Poster, 'Join The N.Z. Air Training Corps'

item details

NamePoster, 'Join The N.Z. Air Training Corps'

ProductionE Paul; printing firm; 1941; Wellington

Classificationpolitical posters

Materialspaper, printing ink

Materials SummaryTwo colour block printed text with halftone photolithographic image on paper

Techniquesphotolithography

DimensionsOverall: 510mm (width), 760mm (height)

Registration NumberGH014038

Credit lineLoan from Mr C.H. Andrews, 1967

Overview

This is a recruitment poster designed and printed in World War II. 'Join the N.Z. Air Training Corps' is an invitation to young New Zealanders to join the Air Training Corps, which was founded in 1941 to make sure there were enough future recruits to fill Royal New Zealand Air Force ranks.

The Air Training Corps
Boys between the ages of sixteen and a half and eighteen years were eligible to join. In March 1942 the age limit was extended to boys aged from sixteen to meet the anticipated need for larger numbers of recruits at a later date. By April 1942, 140 cadets had applied for service with the RNZAF and the first hundred were mobilised in June. These cadets became part of the over 40,000 men and women who served in the RNZAF during World War II.

Significance
The survival of such ephemera is rare, and it illustrates that youth were targeted as part of New Zealand's overall war effort. The condition of this poster indicates that it may have been displayed outside.