, by late 1915 and early 1916, it was clear the government were going to have to do something to increase the numbers of those joining in the war. So, in 1916, the government introduced conscription, which meant people no longer had a choice and were forced to go and fight instead. Arthur Gunn, one of the printers for the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee was one of those who were impacted by the poster. He had a degree of affiliation with the propaganda poster as he was one of those who had not gone to fight, and had children as well. But when he saw the poster, it affected him so much, that according to the V&A collection, ‘Gunn joined the Westminster Volunteers in 1915’. It was not only Gunn who had been affected by the propaganda poster, many fathers who had felt similar to Gunn took the same steps to enlist. This was in an attempt to shirk some of these feelings of embarrassment they would potentially encounter in the aftermath of the war, for not fighting and doing their bit.
The purpose of the poster is to shame and embarrass individuals into fighting in the Great War. One way this is done is through the emphasis and underlining of the word ‘you’ in the poster. This makes the poster more personal for all the individuals who encounter it. It results in the individual questioning what their role is; if they even had a role. The poster causes feelings of shame and guilt for the men not doing their part and the hope behind the poster is that it almost guilt-trips the individuals into changing their minds about getting involved in the First World War. Another key facet of the artefact is the fact that the son is lying on the floor playing with toy soldiers. This is a very subtle message that the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee are trying to put across: the message being that the father needs to be a hero to his son in the same way as soldiers are seen as heroes by the general public. By the father’s failure to defend his country in the war, it gives off the impression that the son has created a hero image for himself in the mould of soldiers, while the father is now seen as a coward for not participating in the war. This was another way that emotional blackmail, which is the main point of the propaganda poster, comes across. In addition to this, the propaganda poster also alludes to how the First World War would be remembered by the generations to come. Presumably, the daughter is looking at a history book which talks about the Great War, and asking her father what his contribution to the war was. The fact he cannot seem to look his daughter in the eye signifies that he has nothing to contribute, which shows how he will be remembered by his daughter and son; as a coward. This form of propaganda was a recurring theme by late 1915 and early 1916 as numbers of Army recruits dwindled. As Professor David Welch states in an article, ‘The emotional blackmail of using children to shame their elders into fighting was, in fact, employed by most of the belligerents. Women were also assigned the responsibility for ordering men into war, Perhaps the most well known in this genre is ‘Women of Britain Say—GO!”’. The emotional blackmail theme spread across women and children, and men generally would not want to seem weak and useless in their eyes. This meant some men would go and fight just so they could save face as women would not want a man such as the father illustrated in the poster, and children would not want a father like the ’coward’ shown. Therefore, in this aspect, it is fair to say the poster had some degree of success in recruiting men to fight.
The artefact is useful as it shows how these particular types of ‘emotional blackmail’ propaganda posters are viewed by modern day historians. When the poster was published in 1915 and throughout the war until the end in 1918, the poster was seen as recruiting many individuals to fight in the war, however, attitudes changed in the post-war era. Whereas it was seen as a successful method during the war, in the years that followed, more and more people objected to the poster; as the public did not appreciate the use of shame to increase recruitment numbers. All of this apparently culminated in Savile Lumley disowning the poster because of the backlash of what the poster stood for. The artefact is useful as it shows how men could be easily manipulated. As the poster preys on those men who cared about their social standing and image, for those men, losing face was not an option. This meant that the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee could have used to their advantage as they could make more of these types of propaganda, which they did, through posters such as those titled, ‘ Don’t stand looking at this – go and help!’ and 'To the women of Britain. Some of your men folk are holding back on your account. Won't you prove your love for your Country by persuading them to go?'. What these did, and can be considered important when looking at this particular artefact, is that they combined both emotional blackmail and shame to the perfect effect whilst trying to get recruits. However, these were extremely unpopular and are of value as it shows how blackmail dramatically increased the numbers of those joining the war, even though it was seen, later on, as an undesirable method.
The artefact is reliable as it is from the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee, a propaganda wing of the government during the First World War, headed by the Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith. It shows how the government took steps during the total war to gain recruits. As conscription had not yet been put into place, that was to come in at the mid-point of the war, it was down to the recruiting committee to get as many men as they could. The source gives an insight into the ways propaganda targeted particular groups of people, whether they were men, women or children. One issue is that historians consider the source to be an example of emotional blackmail, a theme that was recurring during 1915 and 1916, which was seen as unfair to the individuals who were affected by the poster. In addition to this, the source also illustrates the fact the government were willing to go to such extreme lengths to get men to fight for their country.
In conclusion, the propaganda poster is significantly important as it shows how the government went about their propaganda campaign, and the lengths they would go to. Emotional blackmail was a theme that transcended throughout propaganda in 1915, and it is interesting to see how far the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee would go in order to get the men fighting. It also shows how men were easily impressionable, as many men did go out and volunteer or join the army simply because of the poster. On the other hand, the poster does have its limitations. Because of the way the poster is formatted, and its use of shaming the viewer, it is highly unlikely that a poster such as this would ever be published because of the backlash that would occur. But it does give an interesting outlook on how the war effort was considered to be a total war, that the government would take such extreme steps to engage more people with the army, through such divisive propaganda techniques.