Poster, 'England Expects Every Man To Do His Duty'

Text posters such as this one were common in the First World War, both in New Zealand and Britain, when governments needed to quickly and effectively make proclamations in an era without television or radio. This was the first poster to be produced by the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee in Britain.

Harking back to past battles
The main text of this poster is a paraphrase of Admiral Nelson's famous signal 'England expects that every man will do his duty' sent from his flagship HMS Victory as the Battle of Trafalgar was about to commence in 1805.

Red, white and blue
Many British First World War posters were printed in the colours of the Union Jack flag - red, white and blue - to lend authority to the message and subtly appeal to patriotic public sentiment, and simply to catch the eye.